Why is Aspinwall all white? (Pittsburgh, Turtle Creek: middle-class, chapel, new home)

[gladhands]

I have a child starting kindergarten in the coming fall, who may need a smaller class size than our zoned school (Colfax) can offer. Everyone recommends the Fox Chapel schools, so we've started looking at real-estate in Aspinwall (we prefer walkable areas, so O'Hara and Fox Chapel are out of the running).

Being a multi-racial (both minority) family, diversity matters to us, and we were shocked to find that Aspinwall is 98.11% white. I know that metro Pittsburgh doesn't have a lot of black wealth, but Aspinwall's median household income is only 42k, so it's not exactly cost-prohibitive. How does a borough, less than a mile outside of a city that's 26% Black remain 98% white? Coincidence? Redlining? History of racial hostilities? How? Why?

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by gladhands

Being a multi-racial (both minority) family, diversity matters to us, and we were shocked to find that Aspinwall is 98.11% white. I know that metro Pittsburgh doesn't have a lot of black wealth, but Aspinwall's median household income is only 42k, so it's not exactly cost-prohibitive. How does a borough, less than a mile outside of a city that's 26% Black remain 98% white? Coincidence? Redlining? History of racial hostilities? How? Why?

It is history, but not the history of racial hostilities but the history of industry.


By the time the Great Migration in the 20th Century, the Allegheny Valley was already in decline. Isabella and Lucy Furnaces were already on their last gasps, and African Americans migrating into the Pittsburgh area came here for jobs- those employment opportunities were mostly in the Turtle Creek and Mon Valleys.

Aspinwall was always middle class, of course , but as blacks working in the mills and factories started to do well, they sought suburban areas close to where they lived when they came, and for very few it would be Aspinwall.

Sharpsburg, Millvale and Etna also have relative few minorities for similar reasons.

[gg]

Sharpsburg is 93% white. Etna is 98% white Blawnox 93% white.

Redlining? Racial hostilities? How about black people aren't moving in because they don't want to? As you stated, you want a mix of races in the town you want to move to. Could it be you don't want to live in Aspinwall because there are only like two black families living there at best? Seems so. It isn't whitey that is the issue. Look at your own post and you answered your own question.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Aspinwall was always middle class, of course , but as blacks working in the mills and factories started to do well, they sought suburban areas close to where they lived when they came, and for very few it would be Aspinwall.

Aspinwall is just as close.

Redlining is the reason.

[robrobrob]

I used to live in Aspinwall and liked it a lot. We now live in O'Hara and have kids in elementary school. The good news is that the elementary school that Aspinwall feeds to is fairly diverse. Bad news is that it (the elementary school) doesn't have a lot of African-Americans. Class size is usually at most 22. If small class size is really important you may want to move further out (obviously not walkable) and look for homes that feed to Fairview Elementary which has significantly smaller class sizes.

I would guess that the median income of new home owners is well above the 42K that you cite. For the most part you have to spend 250,000 on a house these days. Taxes (property) in Aspinwall are pretty high.

From what other posters have said on this forum middle class African Americans in Pittsburgh tend to stay put in the area where they grew up.

[froglipz]

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by gg

How about black people aren't moving in because they don't want to? As you stated, you want a mix of races in the town you want to move to. Could it be you don't want to live in Aspinwall because there are only like two black families living there at best? Seems so. It isn't whitey that is the issue. Look at your own post and you answered your own question.

Seems the most likely answer to me, too!

[gladhands]

I find it difficult to believe that minorities simply do not want to live in walkable, middle-class, first-ring suburbs with great schools. They/we flock to similar areas in other metros.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I have a child starting kindergarten in the coming fall, who may need a smaller class size than our zoned school (Colfax) can offer. Everyone recommends the Fox Chapel schools, so we've started looking at real-estate in Aspinwall (we prefer walkable areas, so O'Hara and Fox Chapel are out of the running).

Being a multi-racial (both minority) family, diversity matters to us, and we were shocked to find that Aspinwall is 98.11% white. I know that metro Pittsburgh doesn't have a lot of black wealth, but Aspinwall's median household income is only 42k, so it's not exactly cost-prohibitive. How does a borough, less than a mile outside of a city that's 26% Black remain 98% white? Coincidence? Redlining? History of racial hostilities? How? Why?

That must be dated information.

American FactFinder - Community Facts

In 2010

White 95.6%
Black 0.4%
Asian 4.0%
Hispanic 1.0%

While not overly diverse, it's not ALL white. I'm sure the Asian number is closer to 8 to 10% now.

[Rocket88]

Aspinwall median income may be 42k but housing is way more expensive than nearby river towns of Sharpsburg, Etna and Blawnox. That means those can afford to live there, regardless of race, are going to be in a smaller percentile . Considering that percentage of blacks is considerably smaller than the percentage of whites in the Pittsburgh area, this lowers the poll even more. This does not mean that there are not any blacks that can afford it.