Race, Immigrants, and Residence: A New Racial Geography of Washington, D.C.^*

* The research for this article was made possible by funding from George Washington University's Center for Washington Area Studies. Earlier versions of the article were presented at the 2002 miniconference on “Immigration and America's Changing Ethnic Landscapes,” sponsored by the University of Georgia Department of Geography, and at the 2003 Association of American Geographers annual meeting in New Orleans. The authors would like to thank Jill H. Wilson for her assistance and advice

Abstract.

This study examines the residential patterns of immigrant newcomers within a relatively new immigrant destination, Washington, D.C. Particular attention is given to how these patterns are shaped by the newcomers' race and ethnicity. Our analysis is based primarily upon data on immigrant flows from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for the 1990–1998 period. Evidence from our study suggests a racial and ethnic hierarchy to the residential location of Africans, Asians, Europeans, and Latin Americans, providing some support for the pattern expected in the place‐stratification model. When their residential patterns are compared with those of non‐Hispanic blacks, we find that African newcomers are more likely to settle among blacks than are other regional‐origin groups. However, Africans are also found to reside in multiethnic zip codes where large numbers of newcomers are concentrated. The findings suggest that race is an important but not exclusive factor in explaining the residential choices of recent immigrants.

Key words:

• immigrant newcomers
• place stratification
• race
• Washington

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samantha Friedman

Dr. Friedman is an assistant professor of sociology at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Audrey Singer

Dr. Singer is an immigration fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. 20036

Marie Price

Dr. Price is an associate professor of geography at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052

Ivan Cheung

Dr. Cheung is the director of geographic information science programs at the Association of American Geographers, Washington, D.C. 20009