Residential differentiation and communities in the city

Overview:-

1. Examine the main methods of identifying residential areas within the city 2. Examine the socio spatial outcomes of residential congregation 3. Typology of Ethnic areas 4. Ethnic Areas in the US City 5. Ethnic Areas in the British City

The Identification of Residential Areas

Statistical Description:- Charles Booth first tried this technique - Employed social surveys and mapping techniques - Attempted to provide a detailed account of social conditions of London - Booth's work was largely ignored by contemporary social researchers but provided an exemplar for subsequent studies.

The Identification of Residential Areas

Natural Areas:-

- This concept was conceived by Chicago ecologists

- According to them, areas would evolve based on their homogeneous social or ethnic character. Eg. Slums and ghettos - Similar households would give rise to segregation in residential areas. - One major criticism was that the identification of social areas was not related to broader socio economic and cultural changes.

The Gold Coast and the Slum in Chicago, 1929

The Identification of Residential Areas

Social Areas:-

- Shevky & Bell regarded the city as a product of the complex whole of modern society
- Societal change depended on social rank, urbanization and segregation due to ethnic status - Social rank measured by occupation and education - Urbanization measured by number of women in labor force, household composition and dwelling type. - Segregation measured by percentage of ethnic group

The Identification of Residential Areas

Social Areas:-

- These individual indices were finally standardized to run from 0 to 100.

- The economic status and family status were given a fourfold division to produce 16 different social area types. - In addition, each category was further designated according to the composite segregation level above or below the city mean for minority groups. - In this way, 32 social areas were identified.

The Identification of Residential Areas

Factorial Ecology:-

- Factorial ecology uses a larger set of variables than used in the social area analysis method
- Another difference is that factorial ecology obtains its constructs from a data set unlike social area analysis. - However it uses the same three characteristics of Social rank, Urbanization and Segregation.

Factorial Ecology of Metropolitan Toronto, 1969

Sense of Place
Social area analysis and factorial ecology do not address explicitly the qualitative aspects of urban community. - Certain places are regarded as distinctive or memorable through their unique physical characteristics or imageability. Eg. St. Peter's Square in Rome; The Louvre, Paris - Individuals tend to form attachments to places through memory and experience. Eg. Home towns

Sense of Place
Urban geographers seeking to tap into these meanings of place have employed a range of approaches. - Literary sources: Novelists incorporate perceptive descriptions of places in their work, providing a qualitative insight into local neighborhoods. Only problem is that often there is selective representation. - Cognitive mapping: Attention is focused on the perception of places.

The Urban Community

Community is one of those terms, the meaning of which everyone knows, but few can define. Most however, agree on three points: - Community involves involves groups who reside in a geographically distinct area - It refers to the quality if relationships within the group , bound together by common culture, values, race or social class. - A group of people engaged in social interaction, such as neighboring.

The Bases of Residential Segregation

- Socio economic status

- Family status or lifestyle

- Membership of minority groups

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Socio economic status: Whereas social constructs like the caste system in India determined social position in traditional society, in the west social status depended on economic power reflected in the nature of employment.

Slums: Least desirable areas in the city, so attract the poor who are unable to pay higher rents.
Status areas: Huge contrasts seen between areas in the same city. Gated communities are planned and marketed to spatially segregate environments. The cost virtually guarantees social exclusivity.

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Family status and lifestyle: In society, people may choose from among the following lifestyles: Familism: This refers to a traditional home where child-rearing is the dominant feature.

Careerism: People are mainly oriented towards achieving goals in the workplace.

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic segregation: Minority clusters act as safe havens particularly for recent migrants, offering a place of initiation and familiarization where traditional values, customs and perhaps even language are retained.

Well established ethnic enclaves form an important link in chain migration where earlier migrants maintain flows of information and aid to later arrivals.

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic areas in the US City: The growth of ethnic residential waves in the urban US has been fueled by 3 waves of immigration: - The first bulk of immigrants came from Western Europe. In 1790 the English made up of 60 per cent of the population. Other groups included Scots, Irish, Germans, the Dutch and the French.. Boston and New york were favored centers for the Irish, Germans favored Milwaukee and the Swedish favored Chicago.

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic areas in the US City:

- Between 1860 and 1924, the second wave comprised immigrants coming largely from southern and eastern Europe. Italian, Polish and Jewish families made up a large proportion of this inflow.
Religious differences with the dominant Protestantism contributed to discrimination and their segregation into high density tenement areas.

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic areas in the US City:

The third immigration wave commenced after the the Second World War.
The main sources of immigrants shifted from Europe to Mexico, Central and South America, The Caribbean basin and Asia. The migration stream was no longer directed to cities in the north east but across the nation. By 1990, 63% of Miami was of Hispanic origin mostly from Cuba and Nicaragua, while the 40% Hispanic population of L.A was primarily Mexican in origin

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic areas in the British City:

Minority ethnic groups comprised 5.5% of the British population in 1991 and 7.9 in 2001.
Nearly half the ethnic population is from South Asia, with Indians comprising the largest single group. 4 major migration waves can be traced in the post war era. - West Indians arrived in 1950's - Indians from late 1950's to 1970's - Pakistanis from late 1960's to 1970's - Bangladeshis in the 1970's

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic areas in the British City:

To this we may add a fifth flow of A8 migration since the accession of the 8 former Soviet states to the EU in 2004, with the largest inflow being from Poland. The spatial impact of these migration waves was influenced strongly by the distribution of available jobs

The Bases of Residential Segregation

Ethnic areas in the British City:

Of note is the fact that minority ethnic groups are overrepresented in declining industrial centers such as Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield, affluent commuter towns around London and central London.
The greatest concentration is found in inner London, but unlike the USA, there are no British towns or cities in which ethnic minorities constitute a majority population.

Conclusion

- Pacione gives an in depth analysis of the topic.

- However coming from an architectural background, I think it would have been interesting to see the change in local architectural character due to residential segregation.