How segregated is urban consumption?

Abstract

© 2019 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. We provide measures of ethnic and racial segregation in urban con-sumption. Using Yelp reviews, we estimate how spatial and social fric-tions influence restaurant visits within New York City. Transit time plays a first-order role in consumption choices, so consumption segregation partly reflects residential segregation. Social frictions also affect restaurant choices: individuals are less likely to visit venues in neighborhoods demographically different from their own. While spatial and social fric-tions jointly produce significant levels of consumption segregation, we find that restaurant consumption is only about half as segregated as residences. Consumption segregation owes more to social than spatial frictions.