Year Published
2010
Abstract
Two significant trends have occurred in urban areas across the United States during the past
decades: immigration and the decentralization of employment. While each trend has been
investigated by research, the magnitude of spatial disparity between immigrant settlement
patterns and employment location and its change over time has received much less attention.
Using a sample of the 60 largest immigrant metropolitan areas, this study uses a Spatial
Mismatch Index (Martin, 2001) and regression methods to address this question over the period
1980 - 2000. Results indicate immigrants are more spatially mismatched with job opportunities
than the white population, but less so than the black population. We find that job growth
occurred close to where the native-born whites concentrate, and away from immigrants and other
minority populations. However, immigrants residential location patterns shifted towards
employment opportunities and was able to offset the otherwise enlarging spatial disparity.
decades: immigration and the decentralization of employment. While each trend has been
investigated by research, the magnitude of spatial disparity between immigrant settlement
patterns and employment location and its change over time has received much less attention.
Using a sample of the 60 largest immigrant metropolitan areas, this study uses a Spatial
Mismatch Index (Martin, 2001) and regression methods to address this question over the period
1980 - 2000. Results indicate immigrants are more spatially mismatched with job opportunities
than the white population, but less so than the black population. We find that job growth
occurred close to where the native-born whites concentrate, and away from immigrants and other
minority populations. However, immigrants residential location patterns shifted towards
employment opportunities and was able to offset the otherwise enlarging spatial disparity.
Research Category