Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

Problem, research strategy, and findings: A growing number of cities, especially those outside traditional immigrant gateways, have sought to leverage immigrant resources to promote local economic development in recent years. Although some cities have explicitly included immigrant entrepreneurship as a focal area in their plans, we know little about the breadth and depth of such strategies. In this research we explore the current landscape of local small business development policies toward immigrant entrepreneurship. We conduct a detailed review of the program documents of 16 selected welcoming cities and derive 20 specific programs across five broad types: information, language, business service, financial support, and place-based approaches. Their popularity, however, varies among the case cities given the number of adoptions. For example, all 16 cities adopted information hub–related strategies, whereas only 2 considered immigrant-friendly financing programs. In comparing these policies with immigrant entrepreneurs’ needs and barriers, we find their service gaps are addressed to different extents.

Takeaway for practice: Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of current local government policies that aim at tapping into immigrants’ entrepreneurial potential for community and economic development and their adoption levels across cities. Existing policies are able to address immigrants’ information and language needs but are less targeted at developing their business skills and facilitating their access to financial capital. Place-based approaches may serve to connect immigrant-owned businesses to customers and market in the mainstream economy and thus expand their scope beyond ethnic neighborhoods. Because these programs require different levels of resources, planners and policymakers considering this agenda can assess their relative fit with local population demand in designing appropriate policies.     

Suburbia reimagined: Asian immigration and the form and function of faith-based institutions in Silicon Valley

Rapid immigration has caused dramatic social and spatial reconfigurations of American suburbs. This study examines how Asian immigrants reshaped the form and function of one Silicon Valley suburb through the building of faith-based institutions. It shows how immigrant faith-based institutions challenge scholarly understandings of suburbia as space of immigrant assimilation, and instead underscore their role in facilitating immigrant integration, community building and place-making. These institutions connect immigrants with social services and networks that help them adapt to new communities, promote intra- and interfaith alliances among diverse ethnic and national groups, and help immigrants stay connected with their countries of origin.     

Housing supply and residential segregation in Ireland

The article examines the role of housing supply in ethnic diversity and the residential segregation of Asian, African and eastern European immigrants from Irish nationals in Ireland. Housing supply is defined as the proportions of new housing, private rental accommodation and social housing among all housing units in an electoral district. Multivariate regressions reveal that, among all three housing supply variables, the proportion of private rentals had the largest effect on ethnic diversity and immigrant— Irish segregation. Areas with higher proportions of private rental units were more ethnically diverse, had greater presences of Africans, Asians and eastern Europeans (as opposed to high concentrations of Irish nationals) and exhibited greater integration between each of the three immigrant groups and Irish nationals. The article concludes with a discussion of immigrant assimilation and questions whether the patterns of residential integration observed would further facilitate other forms of social inclusion for immigrants in Irish society.     

Affordable Housing,Disasters, and Social Equity

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the most common financing mechanism for subsidized housing production in America. We investigate how and to what extent states are currently using the LIHTC to prepare for and recover from disasters. We systematically code guidelines in the 2017 LIHTC qualified allocation plans from 53 states and territories to identify disaster-related provisions. Twenty-four states and territories include provisions for preparedness or recovery in their allocation plans, of which 13 include only preparedness provisions, 3 include only recovery provisions, and 8 include both types. Preparedness provisions address project design and siting, whereas recovery provisions direct credits to disaster-affected areas or the replacement of damaged units. Using t tests, we compare three sets of states—those without any disaster-related provisions, those with either preparedness or recovery provisions, and those with both types of provisions—across measures of housing cost, demographic composition, disaster exposure, and political ideology. States with higher homeownership rates, lower home values, and lower rents are more likely than other states to have either or both types of provisions. Future research should investigate state adoption of disaster-related LIHTC provisions to better inform affordable housing policy.

Takeaway for practice: State governments could mitigate disaster-related hazards and help speed recovery by including locally relevant preparedness and recovery provisions in their LIHTC allocation plans. These provisions could encourage resilient construction, weigh the social costs and benefits of LIHTC construction in floodplains, or waive program rules to address postdisaster housing shortages.     

Adaptive Planning for Disaster Recovery and Resiliency: An Evaluation of 87 Local Recovery Plans in Eight States

Problem, research strategy and findings: A pre-disaster recovery plan that considers how a community should be redeveloped is a logical first step to support resiliency during high uncertainty and rapid change, yet limited attention has been given to recovery plans. In this study, we evaluate local disaster recovery planning in eight southeastern states and find that such planning receives limited public support: Less than one-third of vulnerable local jurisdictions had a recovery plan, and those plans received low plan quality scores. Unfunded state mandates produce weaker plans than plans in other states without mandates. We find that a collaborative network of stakeholders initially intent on reordering priorities results in stronger plans.

Takeaway for practice: Local recovery planning should be designed to operate under conditions of high uncertainty. Local jurisdictions can choose plan design options that reflect how they build capability for recovery planning: 1) standalone community-wide recovery plan; 2) comprehensive land use plan; 3) emergency management plan; and 4) small area recovery plan. Because recovery planning lacks a public constituency, and is new to most local jurisdictions, the stand-alone community-wide recovery plan design option is the most effective at building local commitment. This option involves a plan-making process that concentrates time, effort, and resources focused on a building a network of stakeholders who likely have the greatest responsibility in rebuilding efforts because they care most about the impacts of a disaster.     

Collaboration in disasters: A cultural challenge for the utilities sector

Understanding the interdependency of organizations in a disaster is necessary to facilitate collaboration. Interdependencies in the utilities sector have traditionally focused upon the technical aspects of these dependencies. This research used empirical research methods that included an observational study of utility stakeholders during a real-time disaster. The study investigated the cultural challenges associated with the socio-cultural interdependencies that stakeholders from the utilities sector encountered when working in emergency management. Participants identified that a lack of legitimacy and trust created barriers to collaboration. The paper concludes with recommendations for the industry to address the potential cultural barriers encountered in a disaster.     

Housing Careers: Immigrants in Local Swedish Housing Markets

Immigration to Sweden has changed character between the 1960s and today. Early immigration occurred as a response to labour market need whereas immigrants arriving during the last decade have had difficulties entering the labour market. The aim of this study is to analyse the housing careers of different immigrant groups within different local housing markets. The housing careers of immigrant groups are then compared and related to the housing career of the total population. Earlier studies have shown that the year of immigration is of importance for the type of housing career made as well as the cultural distance between the immigrant group and the Swedish population. The immigrants included in this study have arrived from Finland, ex-Yugoslavia, Chile, Africa, Iran and Turkey, representing the three different phases of immigration to Sweden. The analyses here show that both the structure of the local housing market and time spent in Sweden are important to the housing careers of immigrants.     

Nontraditional Participation in Disaster Recovery Planning: Cases From China,India, and the United States

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Stakeholder participation facilitates efficient identification of recovery needs, dynamic exchange of information, and consolidation of diverse perspectives as well as builds long-term trust and social capital between stakeholders. Yet, planners often fail to use the full potential of participatory planning when they are caught in the fast-paced, uncertain, and complex post-disaster environment. We draw lessons from case studies on recovery planning after three major disasters: the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), and the Wenchuan earthquake (2008) in China. We collected qualitative data about participatory planning using key informant interviews with stakeholders, supplemented by field observations, records of planning meetings, and government documents. We find that stakeholder participation in disaster recovery planning can happen in nontraditional yet effective ways, including indirect representation and active opposition. Disasters can rebalance power relationships and create more opportunities for participation by marginalized groups. Stakeholders’ participatory behaviors evolve over the course of recovery due to shifting priorities, intensified resource competition, and the difficulty of using “normal” participatory mechanisms.

Takeaway for practice: Stakeholder participation, a time-consuming process, can actually speed up recovery in the long run. Planners must critically examine the local community's social and power structures, identify potential for nontraditional participation, tap into networks of indirect representation, and adapt to the changing landscape of actors and local interests to contend with the challenges of participation in disaster recovery and make use of new opportunities as they arise.     

The Evolution of the Federal Role in Supporting Community Recovery After U.S. Disasters

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The process of long-term recovery, if done well, can minimize post-disaster disruption, address problems that existed before the disaster struck, and improve the future resilience of a community. The U.S. government, however, historically has lacked a systematic approach to supporting community recovery. This study describes the history of federal policies for supporting community recovery after disasters, with particular attention to the roles of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We conclude by considering the new National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). This historical review suggests that the federal government needs to emphasize the following: providing resources for community recovery planning; facilitating increased flows of information after disasters; streamlining FEMA assistance to public agencies; explicitly working to reduce the barriers between FEMA and HUD; and incorporating equity into recovery policies. Recovery policies also need to include incentives to achieve substantive goals of rebuilding in a way that is sustainable, equitable, cost-effective, and timely, and that reduces the chances of future disasters.

Takeaway for practice: Local community planners can draw several lessons from this historical account. First, they should become aware of the various post-disaster programs now, before disaster strikes. Second, knowledge of post-disaster policies and programs will enable planners to use them creatively and effectively if disaster strikes. Third, in the midst of reconstruction, planners need to continually seek opportunities to promote betterment and resilience to natural hazards.     

Human capital and wages: a comparison of Albanian and Italian immigrants

This paper identifies the factors influencing earnings gaps between migrants belonging to old immigrant groups (defined as those with long established migration linkages with the receiving country) and those belonging to new immigrant groups. Earnings are conceptualized as a function of human capital, decomposed into the portion acquired in the home country and the portion acquired in the receiving country. It is hypothesized that poor transferability of human capital acquired at home dampens wages more for new than for old immigrant groups. Further, it is hypothesized that upon arrival in the destination, new immigrant groups accumulate human capital faster than old immigrant groups. The empirical analysis focuses on Albanians in the United States as a representative of a new immigrant group and Italians as a representative of an old immigrant group. The analysis is based on pooled data from the 2000 US Census 5 % sample, and the 2001–2007 American Community Survey (ACS) 3 % sample. Findings suggest that (1) Albanian immigrants earn substantially less than Italian immigrants; (2) human capital acquired at home has a positive impact on wages, but the level of human capital transferability is low for Albanians; (3) upon arrival, both Italian and Albanian immigrants accumulate human capital, but the speed of human capital accumulation is faster for Albanians than for Italians.     

Modelling migration flows of immigrant groups in Canada

"In this paper, the authors briefly review the findings of an earlier study on the patterns of both regional and metropolitan redistribution of immigrant groups in Canada. Against this backdrop, a hierarchical model of migration for immigrant groups for the period 1981-86 is developed and estimated. The internal redistribution of immigrants through postarrival migration has continued to be focused on metropolitan areas in general and on Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal in particular. The distribution of previous immigrants plays a significant role over and above that of economic circumstances both in retaining immigrants in a particular city and in attracting members of immigrant groups from other cities."     

Naturalization and the transition to homeownership: an analysis of signalling in the Dutch housing market

Abstract

This article pioneers in investigating a citizenship premium for homeownership of first-generation immigrants, using Dutch register data from Statistics Netherlands (N?=?106,187). I hypothesize that naturalization favourably influences the risk-calculation of lenders through positive signalling among employed migrants, who are likely to meet the basic financial criteria for credit. Results confirm that, all else constant, employed immigrants who have naturalized are 26% more likely to be homeowner. Additional analyses specifically designed to isolate endogeneity bias show that the effect is smaller, but still reveal an increase in the probability of homeownership after naturalization. Citizenship acquisition matters less for migrants with a native-born partner, suggesting that legal status discrimination may be an underlying mechanism. I find no evidence that the relevance of citizenship is conditioned by cultural distance of the origin country or the post-2008 economic crisis. I conclude that naturalization matters in the housing market, but that its relevance cannot be generalized to all migrant groups.     

Housing Recovery Lessons From Chile

Problem, research strategy and findings: The 8.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck south-central Chile on February 27, 2010, affected 75% of the country's population and damaged or destroyed 370,000 housing units (about 10% of the housing in six regions). Within six months, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development published a plan to repair or rebuild 220,000 units of low- and middle-income housing with government assistance within four years. By February 2014, 94% of the housing was complete. The successful rebuilding effort had strong leadership at the national and local levels and used existing programs and institutions. The management staff adapted programs over time to meet the needs of local conditions. When compared with housing recovery programs in other countries, Chile's program stands out, combining national government management with local citizen input. The reconstruction plan also included updated zoning plans, road and infrastructure improvements, heritage recovery, and new master plans for affected cities. Going forward, the earthquake created an opportunity for Chile to use the recovery planning to expand national urban policy and to develop a framework for citizen participation at the local level.

Takeaway for practice: Successful planning in disaster recovery involves strong government leadership and coordination together with the engagement of local government and the participation of citizens.     

The Meaning of Home among Elderly Immigrants: Directions for Future Research and Theoretical Development

The paper discusses the notion that, in research on elderly immigrant housing, it is not enough to delineate the residential geography of different elderly immigrant groups or to study the economic and social reasons for their segregated habitations and exclusiveness. It is also necessary to understand, in the spatial context, the degree of integration and the differences between groups. In explaining these differences, consideration should be given to each elderly immigrant group's own value system, norms and preferences. It is argued that one necessary task in this endeavour is to gain knowledge about different elderly immigrant groups' understandings of what a home symbolises - what home means to them in the context of their particular ways of thinking and culture. From this point of view, the paper concludes that, when investigating the meaning of 'home' among elderly immigrants, an integrative theoretical approach based on an experiential perspective and a phenomenological and developmental perspective are deemed appropriate to be adopted.     

Immigration and Housing in an Emerging Global City, Sydney, Australia

By 2001, 33 per cent of Sydney's population of 4.2 million was born overseas. In the previous 15 years, 38 per cent of all immigrants to Australia settled in Sydney compared to the national population share of 21 per cent. Housing costs are highest in Sydney of any of the metropolitan cities in Australia and Sydney's emergence as a global city affects the housing market and has attracted diverse communities and skilled immigrants. This article presents Australian Bureau of Statistics census data to trace trends in home ownership and tenure among key immigrant groups in Sydney from the post-war era to recent times. It discusses the key factors that influence immigrant progress through the housing market and explores the dynamics of Sydney's residential mosaic.     

Obligations and Expectations: Perceived Relationship between Transnational Housing Investment and Housing Consumption Decisions among Ghanaian Immigrants in Canada

Transnational housing investment is a pervasive practice among many migrant groups residing in various destination countries; including Ghanaian migrants living in Canada. For many, the need to engage in transnational housing investment is beyond the standard rationale and has two prime significance; symbolic and practical utility. Engagement in this endeavour requires substantial financial commitments over extensive periods of time with potential consequences for various aspects of immigrants’ lives in their destination areas including their housing consumption. This paper examines perceived influence of such long-term commitments on housing consumption decisions among Ghanaian immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The findings show that although engagement in transnational housing is associated with constraints on immigrants’ decision to enter homeownership, type of dwelling to rent and the neighbourhood choices, it was also associated with a sense of pride, success and integration into Canadian society. The paper concludes that a broader theoretical discussion of housing integration is necessary. Specifically, it calls for a redefinition of the measures of immigrant housing integration in particular – which narrowly considers destination parameters – to one that includes transnational factors as critical in moving the debate on understanding immigrant integration in general.     

基于移民社会关系演化分析的巴蜀村镇文化空间特征研究

文化空间是历时性人地关系中生成的地方认同产物,是缓解当今乡村居民归属感弱化的重要载体。本文通过巴蜀移民村镇和移民原乡村镇的社会关系对照,立足两者社会关系从差序等级式向散射式转化的背景,归纳了地缘、业缘社会关系影响下所形成的原乡认同、行业认同以及"重生产与生活"的社会意识在巴蜀移民村镇文化空间的空间表征。从而为巴蜀乡村振兴的文化空间适宜性重构,乡村居民的社会认同提升提供理论借鉴。     

异国风情园中的建筑设计——以瑞丽弄莫湖湿地公园为例

休闲度假渐渐成为当今社会生活的重要组成部分,东南亚各国独特的景观风格受到各国人民的喜爱,不仅使其成为理想的度假胜地,而且东南亚各国的建筑和景观也在世界各地不断涌现。瑞丽作为中国面向东南亚的重要口岸,无论是地理气候条件还是区位条件都适合建立一个以东南亚风格为主的公园,应运而生的瑞丽弄莫湖湿地公园设计了多个独立又相互联系的子园来分别展现各国的风格。在系统分析东南亚各国地理、文化、政治、经济等因素的基础上,结合各国的差异,从民居、宗教建筑和皇家建筑中挖掘出代表性元素,设计了各子园的主体建筑,充分展现了东南亚各国的景观风格在设计中的应用。     

IMMIGRATION AND THE NEW METROPOLITAN GEOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT: In this article, we argue for understanding immigrant suburbanization as one outcome of the mass migrations associated with economic globalization, a process that has coincided with and shaped the decentralization and reconfiguration of the American metropolis. We contend, as well, that economic differentiation among the foreign‐born translates into distinctive residential patterns that reflect the diversity of new metropolitan geographies. Using individual and tract‐level data from metropolitan Philadelphia since 1970, we describe the intersection of spatial differentiation (suburban variety) with both demographic diversity (ethnic and racial differentiation) and linked patterns of ethnic and racial population growth and decline. We highlight the importance of immigration to population and economic growth, the diversity among immigrants, the inability of “suburb” to capture the region's residential ecology, and the surprising links between the growth of immigrant and African‐American populations in the same places. We clearly show how the residential experience of African Americans differs from that of both immigrants and native‐born whites.