From Exclusionary Covenant to Ethnic Hyperdiversity in Jackson Heights, Queens^*

* The author would like to thank the many Hunter College students who, over the past decade, have contributed to her knowledge and understanding of the ethnic dynamics of Jackson Heights.

Abstract

When Edward MacDougall of the Queensboro Realty Company originally envisioned and developed Jackson Heights in Queens, New York in the early twentieth century, he intended it to be an exclusive suburban community for white, nonimmigrant Protestants within a close commute of Midtown Manhattan. He could not have anticipated the 1929 stock market crash, the subsequent real estate market collapse, or the change in immigration policies and patterns after the 19505. This case study examines how housing and public transportation infrastructure intended to prevent ethnic diversity laid the foundation for one of the most diverse middle‐class immigrant neighborhoods in the United States.

• immigrant neighborhoods
• New York City
• public transportation
• Queens

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ines M. Miyares

Dr. Miyares is a professor of geography at Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, New York 10021.