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Part III. U.S. Hispanic/Latino Geographies: Changing Spatial Patterns and Their Implications
- State University of New York Press
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P Pa ar rt t I II II I U U. .S S. . H Hi is sp pa an ni ic c/ /L La at ti in no o G Ge eo og gr ra ap ph hi ie es s: : C Ch ha an ng gi in ng g S Sp pa at ti ia al l P Pa at tt te er rn ns s a an nd d T Th he ei ir r I Im mp pl li ic ca at ti io on ns s Section three contains six chapters that present settlement, changing patterns, landscape transformations, settlement experiences, and other issues for Hispanic/Latino populations. Chapter 14 begins with a comprehensive overview of Latino settlement and the growing Hispanic ethnic diversity. It also provides a discussion of various issues of importance to Latino Americans. The next three chapters focus on Latino settlements and particular issues in three large U.S. metropolitan areas. Chapter 15 focuses on the changing Latino settlement patterns in New York City, especially those related to ethnic diversity. It also touches upon different “settlement experiences” that immigrants have had, thus sharpening the focus of an important concept introduced in the previous chapter. Chapter 16 focuses on Bolivian immigrants, in detail, focusing specifically on the spatial aspects of their social networks, and how their transnational status and surroundings influence their actions, in relation both to the Washington, D.C. region and their homeland. Chapter 17 examines the issues of assimilation and cultural acclimation of Mexicans. It provides a tropical twist by examining the relationships between recent Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans — people who share a country, a home country, and a culture, but who suffer from class tensions. The remaining two chapters move to small city and rural environments recently influenced by Latino inmigration . Chapter 18 is a case study of Allentown, PA, one of the Northeast’s smaller cities that has become attractive to Puerto Rican and other Latino migrants from a range of Latin American cultures. It deals with the experiences of Latino migrants by examining the settlement pattern over two decades and concludes that, rather than assimilation, a case of sequent occupancies (one culture replaces another departing culture) has occurred in this city. This chapter also deals with the ways in which Latinos have changed the local landscapes architecturally , socially, and otherwise, and how their settlements have affected Allentown residents who are not Hispanic. Chapter 19 focuses on the Hispanic and Anglo population changes in the Texas Panhandle. Like some other rural areas, this region has experienced Anglo depopulation due to declining economic opportunities. Yet, Latinos, especially direct arrivals from Mexico, perceive opportunity in the same abandoned places. Arriving Latinos do not replace the occupations once held by Anglos, but accept low-paying jobs and contribute to a new occupational structure in the regions. ...