Residential patterns across generations of new immigrant groups

Abstract

This article explores residential patterns across generations of new immigrant groups. The discussion is situated in a multi-ethnic context. The analysis is based on data from the 2001 Canadian census and focuses on three visible minority groups in the four largest metropolitan areas of Canada. In line with the spatial assimilation perspective, the authors found that visible minority groups reside in neighborhoods where, over generations, as the proportion of whites increases, the proportions of their own group and other minority groups decline. The findings also show support that socioeconomic resources are positively related to residential integration and that each successive generation is more efficient than the previous generation in translating socioeconomic resources. However, echoing the place stratification perspective, variations in the effect of socioeconomic resources within each group and generation have been documented. Taken together, the results suggest that the factors contributing to residential integration are more complicated in a multi-ethnic context. © 2009 by Pacific Sociological Association.