Should I stay or should i go? : residential mobility in ethnic enclaves in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Spatial assimilation theory presents a dilemma for community-based organizations (CBOs) in ethnic enclaves, especially those CBOs that assist enclavers--residents of ethnic enclaves-in building assets such as increased earnings or English fluency. The theory suggests that as immigrants build assets they are more likely to leave ethnic enclaves in search of more amenity-rich neighborhoods. Thus, the very people that could be leaders in community revitalization are also the most apt to leave, interrupting the potential positive benefits they could have on the community by, for example, spending money in community, creating businesses that employ community members, or serving on the local Parent-Teacher Association. To better understand residential mobility in ethnic enclaves in Lawrence, Massachusetts, this thesis analyzes results of a survey of Lawrence enclavers to identify which factors were important to enclavers in choosing a home both when they first moved to Lawrence and now. Further, this thesis identifies factors that Lawrence meets particularly well and factors that leave room for improvement across several points in time.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Stelson, Aaron (Aaron Barzelay)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lorlene Hoyt.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39940

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39940