Immigrants in the City

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Immigrants in the City

• Sociology 205Y
• Wednesday 21st Nov 2007

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Tonights Class

• Comments on Test 1
• Multiple choice scores posted on CCnet
• Mean 26.3/41 (64), Min 17, Max 35
• Written portion grades will be posted this week
• So far, scores are somewhat higher than the
  multiple choice part
• Lecture
• Fong, Eric Immigration and the City Urban
  Canada. Chapter 6.
• Noh and Avison Asian Immigrants and the Stress
  Process A Study of Koreans in Canada
• Film (about 45 minutes)
• Flemingdon Park The Global Village (2002) 
• Pick up paper assignment (Due April 2nd)
• Read over the assignment We will discuss details
  and possible topics over the next couple weeks

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Long view What have we covered, and what is
ahead

• Beginning Today
• Part II. Special Populations (through Jan 30)
• Immigration, homelessness, aboriginal
  populations, poverty, young/old, segregated
  neighbourhoods, gentrification and the middle
  class
• Part III. Special Topics of Interest (Feb 13-Ap
  2)
• Public Spaces, urban health, the urban foodscape,
  physical activity in the city, crime, social
  pathology, neighbourhoods

• Prior to Today
• Part I. General Overview of Urban Sociology
• Three stages of urbanization, Canadian
  urbanization, urban issues in Toronto, social
  organization of the city, globalization,
  suburbanization, theory and methods, social ties
  and community, the political economy perspective

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How is immigration transforming Canadas Cities?

• Most immigrants today settle in cities,
  especially the largest cities
• Cities with large influxes of immigrants are
  becoming increasingly different from other cities
  in Canada (in growth rate, in diversity)
• High levels of immigration is contributing to
  voluntary and involuntary forms of residential
  segregation, and ethnic villages

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History of Immigration into Canada

• Canada is a country of immigrants. People of
  different parts of the world arrived in the
  country in different time periods (see Figure
  6.1).
• In General,
• 1900-1940 immigrants mostly from British Isles
  and northwestern European countries) settle
  mostly on the Prairies or the West
• 1940-1950s over 1.2 million immigrants arriving
  (mostly from Italy, Greece)
• 1960- present over 2.2 million immigrants
  entering (mostly from non-European countries,
  i.e. Middle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific
  regions) mostly settle in cities (especially in
  large cities)
• By 2001, almost 30 of residents in 10 largest
  Canadian cities are foreign-born. This rate is
  even higher in Toronto.

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Where do Immigrants Settle?

• Top 5 largest Canadian cities where immigrants
  settle
• Toronto (44), Vancouver (38), Montreal,
  Ottawa-Gatineau, and Calgary
• Why? Availability of jobs and possibility of
  ethnic networks
• But not all cities have high proportions of
  immigrants
• E.g. cities in Maritimes and Quebec, such as St.
  John, Halifaxvery low of population are
  immigrants)

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Race and Ethnic Composition of Cities

• Canadians can name up to four ethnic backgrounds
  in the Census
• Identification with multiple ethnic backgrounds
  is more common in cities due to intermarriage
• Among those identifying with multiple
  ethnicities, English, Scottish, and Irish are
  always among the largest six groups in the
  largest six cities
• Individuals reporting partial ethnicity (i.e.
  reporting multiple ethnic background) are more
  likely descendants of the early immigrant groups
  (i.e. British, Northern, and Western Europeans)
• These individuals are widely disbursed across
  Canadian cities
• individuals of ethnic groups who identified
  themselves as having single ethnic origin are
  most likely to be immigrants and their children
• These individuals tend to be concentrated in the
  largest cities

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Socioeconomic Background of Immigrants

• Immigrants on average have higher levels of
  education and higher level of university
  completion rates than Canadian-born residents
  (Table 6.5)
• But do worse in the labour market
• indicated by following outcome factors
• lower employment rate
• higher who are not in the labour force
• higher working in part-time than full-time jobs
• lower average income
• On reason
• Immigrants are less likely than the Canadian-born
  population to speak either French or English,
  restricting the jobs they can compete for.

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Why is it important to study Racial and Ethnic
Residential Patterns?

• Living in a very poor neighbourhood may adversely
  affect job search process, constrain job
  networks, and limit exposure to positive role
  models (Wilson 1987).
• Different theories explaining changes in
  immigrant settlement patterns
• MACRO perspective Concentric Zone Model (Figure
  6.3)
• MICRO perspective Invasion-Succession Model
• SPATIAL ASSIMILAITION MODEL
• PLACE STRATIFICATION PERSPECTIVE
• Due to changes in immigrant backgrounds

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Ethnic Businesses

• most ethnic businesses are owned by recent
  immigrants Why?
• SUPPLY and DEMAND explanation (Light and Gold,
  2000)
• focus on importance of market contexts (i.e. size
  of ethnic population)
• but Fong and Lee (2003) argue other factors
  matter, i.e. having an ethnic community with
  completeness (i.e. ethnic religious, political,
  institutions also present)
• other factors (i.e. weak economy, globalization
  of local economy may bring in foreign investment)
• BLOCKED-CAREER mobility explanation limited
  opportunities to find any other jobs hence,
  entrepreneurship is only other attractive choice.

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Explaining Economic Attainments of Immigrants

• The Assimilation Perspective predicts that over
  time immigrants reach same level of economic
  achievement as the native-born population
• On average, immigrants DO NOT reach same level of
  economic achievement as the native-born,
  controlling for length of stay
• Most applicable to non-European immigrants
  (visible- minority groups) that arrived after
  late 1960s
• Some signs that this gap is narrowing, especially
  in the largest cities
• Possible Explanations
• Due to less extensive social networks than those
  of Canadian born (i.e. less weak ties, i.e. get
  information about job markets)
• Accreditation barrier (foreign credentials and
  foreign working experience of immigrants are
  discredited)
• Labour market discrimination in relation to job
  attainment and promotion
• Poorer quality of recent immigrants entering than
  those of earlier immigrants
• Due to structural changes in the citys economy
  in recent decades

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Asian Immigrants and the Stress Process A Study
of Koreans in Canada

• Stress model has not been applied to many ethnic
  groups (particularly Asians)
• Asians are a major component of Canadian growth
• Of course, we cant lump all Asian groups
  together when discussing particular outcomes
• Treated Cases analyses
• Better off? Report lower levels of mental health
  problems
• Probably understates real problem because of
  underutilization of mental health care services
  and greater stigma.
• Koreans lower levels of depression?
• 3.1 to 5.9 percent (est. from previous studies)

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Asian Immigrants and the Stress Process A Study
of Koreans in Canada

• The stress process and mental health
• Conceptual framework (Pearlin 1981)
• Stressors ? mediators/coping resources ? health
• The same stress harms some people different than
  others
• Psychological and social coping resources,
  including personality, and coping efforts and
  skills, and social supports

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Asian Immigrants and the Stress Process A Study
of Koreans in Canada

• Deterring model Coping resources reduce impact
  of stressors on distress in three ways (resources
  influence stressors)
• Resources reduce distress independent of
  stressors
• Resources reduce distress by suppressing
  stressors
• Resources reduce distress by conditioning one to
  take stress

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Asian Immigrants and the Stress Process A Study
of Koreans in Canada

• Coping model stressors exert their effects
  through a wider context of life situations in
  which important coping resources are jeopardized
  or compromised (stressors influence resources)
• Stress triggers counteracting coping resources
  that reduce distress
• Stress deteriorates coping resources (coping
  resources mediate the effect of stress on
  distress)
• Prior stress produces a buffer of coping
  resources that helps people deal with later
  stress

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Asian Immigrants and the Stress Process A Study
of Koreans in Canada

• Prior studies support two of the coping
  (deterioration and stress-buffering) and one of
  the deterring (independent) models
• Do these findings generalize to immigrants,
  particularly Koreans in T.O?

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Exposure to stressors

• Life stressors are not distributed equally
• Disadvantaged get more
• Immigrants get more
• the uprooting processes produces lots of stress
• Does immigration select healthiest?
• Immigrants that maintain some cultural
  identities, networks, and institutions yet build
  outside networks (vs. assimilationists or
  traditionalists)

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Stress process formulation

• Must consider the life situations and experiences
  that immigrants have
• Particular social stressors
• Social and psychological resources
• Stressors choric, acute
• Not conventional role-based
• Social Resources
• uprooting, chain migration, more active
  participation/interaction among new immigrants,
  ethnic vs. non-ethnic networks
• Psychological Resources
• personal agency (locus of control, mastery,
  helplessness, self-esteem)
• E.g. Mastery is the extent to which a person
  views life as being under control

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(No Transcript)
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Findings

• Social and psychological resources have important
  deterring effect, especially
• Mastery
• The degree to which a person views life as being
  under control 7-item scale
• Within-ethnic (Korean) support
• Within Korean ethnic networks

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Film

• Flemingdon Park The global village 2002
• Available at the Audiovisual library (Media
  commons, 3rd floor, Robarts library),
  videocassette 00672, 46 minutes

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Neighbourhood History

• Proposed to North York City Councilors in 1958
• Touted as Canadas first completely planned
  apartment city
• Modeled on similar developments in Sweden,
  England, and Copenhagen
• Completed in early 1970s

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• Flemingdon Park Neighbourhood Profile
• 2001 Population 22,670

From http//www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profi
les/cns44.htm
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Comparisons to all of Toronto
20-50 difference gt50 difference
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Top 10 Recent Immigrants
From http//www.toronto.ca/demographics/pdf2/cpa4
4.pdf