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COMFORT ZONES

Immigration, Acculturation, and the Neighborhood Racial-Composition Preferences of Latinos and Asians1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2008

Camille Zubrinsky Charles
Camille Zubrinsky Charles*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
*
Corresponding author: Professor Camille Zubrinsky Charles, Department of Sociology and Center for Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 3401 Walnut Street, Suite 331A, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228. E-mail: camille_charles@pop.upenn.edu
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Abstract

The remarkable increase in immigration from Asia and Latin America requires a rethinking of multiracial analyses of neighborhood racial-composition preferences. This research addresses two interrelated questions: (1) since spatial mobility is so central to social mobility, how do recent Asian and Latino/a immigrants develop ideas about the racial and ethnic composition of the neighborhoods in which they want to live; and (2) what are the implications of processes of immigrant adaptation for the likely dynamics of race and ethnic relations in increasingly diverse communities? Guided by Massey's spatial assimilation model and previous studies of neighborhood racial-composition preferences, this research underscores the critical importance of immigration and assimilation as influences on preferences for same-race, White, and Black neighbors. Data are from the 1993–1994 Los Angeles Survey of Urban Inequality (N = 1921). Results point to the critical role of acculturation—the accumulation of time in the United States and English-language proficiency/use, as well as racial attitudes—in understanding what motivates preferences for these diverse groups, and to the complexities of accurately modeling preferences among largely foreign-born populations. Preferences for both same-race and White neighbors vary by the length of time that immigrants have accumulated in the United States and their ability to communicate effectively in English. English-language fluency is a particularly salient predictor of preferences among recent immigrants. Consistent with prior research on preferences, racial stereotypes stand out as particularly potent predictors of preferences; however, their influence is weakest among the most recent immigrants, coming to resemble those of the native-born with increasing years of U.S. residence.

Keywords

Racial AttitudesImmigrationResidential SegregationAssimilationAcculturation
Type
STATE OF THE ART
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , Spring 2007 , pp. 41 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2007

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