Exploring Minority Enclave Areas in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver Daniel Hiebert Metropolis British Columbia and Geography, UBC June, 2009

Acknowledgement Thanks to Multiculturalism Branch of CIC (was in Heritage when this research was commissioned) Thanks to Canadian Heritage for access to a special tabulation of data

Outline Context: Growing interest in the geography of immigrant settlement and social diversity Basic questions motivating the study Methodology: Neighbourhood typology Analysis: Enclave dynamics in MTV Conclusion: Should we be concerned?

1. The context: Growing public interest Are poor, 'ethnic' areas cages? Doug Saunders The Globe & Mail. 2 March 2009 How best to serve students in culturally clustered schools?; Educators debate need for same-culture role models amid reality of 'segregated' schools Louise Brown. Toronto Star. May 20, pg. A.6Toronto Star May 20, 2008 In urban areas, minorities no longer; Visible minorities dominate some Toronto suburbs Graeme Hamilton. National Post. Apr 3, pg. A.1National PostApr 3, 2008 In praise of ghettoes San Grewal. Toronto Star. Feb 2, pg. ID.2Toronto StarFeb 2, 2008 New immigrants to GTA choosing suburbs over city, Uof T study finds Natalie Alcoba. National Post. Apr 1, pg. A.9National PostApr 1, 2008 Do ethnic enclaves impede integration? Marina Jiménez. The Globe and Mail. Feb 8, pg. A.8The Globe and MailFeb 8, 2007

Interest from government and NGOs

Why the interest? Maybe the micro-patterns of residential location are irrelevant to national public policy But… The media makes these inescapable issues Housing is fundamental to the settlement process where can tell you a lot about how (i.e., how well is integration going?)

Further potential connections and questions: Are worsening economic outcomes for newcomers linked to their geography of settlement? Are cultures of poverty being developed, of immigrants / visible minorities adopting defeatist attitudes and transmitting them to their Canadian- born children? Could this be a source of social tension? Is there a possibility of race-based riots, as in some other countries? (Diane Francis; Martin Collacott)

Academic work In general enclaves are interpreted in polarized terms As revealing economic marginalization and a lack of assimilation / integration Or as helpful social environments essential to the well-being of newcomers and members of minority groups

International context These questions are at the forefront of public debate in many countries, especially in Europe Terrorist acts, riots (UK, France), politically- motivated murder (Netherlands), have all contributed to these concerns Several countries have even adopted desegregation policies Public opinion is sharply negative of perceived minority isolation

Qualification There are VERY FEW studies of social life and attitudes in Canadian minority enclaves Ironically, for all the attention to this issue, we know little This study: broad statistical overview of enclaves in MTV But it cannot answer many critical questions… need more research…

2. Questions motivating this study How has the residential geography of Visible Minority groups changed between 1996 and 2006? Are enclaves becoming more prevalent in MTV? What is the socio-economic profile of Visible Minority enclaves? Who lives in them? Who does not? Are there systematic differences between these sub-populations? Are enclaves ethnoculturally homogeneous? What is the relationship between enclaves and poverty? Where are the areas of concern, where we find overlapping social isolation and socio-economic marginalization? What is the demographic profile of these areas of concern?

3. Methodology Defining enclaves: Neighbourhood typology Census data

Defining enclaves There is no perfect measure Definitions of enclaves vary Traditional urban geography: maps and indices of segregation between groups Emerging international comparative method using neighbourhood typology

Neighbourhood types (after Poulson et al 2001) I. White areas (citadels) or Isolated host communities: at least 80% White II. White dominant areas: between 50-80% White III. Mixed, Visible-Minority dominant areas: 50-70% Visible Minority IV. Mixed minority enclaves: at least 70% Visible minority but no dominant group V. Minority group enclaves: as above but with one group >2x any other group VI. Ghettoes: when 60%+ of a group are in Type V areas (does not occur in Canada)

Utility of the typology approach Conceptually simple Easy to calculate (based on Census Tract units of measurement) Possibility of international comparison The types are probably meaningful in lived experience, though this needs investigation to verify

Based on the types, what do we ask? Change over time (census->census) Distribution of different groups Association between neighbourhood types and other variables, especially poverty Another study: generational dynamics

4. Results of the analysis Question 1: Are more people living in enclaves in MTV? No and yes…

Residential change in Montreal

Residential change in Toronto

Residential change in Vancouver

How does this compare? 2000: USA: The typical African-American person (12% of population) lives in a census tract that is 51% Black, 33% White, 16% Other (more than 4x over-representation) 2001: Vancouver: The typical Chinese-Canadian person (17% of population) lives in a census tract that is 46% White, 34% Chinese, 20% other (2x over-representation)

Results… Question 2: Who lives in / outside enclaves?

Table 3a: Characteristics of residents, by neighbourhood type, Montréal, 2006 Neighbourhood types IIIIIIIVVTotal Population, % data2,484,293963,553150,28123,5356,6393,628,301 % Owned (%) Median household income ($)58,37344,68632,35626,70430,70253,405 Non-official home languages (%) Immigrants 2001 to Visible minority population University degree Unemployment rate Government transfers (% income) Prevalence of low income (%)

Table 3b: Characteristics of residents, by neighbourhood type, Toronto, 2006 Neighbourhood types IIIIIIIVVTotal Population, % data1,231,7781,853,5191,003,231306,054710,9075,105,489 % Owned (%) Median household income ($) 83,63369,39963,33356,51461,11969,716 Non-official home languages (%) Immigrants 2001 to Visible minority population University degree Unemployment rate Government transfers (% income) Prevalence of low income (%)

Table 3c: Characteristics of residents, by neighbourhood type, Vancouver, 2006 Neighbourhood types IIIIIIIVVTotal Population, % data491,140759,988551,29228,596285,5602,116,576 % Owned (%) Median household income ($)67,41057,30253,63651,87149,19657,526 Non-official home languages (%) Immigrants 2001 to Visible minority population University degree Unemployment rate Government transfers (% income) Prevalence of low income (%)

Results… Generalizations Montreal: few live in enclaves but they are part of the landscape of deep deprivation Irony: penalty is highest in the city with the least enclave development Toronto and Vancouver: culture gap is large but socio-economic gap is less significant Less penalty for residents of these areas Interesting point: in general residents of single-group- dominant areas (Type V) are better off than those in multiple-group enclaves

What about members of VM groups inside vs. outside enclaves? Are there systematic differences? Yes, but in several important aspects they are not large

Results Question 3: How ethno-culturally diverse are enclaves? Expectation: much less diverse than mixed areas Method… count number of groups across areas

Table 5: Average number of ethnic origin groups in each neighbourhood Type, MTV, 2006 IIIIIIIVVTotal Montréal Toronto Vancouver Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 census, Dissemination Area profiles

Results… Question 4: What is the relationship between enclaves and poverty? Logic of a 2x2 table Enclave (Types IV and V) vs. areas of double avg. LICO If enclave = poverty, then everyone should be in the cells on the major diagonal

Areas of deepest poverty Vancouver: Downtown Eastside: not an immigrant area Montreal: most of the neighbourhoods in deep poverty are not immigrant / minority areas Toronto: deep poverty tends to be associated with immigrants and / or minorities (but it is also the CMA with the highest ratio of immigrants)

Results… Question 5: Who lives in economically marginalized enclaves? MTV: age is not a significant variable In M and T, residents of these areas are likely to be less educated than those outside them… but the relationship is reversed in Vancouver Montreal: South Asians Toronto: Blacks and South Asians Vancouver: Chinese

Reflections (1) Growing number of newcomers / members of VM groups And this is, generally, an economically disadvantaged population But also a highly variegated one And with a high desire to purchase equity in the housing market This population generally gravitates to areas of cheaper housing, either rental (especially social housing) or for purchase Residential landscapes: areas of social housing, condominiums, and single-detached suburban houses As this happens, Visible Minorities move away from White- dominated neighbourhoods

Reflections (2) But generally NOT to areas of economic deprivation The trajectory is toward classic enclaves, not ghettoes Non-rigorous evidence also suggests that they are NOT areas with anti-mainstream attitudes (in contrast to the banlieu areas of Paris) … this needs further study Also see high education levels of enclaves And there is actually an interesting mix of ethnic dominance / diversity in these areas

Reflections (3) But there are some areas that we should classify as both enclaves and marginalized 3.8% of VM population in Montreal, 5.4% in Toronto, and 2.6% in Vancouver These areas tend to be associated with negative stereotypes This is an important social policy issue That is, enclaves IN GENERAL are not a policy issue, but marginalized enclaves are Should the fix be geographical?

Reflections (4) There are important differences across MTV In the scale of enclave development In the growth of enclave areas In the groups living in enclaves In the socio-economic nature of enclaves No single-policy solution…