Suburban Ethnic Enclaves and Spatial Assimilation: Koreans in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This paper examines the changing demographic and sociospatial aspects of ethnic enclaves, focusing on Koreans in the New York metropolitan area. Traditionally, urban ethnic enclaves have been understood as temporary way stations for newly arrived poor immigrants facing cultural and language barriers. However, in the current era of globalization and migration, due to the forces created by the increasing influx of affluent immigrant populations and transnational capital from booming Asian economies, ethnic enclaves have evolved into upscale ethnic concentrations by choice, often established in suburban areas, transcending their traditional function. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, this study explains the demographic and spatial factors that have created increasing immigrant suburbanization and divergent patterns of ethnic enclaves in a metropolitan context. Second, this study evaluates the adequacy of the traditional notion of ethnic enclaves as a hindrance to immigrant assimilation. I rely on various sources of both quantitative and qualitative data such as aggregated and micro census data of 2000 and 2010 and fieldwork data. This paper will enhance our understanding of the changing character of ethnic enclaves and challenge the traditional notion of spatial assimilation by reflecting on the impact of a globalized economy and the divergent patterns of ethnic enclaves.