Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Ethnicity and race
There is a long tradition of the study of ethnic segregation in
human geography. It has mainly followed the path of developing
techniques such as location quotients and indices of dissimilarity
to measure the extent of ethnic residential segregation in cities,
with a fl urry of analyses after each national census. Such studies
have always had their explanatory dimensions that sought to
balance and understand the varying infl uences of constraints, on
the one hand, and choice, on the other. Why some ethnic groups
strive to remain segregated is an interesting question. The answer,
for the New York Chinese communities at least, seems to lie in
their wish to maintain the language and customs of their original
areas of residence.
Segregation studies have been linked to processes of migration
and to the growing concentrations of poverty within urban
areas; poverty areas tend to be linked with recent migrants and
to certain ethnic groups. The word 'process' is important in
this fi eld of study, as change is a feature, and the designation
of the 'truly disadvantaged', or the residual groups unable
to improve their quality of life and left behind in the least
desirable neighbourhoods, captures something of this urban
dynamic.
One outcome of the new focus on meanings is greater awareness
that trends of segregation were being studied primarily from the
viewpoint of the dominant white charter group. Today, another
question is asked: What is the perception from within the ghetto
or the emerging ethnic cluster? Terms such as 'social exclusion'
have gained prominence and are applied across many minority
groups. Thus, it can be argued that diverse ways of being in the
world should be seen as legitimate and that 'out-groups' should
not be stigmatized or excluded from the mainstream. There
is an interest in the concept of diaspora, or the dispersion of
specifi c groups, and the role of the host city as a site of memories,
emotions, and sense of belonging.
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