UNDATED (WSAU) The Milwaukee area is still one of the most racially-segregated in the nation. That’s according to new Census data analyzed by the Brookings Institution. It found that Milwaukee, Detroit, and New York have the country’s biggest instances of blacks-and-whites living apart from each other. The Census data showed that Milwaukee had a slight drop in segregation from 2005-through-’09, compared to the 2000 Census numbers.

Other places became even more integrated, especially in the southern and western U-S. Brookings’ researcher William Frey said it’s still common for northern cities to have a lot of segregation – especially where blacks moved to escape racial discrimination elsewhere.

U-W Milwaukee analysts Lois Quinn and John Pawasarat called the Brookings study faulty. It compared the percentage of blacks and other minorities living in various Census tracts. But Quinn said the report listed a black neighborhood as segregated even though up to 40-percent of whites live there – and she called that conclusion racist.

The Brookings report also said Milwaukee was among the 10 most segregated areas for Hispanics. But Pat Curley, the mayor’s chief-of-staff, said the report reaffirmed that Milwaukee is the most diverse city in Wisconsin. And Curley said quote, “We’re proud of that.”