The word "segregation" is used while describing the contentious changes of the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, and the America of the past.[1] It is also a word that is now gone from the American social and political landscape. In actuality, however, the word segregation continues to characterize the present lives of many minorities in America.[2] Segregation is the link to understanding the perpetuation of urban poverty in America and is attributable to the present lack of affordable housing in safe and economically prosperous suburban communities.[3] The existence of isolated and racially segregated housing has preserved racial mistrust, furthering ignorant stereotypes that inhibit our society from attaining true racial equality. As Thomas Petigrew stated: "Residential segregation has proven to be the most resistant to change of all realms - perhaps because it is so critical to racial change in general."