Patterns and forms of Latino cultural landscapes: southwest Detroit, a case of incremental re-adaptive use

Abstract

Latino immigrants are transforming and retrofitting lifeless, dilapidated, auto-oriented urban areas to create distinctive pedestrian-oriented places filled with urban activities and cultural representation. Two of the central questions this paper seeks to address are, why do Latino neighborhoods form in large urban areas and what are the forces that shape them? I have discovered that a three-part approach is critical in documenting the influence that Latinos have on communities. Part one looks at the current changes in the demographic landscape and patterns of consumption. Part two explores the issues and topics relating to neighborhood selection based on the presence of socio-cultural infrastructure and support. Part three looks in detail at the physical aspects of urban composition and neighborhood structure. By better understanding the issues contained in each part of the creation of a Latino neighborhood, policy makers, civic leaders, urban planners and designers can more effectively repopulate and facilitate healthier urban Latino communities while benefiting from the economic revitalization of derelict urban areas.

Keywords:

• Latino Urbanism
• urban design
• everyday urbanism
• economic development
• urban revitalization
• adaptive re-use

Notes

1. The research in this study is qualitative and involves a two-stage process. First, it provides an inventory of the commercial service-provider businesses owned by Latinos or geared specifically toward this ethnic community. Second, it includes informal interviews with local business owners and their customers. Field data on Latino business types, services provided and locations within the corridor were collected and compared with spatial patterns along a 3.5-mile section. Information from secondary sources, such as census data, demographics and economic trends and business permits, further supplement the study. Such qualitative ethnographic techniques as field observation and photo and video documentation are a particularly important part of this study.