This dissertation distinguishes between two types of racial residential integration: 1) technical integration, in which residents of different racial groups live in close proximity within a neighborhood (this is the typical conceptualization of integration used by sociologists), and 2) social integration, in which residents of different racial groups interact and form meaningful social ties with one another (this is typically understood by sociologists as social capital or social networks). To investigate this question, I analyze data from a year of ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews with 30 neighborhood residents, workers, and business owners residing in a racially diverse neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin called Riverwest. Paper one finds that, despite the racial diversity present within many neighborhood spaces, spatial and temporal micro-segregation significantly limits cross-racial social interactions. The paper also demonstrates how residents’ regular traversing of racial-spatial boundaries in the neighborhood can actually reify social distance between people from different racial groups. Paper two examines the different reasons for valuing diversity among Riverwest residents. Specifically, I found that white residents valued diversity as a symbolic good, while black neighbors valued diversity for more practical safety and tolerance concerns. Paper three shows that neighborhood residents perceive threats to both the value of the neighborhood and their own physical safety as a direct result of technical racial integration. The paper also reveals that residents view social integration as a natural process without any need for personal intervention. Taken together, these findings show that neighborhood racial diversity, even at the scale of a discrete space like a bar or community meeting is insufficient for fostering cross-racial interaction. Additionally, the broader context of structural inequality contributes to racial differences in seeking diverse neighborhoods. Finally, these findings imply that residents’ perspectives and understandings of racial integration dis-incentivize action towards the achievement of social racial integration in the neighborhood.