Geography of immigrant clusters in global cities: a case study of San Francisco

Abstract

Cities throughout the world – particularly global cities – are becoming increasingly heterogeneous as a result of international migration movements. During the past three decades, the influx of immigrants into metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco has increased demand for housing, exacerbating the already tight housing markets in these cities. This article focuses on the spatial distribution and housing conditions of immigrants in San Francisco using primarily the 2000 US census data on population and housing down to the census tract level. Building on past research on ethnic enclaves and communities, this article applies spatial analysis methods to identify clusters where Chinese, Filipino and Mexican households – the largest foreign‐born groups in San Francisco – live. The article argues that different immigrant groups show distinct spatial clustering patterns and that there are significant variations in housing outcomes for immigrants within and outside of ethnic clusters. These differences are largely in the direction predicted by the spatial assimilation theory. However, findings such as the high incidence of homeownership within Chinese and Filipino clusters suggest that contemporary immigrants do not necessarily view ethnic clusters as transitory. These findings help to confirm other recent studies showing that immigrants are now spatially clustered in ways that may no longer fit theoretical models derived from the settlement patterns of late nineteenth‐century immigrants. The article contributes to literature concerned with ethnic clusters in US inner cities and the housing conditions of immigrants in global cities. A travers le monde, les villes, surtout les villes planétaires, sont de plus en plus hétérogènes à cause des mouvements migratoires internationaux. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, l'afflux de migrants vers les zones métropolitaines comme New York, Los Angeles et San Francisco a accru la demande de logements, resserrant les marchés déjàétroits dans ces grandes villes. L'article s'attache à la répartition spatiale et aux conditions de logement des immigrants à San Francisco à partir, essentiellement, de données provenant du recensement américain 2000 sur la population et l'habitat par régions sociales. S'inspirant de recherches antérieures sur les communautés et enclaves ethniques, l'étude applique les méthodes d'analyse spatiale pour identifier les regroupements de foyers chinois, philippins et mexicains (groupes d'étrangers les plus nombreux à San Francisco). Les différents groupes d'immigrants présentent des modèles d'agrégation spatiale distincts et leur logement varie considérablement selon que les populations se trouvent dans ou hors des regroupements ethniques. Ces divergences traduisent largement l'orientation prévue par la théorie de l'assimilation spatiale. Toutefois, des résultats tels que le poids de l'accession à la propriété dans les groupes chinois et philippins suggèrent que les immigrants actuels ne jugent pas forcément ces regroupements ethniqu...

Ethnic Residential Concentrations in United States Metropolitan Areas

“…Depending on the group and precisely how residential concentrations are defined, between about 25 percent and 6o percent of most group members in greater Los Angeles lived within these as of 2000 (Allen and Turner 2002). In San Francisco, contemporary residential concentrations for Mexican, Chinese, and Filipino immigrants were clearly present in 2000 (Pamuk 2004). …”

Rethinking the Growth Machine: How to Erase a Chinatown from the Urban Core

“…As noted earlier, Houston's urban revival can also be viewed within the context of gentrification-capital reinvestment and displacement "on which fortunes are made" through the cleansing of traditional communities (Smith, 1986, p. 34; see also Clark, 1995;Filion, 1991;Hackworth and Smith, 2001;Hedin et al, 2012;Smith, 1979;Wyly and Hammel, 1999;2001;2004). Numerous studies have already explored gentrification processes in Houston's urban renaissance (Vojnovic, 2003a(Vojnovic, , 2003bPodagrosi and Vojnovic, 2008).…”

“…Saiz (2003Saiz ( , 2007 asserted that potentially the biggest impact of immigration on cities is their effect on housing, as immigrants contribute to higher prices and rents. Pamuk (2004) presented evidence that during the past three decades, immigrants became the main demographic driver of housing demand in major American cities. Literature has also focused on the impact of ethnically owned financial institutions in facilitating development in ethnic neighborhoods.…”

Ethnic Residential Concentrations with Above-Average Incomes

“…However, most commonly they have been measured in terms of census tracts with a relatively high ethnic-group percentage, either as a value applied consistently to the various groups or as a variable percentage or location quotient based on the group's percentage in the city or metropolitan area as a whole (Hum and Zonta, 2000;Logan et al, 2002;Poulsen et al, 2002;Pamuk, 2004). Several scholars have defined ethnic concentrations as those census tracts in which the group's proportion was five times that in the metropolitan area as a whole (Logan et al, 2002;Parks, 2004;Allen and Turner, 2005).…”

“…These also illustrate the pattern of large Latino concentrations containing neighborhoods that differ greatly in their income levels, although we suspect that outsiders automatically stereotype these ethnic concentrations as exhibiting low income levels. San Francisco's largest and best-known Latino concentration is the low-income Mission District, home to Mexicans and Central Americans (Godfrey, 2004;Pamuk, 2004; Fig. 7).…”