NYC cuts across race, class, and country of origin in its diversity -- in a way SF doesn't. The neighborhoods are also much more integrated largely because of

NYC cuts across race, class, and country of origin in its diversity -- in a way SF doesn't. The neighborhoods are also much more integrated largely because of the density of the city. For example, it's not uncommon to find public housing units embedded between luxury condos. The kids of both communities attend the same local school (usually up until high school), a few blocks away. That means, integrated social gathering and hang out. You can see this at local parks where everyone gets together to play sports. This impacts how you grow up and experience/understand/become sensitive to race and class differences. The introduction to this article really captures this well: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/nyregion/05jackson.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/nyregion/05jackson.html