Urbanization and Immigration

urbanization

growth in the proportion of a nation’s pop-ulation that lives in cities, spread from Britain to the rest of Europe, then to the United States, then to much of the rest of the world

megacities

>10 mill ppl

35

megaregions

formed by cities that are near one another are con-nected by transportation lines and economic activity

chains of densely populated areas that extend over long stretches of land

40

globalization

products, ser-vices, and information to move quickly across national and continental boundaries

global city

major urban areas that serve as the nodes for the worldwide network of economic activity

city

a large, dense, and permanent settlement of heterogeneous individuals

Simmel, Tonnies, Wirth

cities have eroded community life

Fischer

cities generate new sub cultures

Wellman

‘communities’ are more than just those we’re close to, it’s schools, people online, etc

Great Migration

1900-1970

Americans left south to go north

Oral History

tracking down people who were a part of the great migration and talking to them about their lives

methodology

Push Factors

forces that force someone to leave a neighborhood, city, home country

injustice in the south, blocked opportunities

Pull Factor

forces that draw people to a new destination

jobs, northern cities w flourishing black culture

restriction covenants

contracts that prohibited homeowners in white neighborhoods from selling/ renting to black people

example of promise land of north not living up to expectations

human ecology

Burgess’ theory

city filters groups of people into the environment that provide the best ‘fit’

migrants to Chicago slums to working class sections then farther out providing separation

ethnic enclave

section of a city where a single ethnic group dominates local culture, offering smooth transition in country

Immigraton and Nationality Act of 1965

employment and family reunification instead of discrimination

Neoclassical economic theorists

focus on supply and demand dynamics

argue that people pushed out bc low wages and pulled bc high

migrate if benefits outweigh the costs

rational choice theory

decision to migrate is made by individuals acting in self interest

world systems theory

expansion of capital nations into other countries disrupt social, political, economic systems in those places

capitalist exploitation push ppl to move

raising the cost associated with unauthorized migration

militarizing border, record numbers of deportations

not lowered immigration, only pushed people towards more dangerous routes

harsh immigration enforcement is a form of

legal violence

global neighborhoods

contain at least 3 racial/ ethnic groups

immigration integraton

process by which immigrants and their descendants integrate into American life

paths immigrants can take

assimilation, ethnic enclave, integrate into racially/ ethnically distinct middle class, or downwards mobility bc discrimination

first gen

immigrants

second gen

children of immigrants

growth machine

local gov officials, real estate developers, private business interests, leaders of cultural intentions work together to grow city populations

gentrification

a shift in a community that brings in new residents who are wealthier/ more educated

concentrated poverty

neighborhoods with extreme high levels of poverty

after discrimination in housing market became illegal, middle class aa moved out, leaving only impoverished aa

economic segregation

the degree to which the poor live apart from the rich

residential segregation

degree to which different groups, typically classed by race/ ethnicity/ social class live apart from each other in separate communities

fair housing act 1968

racial discrimination in housing/ lending markets illegal

white flight

after fair housing act white Americans left central city neighborhoods bc they and schools wouldn’t be segregated

redlining

taking a map of a city and outlining in red the sections that were considered high risk then rejecting loan applications from ppl in those areas

largely black or mixed raced areas weren’t eligible for fed loans

only white families could afford to move to suburbs

suburban sprawl

boundaries of suburbs expanding