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Ethnoburb


An ethnoburb is a suburban residential and business area with a notable cluster of a particular ethnic minority population. Although the group may not constitute the majority within the region, it does compose a significant amount of the population. This can greatly influence the social geography within the area because of cultural and religious traditional values exhibited. Ethnoburbs allow for ethnic minority groups to maintain their individual identity, though this may also restrict their ability to fully assimilate into mainstream culture and society.

According to Dr. Wei Li, author of many writings on the subject, the ethnoburb has resulted from "the influence of international geopolitical and global economic restructuring, changing national immigration and trade policies, and local demographic, economic and political contexts."

Although many assume that an ethnoburb is composed of immigrants with a lower economic standing, this may not always be the case as many ethnoburbs are made up of wealthy and high economic status individuals in more expensive neighbourhoods and communities. For this reason, there is not always a "one size fits all" definition of what can be expected when examining an ethnoburb. Through comparing different locations of ethnoburbs various degrees of social characteristics, including economic standings and cultural assimilation, can be observed.

The term was first coined in 1997 by Dr. Wei Li, then assistant professor of geography and Asian American studies at the University of Connecticut, in a paper examining the suburban Chinese population in Los Angeles, California. She further examines and delineates the difference between "Chinatowns" and "ethnoburbs" in "Ethnoburb versus Chinatown: Two Types of Urban Ethnic Communities in Los Angeles".

Ethnoburbs emerge for a variety of reasons, in combination or as separate entities. These include significant changes in world politics and economy, policy changes in the United States' national policies, and demographic shifts in individual or in local connecting neighborhoods. These communities have substantial external connections to the globalised mainstream economy, leading to higher socioeconomic levels in its residents. An ethnoburb functions as a social hub and a place where immigrants may work and do business within their own networks. This definition of an ethnoburb closely resembles that of the ethnic enclave as defined and studied by sociologists Wilson and Portes. Though the terms are different, the types and functions of these hubs are nearly identical. The formation of ethnoburbs also have an effect on the cultural and political characteristics of a city. In cities like San Francisco, Vancouver, and Toronto; also the New York City-Philadelphia and Washington, DC areas; and in the San Gabriel Valley in California, for example, Chinese immigrants have built large houses and malls catering to Chinese businesses, changing the landscape of these and a significant number of smaller communities throughout Canada and the U.S.


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