Parallel lives in the Canadian metropolis

1
Parallel lives in the Canadian metropolis?

• Daniel Hiebert
• Guest professor, Malmö University, 2009-2010
• University of British Columbia

2
Parallel lives

• My interest ethnic enclaves in cities
• Seen as the physical manifestation of parallel
  lives
• General view people who reside in different
  neighbourhoods do not interact
• Residential segregation represents social silos
  that reduce the scope for social interaction and
  cohesion and could even facilitate hatred

3
Assumptions

• Enclaves arise through social sorting, with
  members of minority groups choosing to live in
  proximity
• Enclaves are bounded communities with
  distinctive cultures that are different from
  mainstream society (and often in opposition to
  it) i.e. parallel societies
• There are differences between residents of
  enclaves vs those living in other parts of the
  city

4
Consequences

• Two possibilities
• Enclaves are weigh stations on the road to
  integration (or assimilation)
• The trajectory of individuals is upward and
  outward
• Residents are temporarily distinct
• Enclaves are cul de sacs, with residents trapped
  in multi-generational, marginalized lives
• E.g. popular discourse around the banlieue of
  Paris the USA idea of segmented assimilation
• Residents are permanently distinct

5
Evaluating this interpretation

• Conceptually Why do enclaves emerge?
• Empirically Are the assumptions correct?
• Canadian focus which may not apply to other
  places

6
Why do enclaves emerge?

• Formal processes of exclusion (direct racism)
• E.g., classic ghetto apartheid covenants in
  North American cities
• Informal processes of exclusion
• White flight
• Marginalization in the labour market, transferred
  to the housing market
• Social stratification is spatialized as
  minorities living in poor neighbourhoods
• Desire among minorities to reside in proximity
• Could be a temporary need for co-ethnic support,
  or an ongoing desire to maintain distinctive
  culture

7
Important point

• Residential concentration or segregation can
  emerge out of different social processes, or a
  mixture of social processes
• Enclaves are therefore highly specific in terms
  of causes and consequences
• and we should be careful not to see them as all
  the same

8
How are enclaves interpreted in popular culture?

• Coerced segregation is now rare, at least in the
  Canadian case no discussion of this
• Little interest in connecting socio-economic
  exclusion with enclave development
• Even less in understanding enclaves as places
  vacated by the mainstream
• Main focus is on choice of minorities to be
  apart

9
Interpreting enclaves

• The general view is that enclaves are places of
  cultural separation based on choice
• They represent a failure of integration

10
Empirical evidence

• Studies of Canadian census data and a public
  opinion survey, asking
• Are members of minority groups becoming more /
  less likely to live in enclave neighbourhoods
• To a degree it depends how you define enclave
  neighbourhoods but generally yes
• Are there systematic differences between members
  of minority groups in / outside enclaves?
• Yes and no

11
Who lives inside / outside enclaves?

• Yes
• Residents of enclaves are more likely to be
  recent immigrants and to speak a minority
  language in their home (big differences)
• They are also less well educated, especially
  first-generation immigrants (small difference)
• More likely to be unemployed and to receive
  government assistance (small differences)
• No
• Rate of home ownership is the same
• Propensity for 2nd generation to complete
  university is the same

12
More evidence

• Are enclaves monocultural?
• No, they are just as culturally diverse as other
  parts of the city but with few members of the
  majority group present
• Are minority residents of enclaves more likely to
  be poor compared with those outside enclaves?
• No, the rate of poverty is quite similar for
  minorities inside / outside enclaves

13
More evidence

• Are the same groups most likely to live in
  enclaves across Canadian cities?
• No Montreal (South Asians) Toronto (Africans)
  Vancouver (East Asians)
• What does this mean?
• Enclaves arise for different reasons for
  different groups in different cities
• There is no overarching story we can tell about
  enclaves

14
Conclusion

• Why are we seeing more members of minority groups
  living in enclaves in Canadian cities?
• For SOME, enclave poverty
• Economically disadvantaged groups in social
  housing tough consequences high stigmatization
• For MOST, enclave other things
• Access to affordable home ownership and rental
  accommodation
• Places that mainstream society tends to avoid

15
Conclusion

• In Canada at least, most enclaves do not conform
  to the stereotypes about them
• Much more culturally diverse than expected
• Also, with a few exceptions, they are more
  socio-economically diverse as well
• Educational achievement of the 2nd generation is
  high
• Key problem the perception of diversity is seen
  through a white lens
• Areas with few Whites are seen as abnormal
• But areas that are almost entirely white escape
  notice