Landscapes of the Ethnic Economy

Immigration has expanded dramatically in both traditional and emerging receiving nations. This worldwide boom has profoundly altered urban areas as new arrivals have transformed inner cities and suburbs alike into bastions of new ethnic economic activity. Examining the essential role of space in assisting and modifying ethnic business activity, this book considers how ethnic economies are reshaping the urban landscape in the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, Germany, and Italy. Each chapter explores the significance of urban space and local context in the development of an ethnic economy and how, in turn, ethnic economies have helped to recreate urban neighborhoods. With its international scope and rich case studies, this book will be invaluable for scholars and students alike in the fields of ethnic studies, urban studies, economic development, geography, and sociology.

This trenchant volume brings readers abreast of changing ethnic economies in Berlin, Manchester, Rome, Sydney, and Toronto as well as Cleveland, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Phoenix. Also focused thematically around the influence of space on ethnic economies, and the reciprocal impact of ethnic economies on urban landscapes, this book's original approach is a serious contribution to the burgeoning international literature on ethnic economies., Kaplan and Li have gathered an impressive international ensemble of geographers to explore an under-examined aspect of the well-studied topic of ethnic economies (ethnic businesses and enclaves) . . . .The case studies are fascinating and useful to anyone interested in ethnic and immigrant community-based businesses as modes of survival. . . . Highly recommended., This valuable contribution to the study of ethnic businesses puts the previously ignored issue of space on the research agenda through an encompassing discussion of commercial enclave economies, changing metropolitan landscapes, and place-making.

David H. Kaplan is professor of geography at Kent State University. Wei Li is associate professor of Asian Pacific American studies and geography at Arizona State University.