Understanding Processes of Ethnic Concentration and Dispersal: South Asian Residential Preferences in Glasgow

By Jennifer McGarrigle and Jennifer Leigh McGarrigle

Questions surrounding 'race' as a spatial divider have come to the forefront of the political and media agenda in recent times leading us to re-visit the debate on the significance and causes of residential segregation. Drawing on a spatial analysis of the changing dynamics of the ethnic geography of the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area in Scotland, UK and qualitative research on the residential preferences of 40 South Asian households, this book enhances our understanding of patterns of ethnic settlement in the city and the motivations shaping these. The author documents new residential patterns, including South Asian suburbanisation into traditionally 'white' areas of the city. The processes underlying both these changes and continued ethnic concentration are shown to be dynamic and complex, encompassing elements of choice and constraint but reflecting 'negotiated choices' and a diverse array of individual differentials such as class, status, education, age and culture. The book responds critically to the debate on residential segregation, including UK government policy on community cohesion, from the perspective of South Asian residents and their real and diverse housing choices.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9053566716
• ISBN13: 9789053566718
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"