http://wsjclassroom.com/teen/teencenter/05nov_whiteflight.htm

Silicon Valley is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the country. Every year, thousands immigrate to Silicon Valley from countries such as India, China, and Korea. One of the most ethnically integrated cities in Silicon Valley is the city of Cupertino. Just 10 years ago, the Caucasian residents made up 50% of the population, making Cupertino one of the most highly ethnically diverse cities in the U.S. However, Cupertino has gradually seen an increase in the minority population and a decrease in white population. Currently, whites barely make up one third of Cupertino’s total population. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the change in demography is partly due to Caucasian parents moving out of the town because of their apprehension towards sending their children to a high school where whites are minorities. According to one of the parents interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the Asian students made high school environment too competitive for their children.
The decrease in the white population in Cupertino is an ideal example of Schelling’s Neighborhood Segregation Model. Schelling assumes that a neighborhood has an equal proportion of X’s and O’s with everyone being satisfied with the neighborhood’s equal demographic makeup. Also, it is assumed that everyone wants a certain percentage of the neighbors to be of their type. For this example, lets assume 40%. When a X replaces an O, the proportion of O’s in the proximity will decrease and once the threshold of 40% has passed, all the O’s will start moving out to a new neighborhood where they are not the minorities. Schelling explains that the initially symmetrical outcome is unstable and has a high possibility of shifting to a stable, asymmetrical outcome.
The Schelling Neighborhood Model partially explains the sudden change in the demography of Cupertino in just a span of 10 years. Cupertino was in an unstable balance of 50% Caucasian and 50% Asian. However, once more Asians started moving into Cupertino for the high-quality education, the white population was uncomfortable with being the minority. Once the neighborhoods of Cupertino became more Asian dominant, more and more of White residents left Cupertino for a white-dominant neighborhood. Currently, the Caucasian population is less than a third and still decreasing in Cupertino.