Mnemonic Institutions and Residential Clustering: Jewish Residential Patterns in Toronto

Abstract

© 2018 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie In this paper, we envisage how the sociohistorical experiences of groups are related to their residential patterns. We posit that the residential clustering of a group can be strongly related to the group's mnemonic institutions, which are organizational symbols of collective identity that link the present to the past. We present the case of Jewish residential clustering patterns in Toronto to demonstrate our arguments. We employ 2001 Canadian Census tract-level data to show Jewish residential clustering patterns in relation to the presence of a synagogue or Jewish community center, the mnemonic institutions of Jews.