Artículos
Vol. 13 (2022): enero-diciembre, 2022
Exploring Mexican Immigrant Settlement in the Suburbs of Vancouver
The University of British Columbia, Canada
The University of British Columbia, Canada
Resumen
In the current age of migration, suburbs in many Canadian cities are becoming important ports of entry for new immigrants from around the world. This has led to a growth in cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity in the suburbs reflecting global migration patterns. In Vancouver, Canada, the growing “suburbanization” of immigrants is shaping social, cultural, economic, and political landscapes in these areas. Through interviews with 60 key informants, we explore the settlement of Mexican immigrants in Burnaby, Surrey, and Abbotsford, fast-growing Canadian communities, and popular destinations for Mexican immigrants. The findings reveal that Mexican immigrants living in the suburbs of Vancouver face numerous barriers, including lack of access to affordable housing to rent or buy, lack of information on settlement services, and difficulty securing acceptable employment.
Palabras clave
- immigrant settlement
- housing experiences
- Mexican immigrants
- Vancouver
- Canada
Cómo citar
Citas
- Alba, R., Logan, J., Stults, B. J., Marzan, G., & Zhang, W. (1999). Immigrant groups in the suburbs: A reexamination of suburbanization and spatial assimilation. American sociological review, 64 (3), 446-460.
- Abu-Laban, Y., & Garber, J. (2005). The construction of the geography of immigration as a policy problem: The United States and Canada compared. Urban Affairs Review, 40 (4), 520–561.
- Armony, V. (2015). Settling North of the U.S. border: Canada’s Latinos and the particular case of Quebec. LASA Forum, 46 (4), 20-22.
- August, M., & Walks, A. (2018). Gentrification, suburban decline, and the financialization of multifamily rental housing: The case of Toronto. Geoforum, 89, 124-136.
- Bell, S. (2018, February 23). Mexico again among Canada’s top sources of refugee claims after visa requirement lifted. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/4042075/mexico-refugee-claims-spike-visa-lift/
- Broadway, M. (2000). Planning for change in small towns or trying to avoid the slaughterhouse blues. Journal of Rural Studies, 16 (1), 37-46.
- Bunting, T., Walks, A., & Filion, P. (2004). The uneven geography of housing affordability stress in Canadian metropolitan areas. Housing Studies, 19 (3), 361–393.
- Carter, T., & Vitiello, D. (2012). Immigrants, refugees, and housing. Immigrant geographies of North American cities, 38, 91-111.
- Chapman, L. (2017, April 17). El número de mexicanos que busca asilo en Canadá aumento en marzo. Radio Canada International. Retrieved from http://www.rcinet.ca/es/2017/04/17/el-numero-de-mexicanos-que-busca-asilo-en-canada-aumento-en-marzo/
- City of Abbotsford. (2017). City of Abbotsford Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.abbotsford.ca/business_and_development/statistics.htm
- City of Surrey. (2017). Community Demographic Profiles. City of Surrey. Retrieved from http://www.surrey.ca/business-economic-development/1417.aspx
- Depner, W. P., & Teixeira, C. (2012). Welcoming communities? An assessment of community services in attracting and retaining immigrants in the South Okanagan Valley (British Columbia, Canada), with policy recommendations. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 7 (2), 72-97.
- Drolet, J., & Robertson, J. (2011). In the smaller city, a settlement worker wears many hats: Understanding settlement experiences in Kamloops. British Columbia. Our Diverse Cities, 8, 139-144.
- Fong, E., & Berry, B. (2017). Immigration and the City. Cambridge, EN: Polity Press.
- Francis, J., & Hiebert, D. (2014). Shaky foundations: Refugees in Vancouver´s housing market. The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien, 58 (1), 63-78.
- Ghosh, S. (2015). How are Sri-Lankan Tamils doing in Toronto’s housing markets? A comparative study of refugee claimants and family class migrants. In C. Teixeira & W. Li (Eds.), The housing and economic experiences of immigrants in US and Canadian cities (pp. 98-120). Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Gordon, J. (2020). Reconnecting the housing market to the labour market: Foreign ownership and housing affordability in urban Canada. Canadian Public Policy, 46 (1), 1-22.
- Grant, J., Walks, A., & Ramos, H. (2020). Changing Neighbourhoods: Social and Spatial Polarization in Canadian Cities. Vancouver, CA: UBC Press.
- Grigoryeva, I., & Ley, D. (2019). The price ripple effect in the Vancouver housing market. Urban Geography, 40 (8), 1168-1190.
- Hiebert, D. (2009). Newcomers in the Canadian housing market: A longitudinal study, 2001-2005. The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien, 53 (3), 268-287.
- Hiebert, D. (2015). Ethnocultural minority enclaves in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Montreal, CA: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
- Hiebert, D., Mendez, P., & Wyly, E. (2008). The housing situation and needs of recent immigrants in the Vancouver metropolitan area. (Metropolis British Columbia Working Paper No. 08-01).
- Hou, F., & Picot, G. (2016). Changing immigrant characteristics and entry earnings. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2016374-eng.htm
- Hulchanski, D. (2010). The three cities within Toronto. Income Polarization Among Toronto’s Neighbourhoods, 1970-2005.Toronto, CA: Cities Centre Press/University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.urbancentre.utoronto.ca/pdfs/curp/tnrn/Three-Cities-Within-Toronto-2010-Final.pdf
- Fiedler, R., Schuurman, N., & Hyndman, J. (2006). Hidden homelessness: An indicator-based approach for examining the geographies of recent immigrants at-risk of homelessness in Greater Vancouver. Cities, 23 (3), 205-216.
- Iacovetta, F., Draper, P., & Ventresca, R. (1997). A nation of immigrants: Women, Workers, and Communities in Canadian History, 1840s-1960s. Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Kataure, V., & Walton-Roberts, M. (2015). The good, the bad, and the suburban: Tracing North American theoretical debates about ethnic enclaves, ethnic suburbs, and housing preference. In C. Teixeira & W. Li (Eds.), The housing and economic experiences of immigrants in US and Canadian cities (pp. 146-175). Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Kaushik, V., & Drolet, J. (2018). Settlement and integration needs of skilled immigrants in Canada. Social Sciences, 7 (5), 1-14.
- Kilbride, K. M. (2014). Immigrant integration: research implications for future policy. Toronto, CA: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
- Kilbride, K. M., & Webber, S. (2006). Plug them in and turn them on: Homelessness, immigrants, and social capital.Ottawa, CA: Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada.
- King, K. M. (2009). The geography of immigration in Canada: settlement, education, labour activity and occupation profiles (Working Paper No. 2009-WPONT-012). Toronto, CA: Martin Prosperity Institute. Retrieved from https://triec.ca/uploads/351/the_geography_of_immigration_in_canada.pdf
- Kobayashi, A., & Preston, V. (2020). International Migration and Immigration: Remaking the Multicultural Canadian City. In M. Moos, T. Vinodrai, & R. Walker (Eds.), Canadian Cities in Transition: Understanding Contemporary Urbanism (pp. 129-150). Toronto, CA: Oxford University Press.
- Leone, R., & Carroll, B. W. (2010). Decentralisation and Devolution in Canadian Social Housing Policy. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 28 (3), 389?404. https://doi.org/10.1068/c09153
- Ley, D. (2010). Millionaire migrants: Tran-Pacific life lines.Worchester, MASS: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Ley, D., & Lynch, N. (2020). The social geography of income polarisation in Metropolitan Vancouver, 1980-2015. In J. Grant, H. Ramos, & A. Walks (Eds.), Changing Neighbourhoods: Social and Spatial Polarization in Canadian Cities (pp. 127-148). Vancouver, CA: UBC Press.
- Lo, L., Shalaby, A., & Alshalalfah, B. (2011). Relationship between immigrant settlement patterns and transit use in the Greater Toronto area. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 137 (4), 470-476.
- Lysenko, T., & Wang, Q. (2015). Immigrant underemployment in the US urban labour markets. InC. Teixeira & W. Li (Eds.), The housing and economic experiences of immigrants in US and Canadian cities (pp. 261-280). Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Diaz McConnell, E., & Redstone Akresh, I. (2008). Through the front door: The housing outcomes of new lawful immigrants. International Migration Review, 42 (1), 134-162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00116.x
- Mehler Paperny, A. (2017, June 13). Canada’s detention of Mexicans surges after visa lift. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-immigration-mexico-detention-idUSKBN1942IW
- Mensah, J., & Williams, C. J. (2017). Boomerang ethics: How racism affects us all. Halifax, CA: Fernwood Publishing.
- Moos, M., & Skaburskis, A. (2010). The globalization of the urban housing markets: Immigration and changing housing demand in Vancouver. Urban Geography, 31 (6), 724-749.
- Murdie, R. A., & Skop, E. (2012). Immigration and urban and suburban settlements. In C. Teixeira, W. Li, & A. Kobayashi (Eds.), Immigrant Geographies of North American Cities (pp. 48-68). Oxford, ENG: Oxford University Press.
- NewToBC. (2018). Immigrant Demographics Vancouver, B.C. Retrieved from https://newtobc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Vancouver-Immigrant-Demographic-Profile-2018.pdf
- Redacción NM. (2016). La comunidad mexicana en Canadá: ¿cuántos son y dónde viven? NM Noticias. Retrieved from http://nmnoticias.ca/2016/02/18/mexicanos-son-los-latinos-con-mayor-presencia-en-canada/
- Novac, S., Darden, J., Hulchanski, D., & Seguin, A.M. (2004). Housing Discrimination in Canada: Stakeholder Views and Research Gaps. In D. Hulchanski & M. Shapcott (Eds.), Finding room: Policy options for a Canadian rental housing strategy (pp. 135–146). Toronto, CA: Centre for Urban and Community Studies/University of Toronto.
- Pendakur, K., & Pendakur, R. (2015). The Colour of Money Redux: Immigrant/Ethnic Earnings Disparity in Canada, 1991-2006. In C. Teixeira & W. Li (Eds.), The housing and economic experiences of immigrants in US and Canadian cities (pp. 227-260). Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Perkel, C. (2017, September 21). Canada border agent detentions of Mexicans surge to highest levels in a decade. The Canadian Press. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-border-agent-detentions-of-mexicans-surge-to-highest-levels-in-decade/article36351895/
- Qadeer, M. A. (2016). Multicultural Cities: Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles. Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Ray, B., & Preston, V. (2009). Geographies of Discrimination: Variations in Perceived Discomfort and Discrimination in Canada’s Gateway Cities. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 7 (3), 228?249.
- Rose, D. (2019, November). Creating a Home in Canada: Refugee Housing Challenges and Potential Policy Solutions. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/canada-refugee-housing-challenges-policy-solutions
- Schmunk, R. (2019, June 12). Home prices in Vancouver are quadruple what average millennial can afford: report. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/home-prices-vancouver-twice-what-millennials-can-afford-1.5172388
- Samuels, G. (2017, March 18). Hundreds of Mexicans detained while crossing to Canada. The Times. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hundreds-of-mexicans-detained-while-crossing-to-canada-n8vsr6x6h
- Simich, L., Beiser, M., Stewart, M., & Mwakarimba, E. (2005). Providing social support for immigrants and refugees in Canada: Challenges and directions. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 7 (4), 259-268.
- Singer, A., Hardwick, S., & Brettell, C. B. (2008). Twenty-First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
- Statistics Canada. (2016). Census Profile 2016 [Data set]. Retrieved from https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm
- Statistics Canada. (2017). Immigrant and ethnocultural diversity: Key results from the 2016 Census [Data set]. Retrieved from https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/rt-td/imm-eng.cfm
- Teixeira, C. (2014). Living on the “edge of the suburbs” of Vancouver: A case study of the housing experiences and coping strategies of recent immigrants in Surrey and Richmond. The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien, 58 (2), 168-187. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2013.12055.x
- Teixeira, C. (2017). New Canadians’ settlement experiences in Vancouver’s suburbs, with suggestions for policy directions regarding rental housing and community services. Papers in Applied Geography, 3 (3-4), 339-354.
- Teixeira, C., & Li, W. (2015). The Housing and Economic Experiences of Immigrants in U.S. and Canadian Cities. Toronto, CA: University of Toronto Press.
- Teixeira, C., Li, W., & Kobayashi, A. (2012). Immigrant geographies of North American cities. Oxford, EN: Oxford University Press.
- Tood, D. (2019, December 26). Douglas Todd: 5 things we learned about migration in 2019. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-5-things-we-learned-about-migration-in-2019
- Vézina, M., & Houle, R. (2017). Settlement patterns and social integration of the population with an immigrant background in the Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver metropolitan areas. Canada: Statistics Canada.
- Walks, A. R., & Bourne, L. S. (2006). Ghettos in Canada’s cities? Racial segregation, ethnic enclaves and poverty concentration in Canadian urban areas. The Canadian Geographer, 50 (3), 273-297. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2006.00142.x
- World Population Review. (2019). Vancouver Population 2020. Retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/vancouver-population/
- Younglai, R., & Wang, C. (2019, September 13). How Canada’s suburban dream became a debt-filled nightmare. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/economy/article-how-canadas-suburban-dream-became-a-debt-filled-nightmare/