Suburbia Goes Global

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Ever since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, America has been viewed as the land of opportunity. In the early 20th century, immigrants to America chose to live in cities and on farms—where the opportunities existed. Today’s immigrants increasingly are choosing the suburbs—for the same reason.

“Suburbs are on their way to becoming the most common place of residence for Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans, the groups that make up most of the country’s foreign-born population,” writes Brad Edmondson in Preservation (Jan.-Feb. 2000). Between 1990 and 1998, the number of suburban blacks increased 41 percent to 9 million; the suburban Hispanic population increased 58 percent to 11.7 million; and suburban Asians increased 76 percent to 5.2 million. Meanwhile, the non-Hispanic white share of the suburban population declined from 81 percent to 77 percent. The bottom line: The days of the homogenous suburb are numbered.

• Near the nation’s capitol, for instance, recent Korean immigrants are working three or four jobs in the worst part of town so they can afford to live and raise a family in the comfortable suburb of Annandale, Virginia, home to a strong Korean community for some 20 years.
• Thirty years ago, New Orleans East was predominantly white. Today, half its residents are black and half are Vietnamese. The Vietnamese people, who began arriving in 1975, found the Delta climate similar to that of their homeland, and their Catholic beliefs fit well in the community. A mid-1970s recession created a supply of affordable rental housing. Today, the Versailles Village business district is lined with dozens of Vietnamese retail establishments, and nearly 60 percent of the Vietnamese residents own homes, most worth between $100,000 and $300,000.
• Fargo, North Dakota, has become home for hundreds of Somalis in recent years. And, no, it wasn’t the weather that attracted them. The immigrants discovered striking similarities between their basic values and those of the native-born white majority. As one observer told Preservation, “We all tend to be family-oriented people; our religion tells us to live a certain way, without alcohol or drugs. We fit into a conservative environment.”

Part of this changing face of the suburbs can be attributed to sprawl. Former bedroom communities have grown large enough to support a job-creating suburban economy. And immigrants with marketable skills and a working knowledge of English can often bypass the urban core and land directly where the jobs are. “A big segment of the immigration wave is college-educated and ready for a good job, especially those from certain regions, such as Asian Indians, Japanese, and many Europeans,” writes Edmondson. “The most integrated suburbs often cater to middle-class buyers with strong shared interests in nearby employers, convenient recreation, or good schools. They are often new subdivisions along the sprawling outer edges of big metro areas.”

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