I was bussed in the 4th and 5th grades, mandated by the courts. Many of the other kids in my neighborhood had parents active in the school PTA, and their kids did not get bussed. They opened a special "adjunct" for "advanced" students and got their kids into that program. Coincidence? Not at all. It was cronyism at it's finest. But my mom was too busy working to raise 2 kids to get involved in the PTA. It didn't hurt me to get bussed, but it was a waste of the school districts money and time (2 hours a day on a bus). In high school, we had 1000 kids bussed into my school from less afluent neighborhoods. All I know is that it wasn't the "locals" who put gang graffitti on the walls, shot at someone on campus, or won our district football championship and state sprinting and relay championships.
You're right on the mark. Segregation was bound to fail from the start. DEsegrating neighborhoods, which is done by those with like backgrounds, i.e., education, interests, careers, income levels, living next door to each other is what works. It always amazed me that people couldn't understand that. People with like interests living side by side, working for the same goals, is color blindness. Not forced segregation. That's devisive and does nothing more than put neon signs over differences.