Full opinion text
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY...............................................1149 II. THE INJUNCTION SHOULD BE DISSOLVED BECAUSE THE SCHOOL-BOARD HAS COMPLIED IN GOOD FAITH WITH ITS TERMS AND THE VESTIGES OF PRIOR SEGREGATION HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE ..........................................1156 A. The Oklahoma City School Board Has in Good Faith Fully Implemented and Complied with the Court’s 1972 Decree, and is Not Likely to Return to a System of De Jure Segregation....................................1156 B. The Vestiges of Prior De Jure School Segregation had been Eliminated to the Extent Practicable by 1985, When the SRP was Adopted..........1160 Page 1. Residential Segregation...........................................1160 2. Student Assignments.............................................1172 3. Faculty..........................................................1175 4. Administrative Staff..............................................1177 5. Transportation...................................................1177 6. Extra-curricular Activities ........................................1177 7. Facilities.........................................................1178 8. Conclusion.......................................................1178 III. THE SRP WAS ADOPTED FOR LEGITIMATE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY PURPOSES AND THEREFORE SATISFIES EQUAL PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS ..........................................................1179 A. The Board Adopted the SRP to Remedy Inequities in the Finger Plan and not for Any Discriminatory Purpose..................................1180 1. Operation of the Finger Plan and Adoption of the SRP...........1181 2. Motivation Behind Adoption of the SRP...........................1183 3. Procedure for Adoption of the SRP...............................1184 4. Testimony Concerning Intent.....................................1185 B. The Board Adopted the SRP for Additional Non-Discriminatory Reasons Related to the Expected Benefits of a Neighborhood Schools Plan.....1187 1. Parental Involvement.............................................1187 2. Community Involvement..........................................1189 3. Programs to Maintain Unitary School System.....................1189 4. Educational and Extracurricular Programs ........................1190 5. Negative Effects of Busing ......................................1191 C. The Emergence of Predominantly Black Schools Under the SRP, Without More, Does Not Establish that the Board Acted with Discriminatory Intent 1191 IV. CONCLUSION ..........................................................1195 V. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS..............................................1196 MEMORANDUM OPINION BOHANON, District Judge. The central issue now before this court was aptly framed by the ninth circuit in a closely analogous case decided over a decade ago. “ ‘If not now, and on this showing, when, and on what showing’ will the governance of the school system be restored to the elected officials who are charged with that governance under state law?” Spangler v. Pasadena City Bd. of Educ., 611 F.2d 1239, 1240 (9th Cir.1979). Plaintiffs’ answer to this question is direct: not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps never. Defendant’s answer to this question is equally direct: now is the time. This October was the thirtieth anniversary of this case, which was filed in this court in October, 1961. During this time, the court and the parties have labored together on the difficult and sensitive task of dismantling a formerly de jure segregated school district and establishing in its place a unitary, nondiscriminatory system. Af-. ter 30 years of litigation, this case is now ready for final resolution. The Supreme Court has remanded the case back to this court with instructions to determine on the basis of the established record whether the purpose of the comprehensive desegregation plan entered by the court in 1972 had been achieved as of 1985. The court finds that the record in this case, measured against the standards set forth in the Supreme Court’s opinion, clearly establishes that the defendant Oklahoma City Board of Education (“Board”) had eradicated the vestiges of the dual system and was entitled to have the desegregation decree dissolved as of 1985. Accordingly, the court, again, dissolves that decree. The court also finds that the Student Reassignment Plan (“SRP”) implemented in 1985 satisfies the applicable equal protection standards and therefore was within the Board’s authority to adopt. The court consequently dismisses this case. I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY In July, 1963, this court found that the Board had intentionally segregated the schools by race. Dowell v. School Board, 219 F.Supp. 427 (W.D.Okla.1963). After several years of additional litigation over various remedial efforts, this Court in 1972 entered a decree imposing a comprehensive school desegregation plan — the “Finger Plan” — that “was designed not only to assist the Board in satisfying its affirmative desegregation obligation, but also to allow the school district to achieve the ultimate goal — unitary status.” Dowell v. Board of Educ., No. Civ. 61-9452 (W.D.Okla., Jan. 18, 1977); Board of Educ. v. Dowell, — U.S. —, 111 S.Ct. 630, 633-34, 112 L.Ed.2d 715 (1991). In 1977, the School Board moved this court to close the case. After notice and a hearing, the court declared the Oklahoma City school system to be “unitary” and terminated its jurisdiction over the case. The court did not, however, formally dissolve the injunctive decree entered in 1972. The court’s order was not appealed. In 1985, the Board adopted the SRP, which eliminated busing for students in grades 1-4 and assigned those students to their neighborhood elementary schools. Plaintiff moved to “reopen” the case, contending that the school district was not unitary and that the elimination of busing would create ten elementary schools that were at least 90 percent black. After a two-day hearing, this court denied Plaintiffs’ motion, ruling that its 1977 finding of unitariness was res judicata and that the neighborhood school plan was, in any event, constitutional. Dowell v. Board of Educ., 606 F.Supp. 1548 (W.D.Okla.1985). The tenth circuit reversed, holding that this court’s 1977 order terminating jurisdiction, while binding on.the parties, did not formally dissolve the 1972 injunction. The court of appeals remanded the case for further proceedings to determine whether the 1972 injunction should be lifted or otherwise modified to permit the Board to adopt the SRP. Dowell v. Board of Educ., 795 F.2d 1516, 1523 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 938, 107 S.Ct. 420, 93 L.Ed.2d 370 (1986). In June 1987, this court held an eight-day evidentiary hearing in which it received, in the tenth circuit’s words, “a golconda of testimony and exhibits.” Dowell v. Board of Educ., 890 F.2d 1483, 1487 (10th Cir. 1989). Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. United Shoe Machinery Corp., 391 U.S. 244, 88 S.Ct. 1496, 20 L.Ed.2d 562 (1968), this court concluded that the question whether the 1972 decree should be dissolved depended upon “whether the ‘purposes of the litigation,’ as incorporated in the 1972 desegregation decree, have been fully achieved.” Dowell v. Board of Educ., 677 F.Supp. 1503 at 1520 (W.D.Okla.1987). After hearing, this court held that its 1977 finding of unitariness had determined that the dual school system had been dismantled and that the purposes of the litigation had thus been achieved. The school district’s continued adherence to the Finger Plan from 1977 until 1985 had “further insured that all vestiges of prior state-imposed segregation had been completely removed.” Id. at 1522. Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, Va., 391 U.S. 430, 88 S.Ct. 1689, 20 L.Ed.2d 716 (1968). The court examined in detail each of the so-called “Green factors” — student assignments, faculty, staff, transportation, extra-curricular activities, and facilities— and concluded with respect to each that the school district had maintained its status as a unitary, nondiscriminatory system. The court also concluded that the ten virtually all black elementary schools resulting from the SRP were caused by residential segregation that could not be attributed to the school district. Perpetuating the busing remedy to eliminate the racial identifiability of these schools would, therefore, “correct” a condition that does not violate the Constitution and thus would exceed the purposes of the litigation. Id. at 1521. Accordingly, the court held that the 1972 desegregation decree should be dissolved. The court also upheld the SRP as constitutional, since it had been adopted by the Board for educational, rather than racially discriminatory reasons. A panel majority of the tenth circuit, over a lengthy dissent by Judge Baldock, again reversed, holding that the court had not applied the proper legal standard for determining when a desegregation decree should be dissolved. Dowell v. Board of Educ., 890 F.2d 1483 (10th Cir.1989). Relying on the standard used for an antitrust injunction in United States v. Swift & Co., 286 U.S. 106, 52 S.Ct. 460, 76 L.Ed. 999 (1932), the tenth circuit ruled that a school desegregation injunction must remain in effect until the school board can show that the injunction has brought about “grievous wrong evoked by new and unforeseen conditions.” 890 F.2d at 1490 (quoting Swift, 286 U.S. at 119, 52 S.Ct. at 464). The court ruled further that the validity of any proposed changes in the plan, such as the SRP, must be judged not by whether they were motivated by an intent to discriminate, but rather by their effect on the racial balance in the schools. Since the SRP did not maintain the racial balance of the original 1972 busing plan, the tenth circuit concluded that the SRP could not be implemented. Indeed, on this question— whether the SRP “maintained unitariness in student assignments” — the tenth circuit ruled that this court had “clearly erred in its findings of fact and consequent legal determinations,” largely because this court had “failed to address or distinguish plaintiffs’ contrary evidence” 890 F.2d at 1503-04. The Supreme Court’s Decision The Supreme Court reversed the tenth circuit’s decision and remanded the case to this court for further proceedings. Board of Educ. v. Dowell, — U.S. —, 111 S.Ct. 630, 112 L.Ed.2d 715 (1991). Emphasizing that a school desegregation decree is warranted as a temporary measure intended to displace local decisionmaking authority only until “ ‘transition to a unitary, nonracial system of public education’ is achieved,” 111 S.Ct. at 637 (quoting Green v. New Kent County School Bd., 391 U.S. 430, 436, 88 S.Ct. 1689, 1693, 20 L.Ed.2d 716 (1968) (emphasis in original)), the Court disapproved of the tenth circuit’s reliance upon the Swift standard for dissolving antitrust injunctions, which are normally intended to operate in perpetuity. Rather, the Supreme Court agreed with this court’s view that the proper standard for dissolving a desegregation decree is provided by the United Shoe case: such a decree may be dissolved when its purposes have been fully achieved. With specific reference to the instant case, the Supreme Court observed that “a finding by the District Court that the Oklahoma City School District was being operated in compliance with the commands of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that it was unlikely that the school board would return to its former ways, would be a finding that the purposes of the desegregation litigation had been fully achieved.” 1111 S.Ct. at 636-37. Echoing this court’s observations concerning the limitations on federal judicial authority to supervise local school systems (see 677 F.Supp. at 1520-22), the Supreme Court noted: Dissolving a desegregation decree after the local authorities have operated in compliance with it for a reasonable period of time properly recognizes that “necessary concern for the important values of local control of public school systems dictates that a federal court’s regulatory control of such systems not extend beyond the time required to remedy the effects of past intentional discrimination.” 111 S.Ct. at 637 (quoting Spangler v. Pasadena City Bd. of Educ., 611 F.2d 1239, 1245 n. 5 (9th Cir.1979) (Kennedy, J., concurring)). The Supreme Court’s analysis of governing constitutional principles in this case, as discussed above, thus echoes the analysis contained in this court’s 1987 opinion. The Supreme Court, however, did not accept the Board’s invitation to reinstate this court’s decision terminating the 1972 decree. The Supreme Court’s reluctance to do so is hardly surprising since reinstatement would have required the High Court to examine the testimony and exhibits in the record of this case to ensure that this court’s factual findings were adequately supported by the evidence (rather than clearly erroneous, as the court of appeals concluded at least in part). Instead, the Court remanded the case for further proceedings in this court, stating: [W]e think that the preferable course is to remand the case to [the district] court so that it may decide, in accordance with this opinion, whether the Board made a sufficient showing of constitutional compliance as of 1985, when the SRP was adopted, to allow the injunction to be dissolved. The District Court should address itself to whether the Board had complied in good faith with the desegregation decree since it was entered, and whether the vestiges of past discrimination had been eliminated to the extent practicable. 111 S.Ct. at 638 (footnotes omitted). With respect to the Board’s elimination of the vestiges of past discrimination, the Supreme Court made clear that this court should on remand re-examine all the Green factors — student assignments, faculty, staff, transportation, extra-curricular activities, and facilities. 111 S.Ct. at 638-40. This court is also to re-examine, res nova, the question whether residential segregation that existed in Oklahoma City in 1985 could be attributed to the school district. Finally, if the court concludes again that the Board was entitled to have the desegregation decree dissolved as of 1985, it must then evaluate the Board’s decision to implement the SRP under traditional equal protection standards — that is, whether the plan was adopted with an intent to discriminate. 111 S.Ct. at 630-38. If the SRP was not adopted with discriminatory intent, then it is to be upheld. The Proceedings On Remand In a memorandum submitted to this court, and at a status conference held on March 7, 1991, Plaintiffs argued that this court should allow them additional discovery, reopen the record, and grant a new hearing to allow them to submit additional evidence. But as the foregoing discussion makes clear, the Supreme Court’s instructions simply require this court on remand to reexamine the record from the 1987 hearings — whether the Board was entitled, as of 1985 when it implemented the SRP, to have the 1972 desegregation decree dissolved and its decision-making authority restored, subject of course to traditional equal protection principles. The Supreme Court stated that this Court is to decide “whether the Board made a sufficient showing of constitutional compliance as of 1985, when the SRP was adopted, to allow the injunction to be dissolved.” 111 S.Ct. at 638. (emphasis added). Nor is there any need for further hearings or submission of evidence. The Supreme Court’s instructions do not order this court to “conduct” further proceedings; nor did the Supreme Court use any other language indicating that further hearings should be pursued. Since the court is to decide whether the Board was entitled to have the decree dissolved as of 1985, evidence regarding developments after the 1987 hearings is not relevant. In the 1987 hearings, the parties had a full and fair opportunity to present any evidence concerning whether the 1972 decree should be dissolved. Moreover, the parties took full advantage of that opportunity, submitting a “golconda” of evidence on the very same issues that the Supreme Court’s remand now places back before this court. The record thoroughly addresses whether the Board had complied in good faith with the 1972 desegregation decree. See infra at 1156-60; Dowell, 677 F.Supp. at 1505-06, 1515, 1517-19, 1522. The record also thoroughly addresses each of the Green factors to be evaluated in the examination of the vestiges of discrimination: student assignments, infra at 1172-75; 677 F.Supp. at 1509-10; faculty, infra at 1175; 677 F.Supp. at 1518-19; staff, infra at 1177; 677 F.Supp. at 1518-1519; transportation, infra at 1177; 677 F.Supp. at .1523; extra-curricular activities, infra at 1177-78; 677 F.Supp. at 1519; and facilities, infra at 1178; 677 F.Supp. at 1519. The record is replete as well with evidence on the causes of residential segregation in Oklahoma City. See infra at 1160-72; 677 F.Supp. at 1506-12. Finally, the record covers in a similarly thorough and complete fashion the Board’s reasons for adopting the SRP, and whether it acted with discriminatory intent. See infra at 1179-95; 677 F.Supp. at 1513-17. Plaintiffs argue that the issues now before this court pursuant to the Supreme Court’s remand differ from the issues before the court in 1987 pursuant to the tenth circuit’s 1986 remand; they contend that the record needs to be reopened to address those differences. Specifically, Plaintiffs argue that the focus of the 1987 hearings was whether changed circumstances justified modification of the desegregation plan to permit adoption of the SRP for grades 1-4. To support this argument, Plaintiffs quote the 1986 tenth circuit opinion framing the issue as whether “changed circumstances require modification or ... the facts or law no longer require enforcement of the [1972] Order” and “whether the original mandatory order will be enforced or whether and to what extent it should be modified.” These tenth circuit remand instructions, however, did not limit the 1987 hearings to possible justifications for the SRP, but rather raised the same issue now remanded by the Supreme Court: whether the Board was entitled to have the injunction — in its entirety — dissolved as of 1985 when it implemented the SRP and whether the Board’s adoption of the SRP satisfied constitutional requirements. These were the central issues in the 1987 hearings. In the final Pretrial Order for those hearings, agreed to and signed by both parties, this court framed the issue remanded from the tenth circuit as “whether the school board can establish sufficient justification for the court to dissolve or modify the 1972 decree.” The defendant’s written contentions preceding the hearing specified that “dissolving the 1972 decree” was warranted, while the plaintiffs’ contentions began by stating that “the modification or dissolution of the decree sought by the school board” was not justified. In his opening statement at the 1987 hearings, counsel for defendant identified the issue as whether the decree should be modified or dissolved, and stated repeatedly the Board’s position that the decree should be dissolved entirely. Tr. at 6-9. Defendant’s counsel concluded the opening statement by asking “the court to dissolve the 1972 decree.” Tr. at 20. In Plaintiffs’ opening statement, their counsel “agree[d] with the School Board’s presentation of the central issue that is before this court on remand from the Tenth Circuit” as being whether the Court’s 1972 injunctive decree should be modified or dissolved completely as “is now sought by this board.” Tr. at 21. When this court addressed the basic question in its 1987 opinion, it identified the issue as “Should the 1972 Decree Be Enforced, Modified or Dissolved?” 677 F.Supp. at 1520. This court concluded its 1987 opinion by saying, “[T]he 1972 desegregation decree should be dissolved ... and the court’s remedial jurisdiction should be totally relinquished.” 677 F.Supp. at 1526. Moreover, as discussed above, the 1987 record thoroughly covers each of the subsidiary questions that the Supreme Court remand directs this court to consider, so the framing of those remand instructions clearly does not create any need to reopen the record. Plaintiffs further contend that the 1987 hearings considered only the operations of the school district concerning grades K-4, because the focus of those hearings was the SEP, which affected only those grades. Plaintiffs argue that they should be permitted to take additional discovery and to introduce additional evidence concerning grades 5-12, in order to determine whether the Board is entitled to have the 1972 decree dissolved as to those grades. But since the 1987 hearings centered on the issue of whether the 1972 decree should be entirely dissolved, all grades, K-12, were examined and considered in those hearings. The 1987 hearings covered all grades on the issue of Board compliance with the 1972 decree, with this court concluding that the Board had continued to adhere “to the fundamental tenets of the Finger Plan at all grade levels through school year 1984-85” 677 F.Supp. at 1522. (emphasis added). None of the evidence addressing past board compliance with the 1972 decree, or likely future board compliance with equal protection requirements, suggested any limitation to grades K-4. Tr. at 529-31, 619-21, 694-96, 766-69, 812-16, 1224-25, 1244-45, 1376-77. The evidence regarding residential segregation included residential patterns for the entire school district, again covering all grades. Tr. at 37-293, 297-99, 312-20, 333-37, 678, 1026-41, 1100-01, 1114-63, 1168-79, 1223-37, 1233-46; Def. Exs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5D, 5E, 6, 10,11,12,13,14, 21, 24, 40; PI. Exs. 58, 60, 62. The evidence as to student assignments included detailed data covering all grades as well. Tr. at 130-31,176-77, 184-207, 619-20; Def. Exs. 27, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 57, 67, 309. The same is true of the evidence relating to faculty assignments. Tr. at 338, 544-46, 619-21, 812-16; Def. Exs. 187-88. The evidence concerning facilities covered grades 5-12 as well as grades 1-4. Tr. at 619-21, 694-96, 788, 852-53, 893-94. The evidence regarding integration of the school district’s central administrative staff also applied to the school district as a whole, Tr. at 542-46, 694-96; Def. Exs. 187-88, as did the evidence regarding extracurricular activities, Tr. at 570, 766-69, 812-16; Def. Exs. 111-24. The evidence concerning transportation of students under the Finger Plan, which was encompassed in the evidence relating to student assignments, applied to all grades, as did the evidence concerning transportation under the majority-to-minority transfer option. Neither party disputed that the vestiges of prior discrimination had been eliminated for transportation above the fifth grade, though both parties had the full opportunity to do so and to introduce all relevant evidence. Plaintiffs also contend that the record needs to be reopened on the issue of residential segregation, because the Supreme Court directed that issue to be reconsidered on remand res nova. But the Supreme Court’s res nova instruction merely means that this Court is to reconsider that issue as if it had not been decided before, reconsidering and reweighing all of the evidence in the record. With respect to all other issues, in contrast, the Court is to consider whether any reason exists to change its previous decision. The phrase res nova is regularly used by appellate courts in this way, referring to issues for which there is no precedent deciding the matter, and, therefore, which they must decide for the first time, not issues on which new evidence must be taken. Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367, 99 S.Ct. 1158, 59 L.Ed.2d 383 (1979); United States v. Williams, 928 F.2d 145 (5th Cir.1991); Adolph v. Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency, 854 F.2d 732 (5th Cir.1988). Reopening the record on this issue would be flatly contrary to the Court's instructions to consider the Board’s right to dissolution of the decree as of 1985. Plaintiffs took full advantage of their opportunity in the 1987 hearings to take discovery and to offer evidence on residential segregation before 1985. Plaintiffs also argue that they should be allowed to take new discovery and to submit evidence concerning what steps the Board took to decrease residential segregation, and the results of those measures. Any such evidence, however, could be relevant only to whether residential segregation as a vestige of the school officials’ prior de jure school segregation had been eliminated to the extent practicable, which was a central issue in the 1987 proceedings, and on which Plaintiffs took discovery and submitted evidence. Moreover, the Board was not required by law to take additional steps outside those ordered in the 1972 decree which was specifically designed to eliminate the vestiges of discrimination, it is unclear how such possible additional steps in regard to residential segregation could be relevant to the Board’s right to have the 1972 decree dissolved. Finally, given that this court now reaffirms its 1987 conclusion that current residential segregation in Oklahoma City is not a vestige of prior school segregation, see infra at 1160-72, the question of the Board’s additional efforts to reduce that segregation could not be relevant to the Board’s right to dissolution of the decree in any event. Plaintiffs request further discovery and evidence on the Board’s lack of good faith and intent with respect to adoption of the SRP. However, in the Final Pre-trial Order for the 1987 hearings, agreed to and signed by both parties and the court, the designated factual issues included: 4. Did the school board adopt the 1985 student assignment plan without the intent to discriminate on the basis of race? 5. Did the school board adopt the 1985 student assignment plan for legitimate, non discriminatory reasons? The defendant Board also repeatedly raised this issue before, during, and after the hearings, actually assuming the burden of proof. Plaintiffs had a complete opportunity to fully contest this issue at the hearings in an attempt to prevail on an independent constitutional challenge to the SRP apart from the 1972 decree. This court, reflecting the litigation of the issue at the 1987 hearings, ruled on the discriminatory intent question after discussing it at length in the opinion. It concluded that the Board had actually carried the burden of proving that the SRP was adopted without discriminatory intent. Dowell v. Board of Educ., 677 F.Supp. 1503, 1513-17 (W.D.Okla.1987). The court therefore concludes that the existing record in this case is more than adequate to decide the issue of discriminatory intent based on the Supreme Court’s remand, particularly given that the Board actually carried the burden of proving a lack of discriminatory intent. Plaintiffs also ask for further discovery and submission of evidence on the Board’s compliance with the Finger Plan from 1972 to 1985. But, again, that question was a key issue in the 1987 hearings, and Plaintiffs had the right to complete discovery and submission of evidence on this issue at that time. Plaintiffs also request further discovery and evidence submission on the effects of the SRP after its implementation in 1985. But evidence regarding post-1985 effects of the SRP cannot be relevant to whether the Board had a right to dissolution of the decree as of 1985. It can have only the most marginal relevance to whether the Board adopted the SRP with discriminatory intent. Direct evidence concerning what the Board said or did in 1985 when it adopted the SRP is the most relevant to this question. Evidence regarding the actual effects of the SRP is only circumstantial. It would tend to corroborate the stated intentions if the actual results turn out as intended, thus showing that it was reasonable to believe the Board actually held the stated intentions. Plaintiffs again had a full opportunity in the 1987 hearings to take discovery and offer evidence on the effects of the SRP from 1985 to 1987 for this purpose, and submitted nothing other than the evidence regarding racial balance in the schools. Indeed, the evidence in the record on SRP effects for 1985 to 1987, marginally relevant to the issue of discriminatory intent as it is, consistently corroborates the Board’s stated nondiscriminatory intentions in 1985. See infra at 1188 n. 73, 1189 n. 74, 1191 n. 76. Evidence on these effects after 1987 would have even less salience as to what the Board actually intended in 1985. Plaintiffs have given no indication that they could make any showing based on this post-1987 evidence which would be sharply different from the 1985 to 1987 evidence. Indeed, Plaintiffs do not even suggest that they would offer the evidence for the purpose of showing discriminatory intent. This court, therefore, finds that Plaintiffs have not indicated that they would submit evidence that could show discriminatory intent on the basis of the entire record in this case; consequently, there are no grounds for reopening the record and holding new hearings. If Plaintiffs believe that evidence regarding the impact of the SRP demonstrates a new constitutional violation, then they may bring a new action, in which they would be allowed full discovery and submission of evidence on that question. Plaintiffs seek discovery and evidence submission as well on whether the Board considered alternatives to the attendance zones used in the SRP. But Plaintiffs again had full opportunity to take discovery and submit evidence on this issue in the 1987 hearings. The court allowed Plaintiffs a further opportunity in a written submission to identify any issue on which receipt of additional evidence would be justified, or any particular item of evidence that could justifiably be submitted for the record at this time. Plaintiffs did not identify any such additional issue or evidence that warranted reopening the record. Consequently, the court and the parties now proceed by reexamining the evidence in the record of the 1987 hearings and reconsidering the issues remanded by the Supreme Court as described above. II. THE INJUNCTION SHOULD BE DISSOLVED BECAUSE THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS COMPLIED IN GOOD FAITH WITH ITS TERMS AND THE VESTIGES OF PRIOR SEGREGATION HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED. A. The Oklahoma City School Board Has in Good Faith Fully Implemented and Complied with the Court’s 1972 Decree, and Will Not Ever Return to a System of De Jure Segregation. In its 1985 opinion, this court stated that “[a]t the time this court totally relinquished its jurisdiction over this case in 1977, the court was convinced that the Finger Plan had been carried out in a constitutionally permissible fashion and that the School District had reached the goal of being a desegregated non-racially operated and unitary school system.” Dowell, 606 F.Supp. at 1554. Moreover, the court found that “[t]he evidence in this case demonstrates that the Oklahoma City School District remains unitary today [in 1985].” Id. at 1555. The court reaffirmed this conclusion in 1987, finding that “the school district’s continued adherence to the fundamental tenets of the Finger Plan at all grade levels through school year 1984-85 further insured that all vestiges of prior state-imposed segregation had been completely removed.” Dowell, 677 F.Supp. at 1522. On appeal, the tenth circuit acknowledged the fact that “[a]side from minor alterations necessitated, for example, by a school’s closing, the Board maintained the District under the Finger Plan’s basic techniques of pairing, clustering, and compulsory busing, even after the district court declared the District unitary and terminated the case” in 1977. Dowell, 890 F.2d at 1486. Nevertheless, the court of appeals discounted the significance of this finding, stating: “Nor, in our view, does a finding of unitariness mandate the later dissolution of the decree without proof of a substantial change in the circumstances which led to issuance of that decree.” Id. at 1492. The Supreme Court reversed this ruling, holding that “in deciding whether to modify or dissolve a desegregation decree, a school board’s compliance with previous court orders is obviously relevant.” 111 S.Ct. at 637. Moreover, apparently relying on this court’s prior opinions, the Court stated unequivocally that “the Board complied with the decree in good faith until 1985. Not only do the personnel of school boards change over time, but the same passage of time enables the District Court to observe the good faith of the school board in complying with the decree.” Id. at 637-38. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has instructed this court to consider anew “whether the Board had complied in good faith with the desegregation decree since it was entered.” Id. at 638. A fresh review of the evidence previously presented by both Plaintiffs and the Board indisputably demonstrates that this court’s prior findings were not in error and that the Oklahoma City School District complied in good faith with this court’s 1972 Decree from the time of its issuance through the 1984-85 school year. Dr. Arthur Steller, the superintendent of the school system, testified that the Finger Plan, both before and after the 1977 finding of unitariness brought about “a unitary school district in terms of transportation, student populations, faculty assignments, extracurricular activities, curriculum, facilities, resources, those kinds of things, I think the Finger Plan met its objective and it accomplished what it was originally intended to accomplish.” Tr. at 766. Two of Plaintiffs’ expert witnesses, Drs. Mary Lee Taylor and Gordon Foster, likewise testified to the effectiveness of the Finger Plan. Tr. at 1224-25, 1244-45, 1336-37. Neither party presented evidence that in any way indicated that the Board had not complied in good faith with this court’s order throughout the period from 1972 to 1985. The court therefore finds that the Board has fully implemented and complied with the desegregation decree during that period. While Plaintiffs contest the Board’s good-faith compliance with the 1972 desegregation decree, they do not offer any suggestion or hint of any noncompliance with the tenets of the decree from 1977-1985. Effective compliance with the desegregation plan’s requirements during this nine-year period is, therefore, uncontested in this case. This alone should be sufficient to establish good-faith compliance, for the Supreme Court in remanding this case stated that dissolution of a desegregation decree would be warranted after “compliance with it for a reasonable period of time.” Board of Educ. v. Dowell, — U.S. —, 111 S.Ct. 630, 637, 112 L.Ed.2d 715 (1991). See also Spangler v. Pasadena City Board of Educ., 611 F.2d 1239, 1243 (9th Cir.1979) (Kennedy, J. concurring, said substantial compliance with decree for four years and total compliance for five years was sufficient to show good-faith compliance justifying dissolution of the decree); Riddick v. School Bd., 784 F.2d 521 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 938, 107 S.Ct. 420, 93 L.Ed.2d 370 (1986). (reestablishment of neighborhood schools after eight years upheld); Price v. Austin Indep. School Dist., 729 F.Supp. 533 (W.D.Tex.1990), aff'd, 945 F.2d 1307 (5th Cir.1991) (reestablishment of neighborhood schools after seven years upheld). Plaintiffs seem to challenge the Board’s pre-1977 good-faith compliance with the 1972 decree in reciting snippets from early reports of the Biracial Committee and from orders of this court on various issues that arose during implementation of the 1972 decree. But in 1977, in declaring the school district unitary and terminating the case, this court specifically considered all of the Biracial Committee reports from 1972 to 1977, and the matters that came before it during that time, and concluded that the Board had complied with the decree in good faith during this period. The court said: “This Court has carefully reviewed this evidence and all of the reports it has received from the defendant and the Biracial Committee since the inception February 1, 1972, of “A New Plan of Unification for the Oklahoma City Public School System,” commonly known as the Finger Plan. The Court has concluded that this was indeed a Plan that worked and that substantial compliance with the constitutional requirements has been achieved. The School Board, under the oversight of the Court, has operated the Plan properly____” Order Terminating Case at 1 (filed Jan. 18, 1977). This order, as the Supreme Court recognized, 111 S.Ct. at 636, remains the law of this case for the matters it addresses. See also Dowell v. Board of Educ., 795 F.2d 1516, 1522 (10th Cir.1986) (the 1972 order “is binding upon the parties”). Therefore, the Board must be found to have complied with the decree from 1972 to 1977 as well. Plaintiffs emphasize criticisms of the Board’s conduct which appeared in this court’s 1976 opinion regarding legal fees. But those criticisms all involved Board conduct before the 1972 desegregation decree. 71 F.R.D. at 51-56. The plaintiffs, indeed, discuss pre-1972 conduct of the Board at great length and seek to tie such conduct to the good-faith compliance issue. Such pre-1972 conduct, however, is not relevant to whether the Board complied with the 1972 decree in good faith. The Supreme Court explicitly instructed this court to “address itself to whether the Board had complied in good faith with the desegregation decree since it was entered____” 111 S.Ct. at 638 (emphasis added). There will, of course, always be a history of discriminatory conduct whenever a desegregation decree has been entered, but such conduct cannot prevent the dissolution of the decree after a reasonable period of compliance has remedied the past violations. Unlike Plaintiffs, the Supreme Court recognized that “the personnel of school boards change over time.” Id. at 637. After a number of complete turnovers of the Board and office of school superintendent, the conduct of the Board twenty years ago and more has no real bearing on the operation of the Oklahoma City schools today. In all the years of litigation of this case, Plaintiffs up until now have never seriously contested the Board’s good-faith compliance and implementation of the 1972 decree, except regarding adoption of the SRP. Indeed, if Plaintiffs had ever truly believed a significant violation of the 1972 decree had occurred, they certainly would have brought it before this court to seek enforcement of the decree, as they did regarding the SRP. But quite to the contrary, Plaintiffs up until now have all but conceded good-faith compliance and implementation of the 1972 decree, apart from the SRP. Moreover, this court in 1985, in reviewing the history of this case, found that: At the time this court totally relinquished its jurisdiction over this case in 1977, the court was convinced that the Finger Plan had been carried out in a constitutionally permissible fashion and that the School District had reached the goal of being a desegregated non-racially operated and unitary school system. Dowell v. Board of Educ., 606 F.Supp. 1548, 1554 (W.D.Okla.1985). The court added that: “The evidence in this case demonstrates that the Oklahoma City School District remains unitary today [in 1985].” Id. at 1555. The court reaffirmed this conclusion in 1987, finding that: The school district’s continued adherence to the fundamental tenets of the Finger Plan at all grade levels through school year 1984-1985 further insured that all vestiges of prior state imposed segregation had been completely removed. 677 F.Supp. at 1522. On appeal, the tenth circuit acknowledged as well that Aside from minor alterations necessitated, for example, by a school’s closing, the Board maintained the District under the Finger Plan’s basic techniques of pairing, clustering and compulsory busing, even after the district court declared the District unitary and terminated the case. Dowell v. Board of Educ., 890 F.2d 1483, 1486 (10th Cir.1989). Indeed, based on the unambiguous history in this case on this issue, the Supreme Court has stated as well: In this case ... the injunctive decree from which the Board seeks relief was entered in 1972, and the Board complied with the decree in good faith until 1985. 111 S.Ct. at 637. In 1987, this court concluded that “there are no indications that de jure segregation will again rear its ugly head in this community.” 677 F.Supp. at 1526. The court reaffirms this finding today. It is amply supported by the uncontradicted testimony of five different school officials, both black and white. Tr. at 531 (Mrs. Betty Jo Hill, president of the Board) (Oklahoma City school district will never return to the dual system); Tr. at 621 (Dr. Betty Mason, black assistant superintendent) (school system could not return to a dual system); Tr. at 696 (Dr. Carolyn Sue Hughes, assistant superintendent) (“I don’t believe the citizens of this city would allow [a return to a segregated school system]”); Tr. at 768 (Dr. Arthur Steller, superintendent) (even if the school board wanted to, the community would not allow it to “go back to anything less than what we would refer to as a unitary school district”); Tr. at 815-16 (Linda Joyce Johnson, black affirmative action planner) (the commitment of the Board and the public will preclude a return to a segregated school system). The court credits and adopts the testimony of Dr. Mason on this point: It is my opinion that this school system could not return to a dual school system. First, we believe that at this point in time we have a school board that is committed to the unitary system. If it were, over a period of time, to change, I believe that there would be such a ground swell in this community that that could never come to be. I believe we have an intelligent, knowledgeable community, and we have an intelligent, knowledgeable work force. I do not believe that it is conceivable that there could be a dual system in Oklahoma City ever again. Tr. at 621. In sum, the court finds that the Oklahoma City School District has continuously complied in good faith with the desegregation decree and is not likely to return to its former segregative system. B. The Vestiges of Prior De Jure School Segregation Had Been Eliminated to the Extent Practicable by 1985, When the SRP Was Adopted. 1. Residential Segregation The court is convinced that Plaintiffs would not be engaged in this proceeding except for the issue of residential segregation. Because of such segregation in Oklahoma City, several elementary schools are predominantly black under the SRP. See infra at 1192-95. Plaintiffs premised their whole case before the Supreme Court on the issue of residential segregation, arguing that the Board must continue busing for racial balance until whites move into and integrate current predominantly black neighborhoods. Brief for Respondents, Board of Educ. v. Dowell, Supreme Court of the United States (No. 89-1080). That essentially remains their position before this court. Such a requirement would likely force busing to continue in Oklahoma City for decades and decades, if not in perpetuity. However, under the Supreme Court’s remand instructions, the legal requirement to continue such busing must end if the Board shows that any residential segregation as a vestige of former de jure school segregation has been eliminated to the extent practicable. On this basis, several courts have lifted desegregation decrees and allowed the adoption of neighborhood schools despite persisting residential segregation resulting in several predominantly black schools. Riddick v. School Bd., 784 F.2d 521 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 938, 107 S.Ct. 420, 93 L.Ed.2d 370 (1986) (Norfolk — in a virtually identical case to the present one, the school system was found unitary after 4 years of busing, and after 8 more years of continued busing the school board was upheld in reestablishing neighborhood schools for elementary students, even though 10 out of 36 elementary schools became 95% or more black as a result); Spangler, 611 F.2d at 1241-42 (Pasadena — busing decree lifted after 9 years); Ross v. Houston Indep. School Dist., 699 F.2d 218 (5th Cir.1983) (Houston — desegregation decree lifted after 12 years). Residential segregation in Oklahoma City was originally enforced by law. Old Oklahoma City ordinances specified the areas in which blacks and whites were to live. Restrictive covenants prohibiting the sale of homes in white areas to blacks were routinely attached by residential developers to their properties and enforced in the state courts. 219 F.Supp. at 433. As a result of these official, de jure, policies, portions of the east inner city area of Oklahoma City were occupied almost exclusively by blacks, and all other sections of the city were occupied almost exclusively by whites. 219 F.Supp. at 433-34. During this time, the Board operated a de jure, dual, segregated school system, with schools for blacks located in black residential sections. Over time, however, these unlawful government barriers to housing integration were removed. In 1935, the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared the Oklahoma City housing segregation ordinances unconstitutional. Allen v. Oklahoma City, 175 Okla. 421, 52 P.2d 1054 (1935). In 1948, the United States Supreme Court struck down racial covenants. Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1, 68 S.Ct. 836, 92 L.Ed. 1161 (1948). This decision was echoed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1951. Correll v. Earley, 205 Okla. 366, 237 P.2d 1017 (1951). In 1954, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Educ., 347 U.S. 483, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954), invalidated Oklahoma’s constitutional and statutory provisions mandating separate schools for the races. See Dowell, 219 F.Supp. at 431-33. In place of the old restrictions, new laws protecting the civil rights of blacks were enacted. In 1963, the Oklahoma Legislature established the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission with authority to deal with racially motivated employment discrimination. Okla.Stat. tit. 74, § 951 (1990). In 1965, the Oklahoma City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting discriminatory practices at any place of public accommodation. (Ordinance 11018 (1965)). In 1968, the Oklahoma legislature passed an Act executing within the state the policies of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Okla.Stat. tit. 25, § 1101 (1990). In 1970, the Oklahoma City Council enacted fair housing ordinances prohibiting discrimination in housing by financial institutions, real estate brokers, or city employees. (Oklahoma City, OK, Code § 21-166.5 (1970)). In 1980, the Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission was established to assist in the enforcement of civil rights ordinances. (Oklahoma City, OK, Ordinance 15702 (1980)). In 1985, the Oklahoma Legislature enacted detailed statutes prohibiting housing discrimination. (Okla. Stat. tit. 25, §§ 1451-53 (1990). The record indisputably shows that as the old government housing barriers were removed, and the new protections put in place, most blacks moved out of the original segregated area, establishing new black neighborhoods across broader areas nearby and ultimately spreading throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. One of the Board’s expert witnesses, Dr. William Clark, documented this development with U.S. census data. Dr. Clark prepared a census tract map of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area for 1960 that clearly showed the original segregation of blacks in the east inner city area. Def. Ex. 2; Tr. at 45. Dr. Clark documented that in that year 1960, 84% of the black population in the entire Oklahoma City metropolitan area in fact resided in 7 census tracts of the east inner city area. Def. Ex. 5D; Tr. at 44-45, 67-68. The 1970 Oklahoma City area census tract map showed that by that year many blacks had moved to the eastern and northeastern parts of the city and out into the eastern suburbs. Def. Ex. 3; Tr. at 53-54. By 1980, the census tract map showed that blacks had moved into the northern, western, and southern parts of the city to varying degrees, with some moving out into the western suburbs. Def. Ex. 4; Tr. at 60-61. By that year, blacks remaining in the originally segregated east inner city tracts constituted only 16.8% of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area black population, down dramatically from the 84% in 1960. Def. Ex. 5D, Tr. at 67-68. The absolute black population in those tracts declined by 57% from 1960 to 1980, indicating the movement of blacks out of these tracts to the other locations throughout the Oklahoma City area discussed above. These tracts remained overwhelmingly black, however, as few if any whites had moved into them. The record does not include census data after 1980, but it cannot be disputed that the overall, long-standing trend of black integration throughout the Oklahoma City area has proceeded even further since that time. This black mobility and increased residential integration is documented by other evidence as well. The school district’s research department conducted a study of black families with kindergarten children residing in 1974-75 in the east inner city area, who had relocated by 1977-1978. Def. Exs. 7, 28; Tr. at 54-60. The results showed 209 families, or about one half of all relocating families, moving out of the east inner city area and out of the school district. These 209 families moved either to the Oklahoma City suburbs, to other school districts within the Oklahoma City boundaries, or out of the Oklahoma City area altogether. Another 70 families, or about one-sixth of all relocating families, moved out of the east inner city area to mostly white areas in the northern, western, and southern parts of the city and farther east. Another 148 families, or about one-third of all relocating families, moved but stayed within the east inner city area. A later similar study for the Board focused on black families with kindergarten, first grade, or second grade children residing in 1982-1983 in the east inner city area, who had relocated by 1984-1985. Def. Ex. 8; Tr. at 73-77. These results showed 324 families, or 40% of all relocating families, moving out of the east inner city to the suburbs, other school districts within the Oklahoma City boundaries, or out of the Oklahoma City area altogether. Another 180 families, or 22% of all relocating families, moved out of the east inner city area to mostly white areas in the northern, western, and southern parts of the city, and farther east. Another 305 families, or 38% of all relocating families, moved but stayed within the east inner city area. Another Board expert witness, Dr. Finis Welch, produced additional data showing that in 1972, in 39 out of 88 elementary school attendance zones in the Oklahoma City school district, less than 1% of the students in grades 1-12 living in those zones were black, with no black students at all living in 13 zones. Def. Exs. 11-12; Tr. at 132-40. But by 1986, black students lived in every attendance zone, with no zone less than 2% black. Def. Ex» 11, 12; Tr. at 140-41. Of the 39 attendanee zones with less than 1% black students in 1972, 13 were now more than 10% black, and 28 were now more than 5% black. Def. Ex. 11. A statistical extrapolation of this trend in black student residence concluded that by 1995, the lowest percentage of black students residing in any attendance zone would be 16.2%. Def. Exs. 11, 14; Tr. at 141-42. Maps of the Oklahoma City school attendance zones for 1972,1986, and the 1995 extrapolation illustrate significant numbers of black student residents spreading throughout the school district. Def. Exs. 12, 13, 14. The same trends are reflected in dissimilarity and exposure indices measuring the degree of residential segregation among students in the Oklahoma City school district attendance zones. In 1972, the residential dissimilarity index for students residing in the Oklahoma City school district was 0.869, reflecting a high degree of residential segregation. Def. Ex. 40; Tr. at 172. By 1986, this dissimilarity index had fallen to 0.64. Tr. at 172. A statistical extrapolation of this trend projected that by 1992, the dissimilarity index would fall to 0.478, a reduction of almost one half since 1972, and more than halfway towards maximum integration. Def. Ex. 40; Tr. at 173-74. The exposure index for the Oklahoma City school district approximately doubled from 1972 to 1986, from 0.149 to 0.29, meaning the exposure of black students to nonblack students residing in the same attendance zone approximately doubled during this time. Def. Ex. 40; Tr. at 173. The maximum achievable exposure index in Oklahoma City in 1986 was approximately 0.6, the proportion of nonblack students district-wide. The actual exposure index of 0.29 in 1986 was about half this maximum, meaning that about half maximum integration had been achieved. Def. Ex. 40; Tr. at 173. A statistical extrapolation of the exposure index trend projected that by 1992, the index would climb to 0.381, compared to a maximum at that time of 0.55. Def. Ex. 40; Tr. at 174. Other data showed many blacks had moved to the suburbs outside the Oklahoma City school district altogether. Between 1970 and 1980, blacks living outside the school district boundaries but within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area increased by 140%. Def. Ex. 24; Tr. at 160-162. These suburban blacks constituted about 27% of the black population for the entire Oklahoma city metropolitan area in 1980, Def. Ex. 24, far more than the 16.8% of the total metropolitan area black population residing in the originally segregated east inner city area in 1980, as noted above. While Plaintiffs attempted to counter this evidence with their expert witness Yale Rabin, his evidence just further illustrated the same trends documented by the Board’s evidence. Mr. Rabin produced a census tract map of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area for 1960 that showed the black population by block. Pl.Ex. 58. That map showed the same original segregation of blacks in the east inner city area as Dr. Clark’s census tract map for 1960. Def. Ex. 2. Mr. Rabin in fact admitted that at that time “almost all of the black population was confined” to six of the seven census tracts that Dr. Clark identified as holding 84% of the black population at the time. Tr. at 1123. Rabin’s analogous census tract maps for 1970 and 1980 also again showed the black population spreading from the original segregated area to new black neighborhoods over broader areas nearby and elsewhere throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, as did Clark’s census tract maps for 1970 and 1980 (Def. Exs. 3 and 4) and other evidence discussed above. Rabin's maps did not document the spread of the black population through the Oklahoma City area as well as Clark’s maps did because, unlike Clark’s maps, Rabin’s did not distinguish between areas with 1-10 percent black population and areas with zero or virtually zero black population. PI. Exs. 58, 60, 62; Tr. at 1138-40. Clark’s map for 1980 showed that by that time most census tracts in the Oklahoma City area had at least 1-10 percent black population, while his map for 1960 showed that relatively few did. Def. Exs. 4, 2. Rabin’s direct presentation also excluded data showing that the black population in the originally segregated east inner city tracts had declined sharply, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total black population in the Oklahoma City area. On cross-examination, he admitted the accuracy of this data, even suggesting that the percentage of the total black population in the original segregated area had declined from 70.3% in 1960 to 10.9% in 1980, a steeper drop than Clark had reported. Tr. at 1152-53, 1157-58. Mr. Rabin took great pains to show that the area of black residential concentration had changed substantially in Oklahoma City over the years. Rabin noted that in 1950 one tract in the east inner city area was 75% or more black and included 24% of all blacks in the Oklahoma City area, Tr. at 1129-30, though he conceded on cross-examination that the 7 tracts in the east inner city area that Clark had focused on held 83.8% of the total black population in 1950, Tr. at 1157-58. By 1960, 6 census tracts in the east inner city area were 75% or more black and held 69.5% of the total black population. Tr. at 1130-31. By 1980, 16 census tracts in Oklahoma City were 75% or more black and held 60.8% of the total black population. Id. But this evidence further confirms the same trend shown by the Board’s evidence: that blacks have substantially spread out from the original segregated area to new black neighborhoods over much broader areas nearby, as well as to other areas of Oklahoma City. The exact same spread of blacks to new neighborhoods emphasized by Mr. Rabin can be seen on Dr. Clark’s maps. Def. Exs. 1-4. Rabin seemed concerned that Dr. Clark had suggested that only 16.8% of blacks in the Oklahoma City area lived in concentrated black residential areas in 1980, and offered his evidence on change in such concentrated areas to rebut that. Tr. at 1132. But Dr. Clark had made a different point — that only 16.8% of blacks in the Oklahoma City area in 1980 lived in the originally segregated east inner city area. The above evidence overall shows high black mobility and major increases in residential integration since 1960; nevertheless, significant residential segregation remains in Oklahoma City, with some neighborhoods primarily black and others primarily white. Def. Exs. 4, 13, 40; PI. Exs. 58, 60, 62. Dr. Clark further testified for the Board on the causes of residential segregation today. In 1985, the United States Commission on Civil Rights commissioned Dr. Clark to conduct a study on this topic, which Dr. Clark completed and published in 1986. Clark, Residential Segregation in American Cities: A Review and Interpretation, 5 Population Research and Policy Review 95-127 (1986). Def. Ex. 10; Tr. at 82. Dr. Clark’s study showed that today the factors causing residential segregation are: (1) economics and housing affordability; (2) personal preferences and social relationships; (3) urban structure; and (4) private discrimination. Def. Ex. 10; Tr. at 84. Dr. Clark found on the basis of the range of published research that economic factors account for 30%-70% of racial separation in America today. Def. Ex. 10, at 1, 103-08; Tr. at 84. These economic factors include income, household wealth or assets, housing affordability, and job location. Regarding personal preferences, the research shows that black households prefer neighborhoods which are 50% black and 50% white, while white families prefer neighborhoods ranging from 0-20% black. Def. Ex. 10, at 1, 109-10; Tr. at 85. Moreover, among all races, people of higher economic status strongly prefer to avoid residential integration with people of lower economic status. Def. Ex. 10, at 107. This strong preference will consequently cause persistent residential segregation between whites and blacks to the extent blacks have persistently lower income and wealth than whites. Id. Regarding urban structure, research shows that many blacks rely heavily on extended family relationships, churches, and neighborhood social institutions in their day-to-day lives, and therefore choose to reside and remain in predominantly black neighborhoods where these social supports continue to be available to them. Def. Ex. 40, at 112, 116-18. People of all races also tend to move near to where they currently live, as they have more information about available housing nearby. Def. Ex. 40, at 116-17; Tr. at 87-88. Consequently, black residential patterns tend to spread out f