Residential Settlement Patterns among Immigrants in Atlanta Metropolitan Area, Georgia

Abstract

This study investigates the diversity of immigrant populations and their spatial residential patterns at the census tract level within twenty‐nine counties of the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (), using 2013 American Community Survey () five‐year estimates summary data from 2008–2012. Correlations coefficient analyses with local job opportunities, education level, and English proficiency and the presence of foreign‐born populations are also discussed. We find that immigrants have different patterns of settlement depending on their place of birth and region of origin. Local job opportunities, dominant language at home, and education levels also relate to the distribution of foreign‐born populations. Further research opportunities concerning differential settlement are discussed.

Key words:

• Atlanta
• immigrants
• settlement patterns

This research was supported by the UNC‐Greensboro Graduate School 2015‐2016 Inclusiveness Award. We appreciate Shelly Brown‐Jeffy, Paul A. Knapp, and Elizabeth Nelson for their valuable feedback in earlier version of the manuscript, and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback that has substantially improved this paper. All shortcomings are nonetheless mine.

This research was supported by the UNC‐Greensboro Graduate School 2015‐2016 Inclusiveness Award. We appreciate Shelly Brown‐Jeffy, Paul A. Knapp, and Elizabeth Nelson for their valuable feedback in earlier version of the manuscript, and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback that has substantially improved this paper. All shortcomings are nonetheless mine.

Notes

This research was supported by the UNC‐Greensboro Graduate School 2015‐2016 Inclusiveness Award. We appreciate Shelly Brown‐Jeffy, Paul A. Knapp, and Elizabeth Nelson for their valuable feedback in earlier version of the manuscript, and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback that has substantially improved this paper. All shortcomings are nonetheless mine.

1. We intend to use the terms interchangeably, as is not uncommon in the literature, including reports from the United States Census Bureau; see also Grieco and others (2012), for example.

2. There are, of course, many ways to divide countries into regions, and the authors acknowledge that Mexico is often included with the United States and Canada are part of “North America”. In this case, based on 2013 United Nations classifications, Mexico is included with Central America.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Arwa M. A. Altaher

Dr. Arwa Mohamed Alnaass Altaher is a recent graduate in Geography from the University of North Carolina—Greensboro, North Carolina 27412; [[email protected]].

Joyce F. Clapp

Joyce F. Clapp is a PhD student in Geography and a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of North Carolina—Greensboro; [[email protected]].

Selima Sultana

Dr. Selima Sultana is a professor and the director of Graduate Studies in Geography at the University of North Carolina—Greensboro; [[email protected]].