The Negotiation of Space and Rights: Suburban Planning with Diversity

The increasing suburbanization of immigrant settlement in Canada’s major receiving cities has created unprecedented challenges for municipalities. Despite emerging research about the rise of ethnic suburbs in Canada and abroad, the role of suburban municipalities in facilitating immigrant integration and planning with diversity remains unclear. Based on mixed-method ethnographic research, this article investigates how immigrant and racialized communities in the Greater Toronto Area have significantly transformed suburban places and built institutionally complete communities. However, the rapid development of these spaces has not been fully recognized or supported by municipal planning authorities. Conflicts related to land use, public engagement, and public realm development expose planning’s failure to keep pace with the diverse needs of immigrant communities, who must continually negotiate and fight for their use of space. Furthermore, the lack of effective civic engagement not only ignores immigrant and racialized communities as important stakeholders in suburban redevelopment, but also threatens to destroy the social infrastructure built by these communities and their ‘informal’ practices that are often not recognized by the planning ‘norm.’ Without appropriate community consultation, planning processes can further sideline marginalized groups. Lack of consultation also tends to prevent cooperation between groups, impeding the building of inclusive communities. It is imperative for municipalities to better understand and encourage community engagement and placemaking in ethnic suburbs. This study offers several recommendations for suburban planning with diversity

SUBURBAN IMMIGRANT SETTLEMENTS IN TORONTO AND TRANSPORTATION IMPLICATIONS

Immigrants’ social and economic conditions and lifestyles are strong determinants of their residential and transportation choices. Existing studies that analyze immigrants’ transportation behaviour have predominantly focused on a range of socioeconomic factors, yet, they have not accounted for the impacts that the residential patterns of immigrants may have on transportation outcomes. Understanding the spatial settlement patterns of immigrants is critical for learning their travel patterns. Immigrants substantially differ from non-immigrants in the dynamics of residential and transportation decisions. Also, the choice of commuting modes in immigrant neighbourhoods may vary because of the differences in built environment conditions, access to quality transit, and socioeconomic characteristics of the residents. By investigating the Toronto metropolitan region, this dissertation explores the impacts of immigrants’ spatial settlement patterns on their transportation outcomes through three research articles. It makes theoretical and methodological contributions to the immigrant settlement and transportation literature. The first research article evaluates the inter-metropolitan-zone variations in immigrant-transportation relationships. Spatially explicit regression models are developed for the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA) and its three metropolitan zones (inner city, inner suburb, and outer suburb). They compare and contrast the associations between the immigrant concentration levels in the census tracts (CTs) and commuting modal shares while controlling for socioeconomic and built environment factors. Results of the models show that immigrants register strong association with transit use at the CMA level and in each metropolitan zone, where the level of the association is much stronger in the suburbs compared to the inner city. This article detects disproportional transit reliance among immigrants in many areas, such as in Toronto’s suburbs, that are poorly served by transit, and reflects on the reasons and consequences of the revealed phenomenon. It suggests a demand-driven transit strategy that would involve adjusting services to the higher transit reliance of immigrants. The inter-metropolitan-zone comparison in this article adds a new spatial perspective to the understanding of immigrant-transportation relationships. The second research article uses the ethnoburb model to explore the spatial evolution patterns of immigrants by investigating the Chinese and South Asians in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It devises a novel approach to evaluate ethnoburbs in a continuum by classifying them into three distinct categories (Nascent, Mature, and Saturated), which can be considered as different stages of ethnoburb development. The assessment of the spatiotemporal changes of the ethnoburb categories demonstrates that the settlement patterns of the immigrants in the suburbs can take different spatial forms depending on the ethnic group under consideration. The article detects a prevalent tendency among both the Chinese and South Asians to form spatial clusters. It additionally recognizes considerable differences in settlement preferences between the groups through their distinct spatial arrangements. This study methodologically advances the ethnoburb delineation process, and theoretically contributes to ethnoburb and immigrant settlement scholarship by highlighting complexities and uncertainties associated with the spatial evolution of ethnoburbs. The spatial settlement trends for the Chinese and South Asians determined in this research article has contributed towards the identification of settlement locations for the two minority immigrant groups in the third research article. The third research article compares transportation outcomes relative to the settlements of immigrant groups. Using a series of regression models, it evaluates differences in commuting patterns between the Chinese and South Asian settlements in the suburbs of Toronto metropolitan region and determines the relative influence of the proximity to quality transit on the choice of commuting modes in those areas while controlling for socioeconomic factors. Results from the models show higher transit dependence in the South Asian settlements compared to that of the Chinese. Findings from the study also suggest a stronger influence of socioeconomic factors and employment locations than quality transit on the transportation and residential choices made by immigrant groups. The article manifests unfavourable circumstances for immigrants to use transit in Toronto suburbs by identifying the dissonance among immigrants’ settlement patterns, their choice of commuting modes, and current urban planning approaches. The study advances immigrant-transportation scholarship by adding the transit quality dimension and highlighting inter-immigrant-group differences in immigrants’ settlement and transportation relationships. It makes methodological contributions as well by introducing a new day-long transit quality index for the Toronto metropolitan region. As a whole, this dissertation contributes to the understanding of immigrant-transportation relationships and ethnoburb scholarship by i) delineating ethnoburbs using a novel approach and exploring the complexity in their evolution patterns and immigrant settlements more broadly; ii) assessing the spatial dimension to the immigrant-transportation relationships; iii) examining the relative importance of the proximity to quality transit in transportation outcomes in immigrant settlements; and iv) illustrating the urban planning implications of the immigrant settlement and transportation relationships

Ethnic retailing and the role of municipal planning: four case studies in the Greater Toronto Area

The recent waves of immigration have dramatically changed the urban landscape of Canada’s metropolitan regions. One of the significant markers of this change are ethnic retail activities that manifest in ethnic shopping strips and centres. The dynamics of ethnic retailing pose various challenges for municipalities; yet, our knowledge of its complexities is limited, especially in terms of its relationship with and implications for city planning. Current literature on multicultural planning advocates for cultural sensitivity in planning practice based on a limited number of empirical studies. It generally overlooks planners’ professional mandate and the constraints inherent in the planning system that hinder planners’ capacity to be proactive, and is regularly disregarded in practice. This research focuses on the phenomenon of ethnic retailing and provides empirical data to bridge the research gaps. Several research objectives were pursued in this thesis, including: the exploration of ethnic retail activities among different ethnic groups in different commercial settings, the examination of the ethnic retail development process and key players in the production of ethnic retail spaces, and the identification of the role of municipal planning in ethnic retailing. The study targets the Chinese, South Asian, and Italian business communities; four case studies were conducted, including three retail strips in the inner city of Toronto, namely East Chinatown, the Gerrard India Bazaar, and Corso Italia, and one suburban Asian theme mall, the Pacific Mall in the Town of Markham. The four case studies demonstrate that planners play an inactive or a reactive role in the context of ethnic retail area development. The major reason for their limited role is that planners must abide by the legislative structure and the procedures of the planning system. They must, by the nature of their profession, focus on city-wide issues. The planning profession’s mandate confines planners’ capacity and flexibility in dealing with the multicultural challenges presented by local ethnic communities. Another major area this research explores is the nature of ethnic retailing. There are important inter-group and intra-group differences among the case studies. There are also significant differences between the inner-city retail strips and the suburban shopping mall. The relationship of the dynamics of ethnic retailing and urban planning is explored, with particular focus on community building, the relationship between the City vision and local diversity, and ethnic expression. These findings demonstrate the dynamic, fluid, and complex nature of ethnic retailing that constantly changes and evolves. Considering these dynamics, the findings indicate that there can be no templates in planning approaches to ethnic retailing. Planners must respect the local diversity and reject universal treatments of ethnic retail areas. Planners do not have authority to initiate ethnic retailing, nor is it possible for them to create a universal template to regulate the development of ethnic retail areas. Yet, there are other innovative ways for planners to balance city-wide and local interests, helping to recreate community focal points and serve the ultimate goal of “planning for all”. This study provides several recommendations for municipal planning: First, planners must reinvent themselves by adopting a proactive and holistic planning approach. Planners must think beyond the technical dimensions of urban development and consider the social and cultural aspects, especially the ethno-cultural elements, of the community, and incorporate them in the planning process. Several conventional planning tools, including ethno-racial and business data collection at the neighbourhood level, Secondary Plans that recreate community focal points, and (multicultural) public participation can be effectively applied to ethnic retail development. Another important step is to establish a Multicultural Planning Office to deal with ethnic-oriented development projects and the consequent multicultural challenges. Second, the study suggests developing strong and explicit policy statements in support of ethno-cultural diversity. Securing political backing from City councillors is as important in providing planners with the authority they need to contribute to ethnic retail development. Third, municipal planning requires interdepartmental collaboration. The two core municipal functions, the Planning Department and the Economic Development Office should set up a joint task force to work together in dealing with ethnic retail challenges. Finally, building community-based partnerships is an effective and efficient means to involve all stakeholders boarding the process. This includes outreach to the ethnic communities and alliance with community agencies

Borderland Appropriations: Globalization, Obsolescence, Migration and the American Shopping Mall

The notion of place embodies a complex intersection of architecture, occupancy, and identity. Tied to geographic and historical conditions, built environments existing between two worlds or within contested territories reveal the underlying political and social forces that have shaped them. Assuming an analogous relationship between consumption and architecture as interconnected systems, this dissertation examines American suburbia in the early twenty-first century to assess convergent flows related to consumption. It engages with the changing nature of retail form, function, and obsolescence to illustrate transnational and technological influences impacting suburban commercial architecture. More specifically, it analyzes occupancies, appropriations, and informal adaptations of retail environments in two distinct regional contexts in North America—the USA-Mexico Borderlands of Texas and the USA-Canada Borderlands of the Eastern Great Lakes region. This research charts the rise, fall, and transformation of the American shopping mall assessed via post-structuralist theories. Proposing that the obsolete mid-twentieth century shopping mall is a metaphor for the multicultural American city, this study employs dialectical—or comparative— practices to examine conditions which forecast increasing diversity in metropolitan futures. To establish a conceptual framework, two primary theoretical precedents were hybridized in this dissertation—the archival analysis of Walter Benjamin’s seminal The Arcades Project (1927-1940) and the theoretical lens of otherness— or heterotopias—proposed by Michel Foucault in Of Other Places: Utopias and Heterotopias (1984). Furthermore, the terrain vague territorial critique proposed by Ignasi Solà-Morales and the dérives of Guy Debord’s Situationist International influenced similar documentation techniques for suburban shopping malls characterized by marginal—or borderland—national, metropolitan, and social-economic conditions. Unlike most of the existing literature surrounding so-called dead malls, this research does not lament the demise of suburban drosscape or junkspace, but celebrates its incremental translation into an organic, nuanced, and temporal placeholder for actual urbanism. By means of case studies, this dissertation serves as a documentation device that identifies, theorizes, and archives largely ignored everyday suburban structures—transitional spaces of otherness serving the needs of immigrants and historically disadvantaged communities that are routinely demolished due to contemporary market pressures, planning initiatives, and real estate practices. In short, it draws awareness to informal actions that have transformed mid-century American shopping malls into liminal places threatened by gentrification and permanent erasure

Ethnic identity and dietary habits among Hispanic immigrants in Spain

Immigration has become a new phenomenon in Spanish society during the last years. In 2007, immigrants represented around 10% of total population, with 35% coming from Latin-American countries. When immigrants arrive, they bring their own values and cultural symbols, which, essentially, are different from those of the indigenous population. As time goes through, two alternative processes are observed: 1) a gradual switch towards the Host Society values; or 2) a maintenance of their ethnical identity. Focussing in the Latin-American immigrants in Barcelona, the objective of this paper is twofold: 1) to measure their degree of ethnical identity; and 2) to analyse the relationship between food habits and their ethnical identity. Food habits refer here to the consumption of traditional meals from their country of origin. Face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of Latin American immigrants in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona are undertaken. First, socioeconomics characteristics of the sample are described. Second, the MEIM scale is used to measure their ethnical identity, which combines aspects from the social identity and personal development theories. Finally, a Multinomial Logit Model is estimated to identify the relationship between food habits and ethnical identity. Results indicate that the higher the level of ethnic identity and feeling of belonging, the greater the persistence of dietary habits from the country of origin.Ethnic identity, Food habits, Latin American immigrants, Spain., Agricultural and Food Policy,

Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique (Migration Policy Series No. 68)

While increasing attention is being paid to the drivers and forms of entrepreneurship in informal economies, much less of this policy and research focus is directed at understanding the links between mobility and informality. This report examines the current state of knowledge about this relationship with particular reference to three countries (Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and four cities (Cape Town, Harare, Johannesburg and Maputo), identifying major themes, knowledge gaps, research questions and policy implications. In many African cities, informal enterprises are operated by internal and international migrants. The extent and nature of mobile entrepreneurship and the opportunities and challenges confronting migrant entrepreneurs are under-researched in Africa in general and Southern Africa in particular. Their contribution to the informal economy and employment generation in countries of destination and origin are similarly undervalued by policy-makers. Informal migrant entrepreneurs are often viewed with suspicion, if not hostility, by citizens and officials. In part, this is because central and municipal governments see them as increasing the growth of an informal sector that they want tamed, if not eradicated. Also, it is because they are often incorrectly seen as all “illegal immigrants” and, by definition, engaged in illicit activities. And, in countries with high levels of xenophobia such as South Africa, migrant-owned businesses are a visible and easy target for xenophobic attacks. Violent attacks on migrant entrepreneurs and their property have become extremely common in many South African cities. South Africa’s relatively small informal sector is accompanied by very high unemployment levels. Many commentators therefore feel that the South African informal economy ought to be much larger than it is. Given the apartheid-era repression of informal entrepreneurship, the key question may not be why the informal economy is not larger, but why, after decades of repression, it is as large and important as it is. One of the reasons is that the informal economy is not just populated by South African citizens. Migrants from other African countries play an increasingly important role in the sector and experience considerable success, something that eludes many locally-owned start-ups. Informal retailing has been the major focus of economic research on different sub-sectors of the informal economy. Particularly common are small-area case studies of survivalist street trading (particularly of food and handicrafts) in the inner city. The spaza shop sector in low-income residential areas has also been studied. Other informal entrepreneurial activities that have attracted attention include the minibus taxi industry, waste collection and recycling, shebeens, trade in medicinal plants and poverty tourism

The Impact of Gentrification on Ethnic Neighbourhoods in Toronto: A Case Study of Little Portugal

Abstract Despite extensive literature on the nature and impact of gentrification, there has been little consideration of the effects of gentrification on ethnic neighbourhoods. This study evaluates the negative and positive effects of gentrification on the Portuguese in west central Toronto. Details concerning the settlement patterns of the Portuguese, the characteristics of Portuguese residents and patterns of gentrification in inner-city Toronto were obtained from census data. Evaluations of neighbourhood change and attitudes of the residents towards gentrification were obtained from key informant and focus group interviews. The results suggest considerable ambivalence among the respondents, but most agreed that the long-term viability of Little Portugal as an immigrant reception area with a good supply of low-cost housing is in doubt

No. 68: Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique

While increasing attention is being paid to the drivers and forms of entrepreneurship in informal economies, much less of this policy and research focus is directed at understanding the links between mobility and informality. This report examines the current state of knowledge about this relationship with particular reference to three countries (Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and four cities (Cape Town, Harare, Johannesburg and Maputo), identifying major themes, knowledge gaps, research questions and policy implications. In many African cities, informal enterprises are operated by internal and international migrants. The extent and nature of mobile entrepreneurship and the opportunities and challenges confronting migrant entrepreneurs are under-researched in Africa in general and Southern Africa in particular. Their contribution to the informal economy and employment generation in countries of destination and origin are similarly undervalued by policy-makers. Informal migrant entrepreneurs are often viewed with suspicion, if not hostility, by citizens and officials. In part, this is because central and municipal governments see them as increasing the growth of an informal sector that they want tamed, if not eradicated. Also, it is because they are often incorrectly seen as all “illegal immigrants” and, by definition, engaged in illicit activities. And, in countries with high levels of xenophobia such as South Africa, migrant-owned businesses are a visible and easy target for xenophobic attacks. Violent attacks on migrant entrepreneurs and their property have become extremely common in many South African cities. South Africa’s relatively small informal sector is accompanied by very high unemployment levels. Many commentators therefore feel that the South African informal economy ought to be much larger than it is. Given the apartheid-era repression of informal entrepreneurship, the key question may not be why the informal economy is not larger, but why, after decades of repression, it is as large and important as it is. One of the reasons is that the informal economy is not just populated by South African citizens. Migrants from other African countries play an increasingly important role in the sector and experience considerable success, something that eludes many locally-owned start-ups. Informal retailing has been the major focus of economic research on different sub-sectors of the informal economy. Particularly common are small-area case studies of survivalist street trading (particularly of food and handicrafts) in the inner city. The spaza shop sector in low-income residential areas has also been studied. Other informal entrepreneurial activities that have attracted attention include the minibus taxi industry, waste collection and recycling, shebeens, trade in medicinal plants and poverty tourism