PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Arts and Sciences: Sociology

In this project I investigate the spatial assimilation of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) immigrants in the United States. I examine whether the residential incorporation of MENA immigrants has decreased over time due to a changing social and political context following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I analyze data from the 2000 U.S. decennial census and 2012-2016 American Community Survey, to which I append data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, to test the effects of group-level characteristics and metropolitan area-level factors on spatial assimilation. I compare the experiences of the MENA population with those of South Asian and East Asian immigrants, who on average are both phenotypically different from non-Hispanic whites and score high on measures of socioeconomic status (SES), but may not have suffered the same degree of stigma and discrimination in the post-9/11 period. Thus, I provide an indirect test of the “context of reception” explanation for spatial assimilation in the United States by comparing the segregation and suburbanization patterns of the three groups. My findings suggest that the MENA population's residential segregation increased over time more than did the equivalent measures for South and East Asians, providing some support for the context of reception framework. The MENA population had the highest spatial concentration of the three groups, but the lowest level and lowest increase in their clustering patterns. Finally, on average the MENA group had the highest level of suburban residence in 2016, but the smallest increase in their suburbanization rate from 2000 to 2016, compared to South and East Asians. Multivariate analyses reveal that the relationships between segregation, acculturation, and SES characteristics vary by immigrant group and across measures, both aligning with and contradicting the predictions of spatial assimilation theory. These findings suggest that multiple frameworks should be used to account for (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeffrey Timberlake Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Erynn Casanova Ph.D. (Committee Member); Samantha Friedman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Leila Rodriguez Soto Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Arts and Sciences: Sociology

An extensive literature examines minority access to suburban residence as an indicator of spatial assimilation. However, much of this research either lacks analysis of the latest data or focuses on broad categories of race and ethnicity such as Asians and Latinos, overlooking variations within these groups. In this paper, I analyze the suburbanization patterns of two racial and eight national ancestry groups as of 2010, as well as trends from 1980 to 2010. I measure the effects of both household- and metropolitan area-level characteristics in these ten groups' suburbanization levels. The findings suggest that spatial assimilation theory is not applicable to the same degree for all groups. In other words, language proficiency, high educational attainment, and socioeconomic advantages do not necessarily guarantee spatial upward mobility for certain groups; rather, other characteristics of groups and metropolitan areas play a role in the broader process of suburban residence.

Committee: Jeffrey Timberlake Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Sarah Mayorga-Gallo Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Geography

There are three major frameworks on segregation changes: spatial assimilation, place stratification, and resurgent ethnicity. Previous efforts to evaluate the significance of each framework, dominantly relying on cross-urban metrics, fall short in shedding light on underlying processes of segregation changes within a city, providing only circumstantial evidences for each framework. The author diagnoses that this shortcoming is a result of neglecting variability of segregation at the neighborhood level. Accordingly, this dissertation argues that more attention should be given to local segregation measures and proposes a set of local segregation measures corresponding to two spatial dimensions of segregation: the Location Quotient (LQ) for concentration-evenness and Local Moran's I (LM-I) for clustering-exposure. Using these local measures, the dissertation examines segregation change at the neighborhood level in terms of residential patterning of race/ethnicity and neighborhood characteristics of racial/ethnic clustering/segregation in the Columbus Ohio MSA, 1990 and 2000. The overall findings strongly support resurgent ethnicity as the most relevant of the three frameworks.

Committee: Lawrence Brown (Advisor) Subjects: Geography

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Sociology

Most Americans want to live in quality neighborhoods, but there are great disparities in the characteristics of residential communities across the United States. Why do some households live in better neighborhoods than others? Specifically, why do African American and Latino households live in neighborhoods that are demographically different from those of whites with similar incomes? Part of the answer may be that individual levels of economic resources – such as wealth – improve the chances of living in a neighborhood that is congruent with one's economic profile. This research examines the impact of wealth, other individual characteristics (location, family of origin, human capital, and current family characteristics) on residential neighborhood attributes using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and residential neighborhood data from the U.S. Census. I use OLS regression to study the importance of explanatory variables – particularly wealth – in predicting three forms of locational attainment: neighborhood racial/ethnic composition, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and neighborhood stability. The results show that wealthier individuals have more access to neighborhoods with representative distributions of whites, higher incomes, and greater homeownership. The locational returns to individual characteristics vary by group and outcome, but Latinos have the most consistent locational returns. In general, the findings for Latinos show consistent support for the spatial assimilation model, while the results are more mixed for African Americans. Consistent with place stratification, this study finds that education, employment, and family stability often increase African Americans' spatial assimilation, but not to the same extent as Latinos. Additional support for this model comes from examining wealth, a characteristic that significantly predicts residential location for all groups. Being able to secure a home in a good community is an important goal (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lauren Krivo (Advisor) Subjects: