Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010
Although spatial assimilation has often been defined as the process whereby a group attains residential propinquity with majority members of a host society, we argue that for certain immigrant groups, substantial suburbanization does not necessarily lead to racial integration. Our analysis using dat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Urban Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/7/4/110 |
| _version_ | 1797379240349401088 |
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| author | Yang Sao Xiong Mark E. Pfeifer |
| author_facet | Yang Sao Xiong Mark E. Pfeifer |
| author_sort | Yang Sao Xiong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although spatial assimilation has often been defined as the process whereby a group attains residential propinquity with majority members of a host society, we argue that for certain immigrant groups, substantial suburbanization does not necessarily lead to racial integration. Our analysis using data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that between 1990 and 2010, Southeast Asian former refugees in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area experienced substantial suburbanization, which is expected given their improved socioeconomic status. However, Southeast Asians’ suburbanization has not led to residential propinquity with non-Hispanic Whites. Despite a small decline in Southeast Asians’ overall segregation at the metropolitan area level during the previous two decades, their segregation levels, as measured by the dissimilarity index, remained unchanged or increased in the central city and the suburbs. Furthermore, our findings reveal different ethnic concentration and segregation patterns among four Southeast Asian subgroups, complicating the meaning of ‘suburbanization’ as simply a process in which people move from the inner city to its less urban outskirts. The finding that substantial suburbanization coexists with high levels of segregation and ethnic concentration raises questions about the assumptions of both the spatial assimilation and place stratification models of immigrant residential processes and outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:18:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9766e3b76ce849e8ba0f3437048fa050 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2413-8851 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:18:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Urban Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-9766e3b76ce849e8ba0f3437048fa0502023-12-22T14:46:43ZengMDPI AGUrban Science2413-88512023-10-017411010.3390/urbansci7040110Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010Yang Sao Xiong0Mark E. Pfeifer1Department of Anthropology, California State University, Fresno, CA 93701, USASchool of Social and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY 13502, USAAlthough spatial assimilation has often been defined as the process whereby a group attains residential propinquity with majority members of a host society, we argue that for certain immigrant groups, substantial suburbanization does not necessarily lead to racial integration. Our analysis using data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that between 1990 and 2010, Southeast Asian former refugees in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area experienced substantial suburbanization, which is expected given their improved socioeconomic status. However, Southeast Asians’ suburbanization has not led to residential propinquity with non-Hispanic Whites. Despite a small decline in Southeast Asians’ overall segregation at the metropolitan area level during the previous two decades, their segregation levels, as measured by the dissimilarity index, remained unchanged or increased in the central city and the suburbs. Furthermore, our findings reveal different ethnic concentration and segregation patterns among four Southeast Asian subgroups, complicating the meaning of ‘suburbanization’ as simply a process in which people move from the inner city to its less urban outskirts. The finding that substantial suburbanization coexists with high levels of segregation and ethnic concentration raises questions about the assumptions of both the spatial assimilation and place stratification models of immigrant residential processes and outcomes.https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/7/4/110immigrant spatial assimilationplace stratificationsuburbanizationracial segregationSoutheast Asian former refugees |
| spellingShingle | Yang Sao Xiong Mark E. Pfeifer Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010 Urban Science immigrant spatial assimilation place stratification suburbanization racial segregation Southeast Asian former refugees |
| title | Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010 |
| title_full | Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010 |
| title_fullStr | Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010 |
| title_short | Complicating ‘Suburbanization’ and Spatial Assimilation: The Complex Residential Patterns of Southeast Asian Americans in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area from 1990 to 2010 |
| title_sort | complicating suburbanization and spatial assimilation the complex residential patterns of southeast asian americans in the minneapolis st paul metropolitan area from 1990 to 2010 |
| topic | immigrant spatial assimilation place stratification suburbanization racial segregation Southeast Asian former refugees |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/7/4/110 |
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