Maria Krysan

Maria Krysan, assistant professor of sociology at Pennsylvania State University, will study the role of residential preferences in perpetuating racial segregation. Whereas research on segregation has often focused on discrimination in the housing search process, Krysan employs survey research to investigate the role of white and minority attitudes toward living in racially mixed or homogeneous neighborhoods. She explores how groups differ in their preferences, and the degree to which such preferences arise from racial bias, fear of harassment, or other causes. Krysan also looks at how such factors as age, income, education, and past experience living among other groups shape individual willingness to reside in mixed communities.