Community Corner

Is Being White a Topic in Your Neighborhood?

A Philadelphia Magazine report on race has stirred controversy.

The cover story of March's Philadelphia Magazine, Being White in Philly, has sparked debate about race relations and discussions throughout the Philadelphia area.

The piece cites comments from anonymous white residents of Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood in analyzing local discussions of race.

Journalists criticizing the piece include a Philadelphia Magazine reporter; the magazine's editor wrote a column defending the decision to publish it.

Find out what's happening in Narberth-Bala Cynwydwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Most neighborhoods in Patches throughout the greater Philadelphia area see ethnicity represented in different proportions than in the city itself. The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey of 2007 to 2011 estimates that 45 percent of Philadelphia residents identify themselves as black, compared to 43 percent as white, 12 percent as Hispanic and 7 percent as Asian.

Read on for ethnicity statistics for all area Patch neighborhoods, then tell us in the comments section below: What's the discussion like in your neighborhood?

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Note: Some ZIP codes include more than one county.

Place White % Black % Asian % Hispanic % CHESTER COUNTY 89 7 4 6 Wayne, St. David's (19087) 90 3 7 2 Paoli (19301) 88 4 9 2 Devon (19333) 84 5 13 1 Berwyn (19312) 90 3 6 4 Malvern/Frazer (19355) 90 2 8 4 East/West Goshen (19380) 90 6 4 5 West Chester, Westtown (19382) 91 6 3 4 Oaks (19456) 93 0 7 5 Phoenixville (19453) 93 7 0 4 Phoenixville (19460) 88 6 5 3 DELAWARE COUNTY 75 20 5 3 Broomall, Radnor (19008) 89 3 9 1 Villanova (19085) 91 4 7 3 Haverford Township (19083) 93 2 5 2 Newtown Square (19073) 96 1 3 1 Media (19063) 91 6 4 2 Springfield (19064) 95 1 4 0 MONTGOMERY COUNTY  84 9 7 4 Bala Cynwyd (19004) 90 6 5 3 Narberth, Penn Valley (19072) 93 3 6 2 Merion Station (19066) 92 6 3 3 Wynnewood, Penn Wynne (19096) 85 7 11 3 Ardmore (19003) 82 13 6 4 Haverford (19041) 93 5 4 2 Bryn Mawr (19010) 83 7 10 4 Gladwyne (19035) 96 0 5 1 PHILADELPHIA 43 45 7 12 Mt. Airy (19119) 35 63 3 3 Chestnut Hill (19118) 82 15 3 4 Manayunk (19127) 88 10 1 5 Roxborough (19128) 89 8 3 3

Source: American Community Survey 2007-11. Census Bureau sampling does not follow the same methodology as the decennial census. Because respondents are able to claim more than one race and some ethnicities are omitted, percentages on some lines may not add up to 100.


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