1. How do the aesthetics of different neighborhoods and their geographical positions relative to the rest of New York and the surrounding waters influence the tendency of certain communities to slowly dissolve in one area and form again somewhere else?

2. It appears that although the majority of the population in a neighborhood may belong to a specific ethnic group, the constant movement of people in and out of New York, and in and out of certain neighborhoods, seems to never fuse neighborhoods that house many people of the same ethnicity. That is, various ethnic groups remain spread out. Has this phenomenon been explained beyond saying that it’s just the natural tendency? If so, how?

Joe Salvo’s talk was certainly interesting in that it revealed certain trends of migration in the NYC population that I did not at all expect. It appears that Chinatown is becoming more ethnically diverse and Brooklyn’s Avenue U area and even some parts of Coney Island are becoming neighborhoods that house more Southeast Asians than prior. I have personally witnessed this shift as I live, and have lived for most of my life, just a few blocks from Avenue U. My neighborhood, Midwood, has become less of a white/Jewish neighborhood and has evolved into a more diverse area. Avenue U has come to be the home of many more Southeast Asian people than prior, but what I find to be very interesting is that there are several blocks between Ocean Avenue and Ocean Parkway, along Avenue U, that just refuse to change. These blocks are mainly white mini-neighborhoods that will surely contribute even more to the melting pot that defines New York City.