As the Hum article noted, the key dynamic in neighborhood change is migration. The pattern of ethnic succession begins and ends with a new group replacing another. Ethnic succession primarily refers to an ethnic group settling in one area until they have reached economic stability and can afford to go elsewhere. However, there are many factors that contribute to neighborhood migration that end up transforming the neighborhood for better or for worse.
The Hum article examines what some would consider different demographic of Sunset Park, Brooklyn that really serves as a great small- scale example of the dramatic demographic change New York City has seen post-1965. It combines a ‘satellite’ Chinatown and a ‘full’ Latino neighborhood along with a smaller contingent of other immigrant groups. To borrow a phrase from the Davila piece, these groups that make-up Sunset Park are similar to the Mexicans who are living amongst the Puerto Ricans in El Barrio in that they are, “juntos pero no revueltos” (together but not mixed).
The fact that these neighboring ethnic groups are not meshing very well with each other and if anything resemble two different communities within their respective neighborhoods is definitely worrisome for the future of Sunset Park and El Barrio.
In the case with El Barrio, Davila posits that the past may rest in the hands of the Puerto Ricans who have lived there, but the future undoubtedly lies in the hands of the incoming Mexican immigrants who hold a more favorable perception from outside groups. An example of a positive association made with Mexicans is them being seen as hard-workers, whereas Puerto Ricans are associated with African-Americans in their ‘legal’ status and the fact that they have been in the area for sometime now. The negative perception towards Puerto Ricans have led Mexicans with upper-mobility aspirations to look to distance themselves from their Latino counterparts. The fate and future of El Barrio relies on Mexican immigrants embracing the Puerto Rican presence and the Puerto Rican residents welcoming these new migrants.
Once a rich community of life in the early 1800s and a center of industrial production and trade at its height, Sunset Park, went through a steep decline that sprouted from the capital infrastructure of the 1940s. It has been considered a poverty area since 1970 and an overall “dying neighborhood.” However, the influx of Asian and Latino immigrants have started to revitalize the area. These immigrants’ ‘capital and sweat’ have generated life into the withering neighborhood. An example of this trend is the Asian addition of garment factories and small retail businesses that have sparked Sunset Park’s economy and real estate. Although the business boom is significant, the relations between the Latino and Asian population are critical for the future of Sunset Park. The sooner they could settle what Manuel Castillo calls an ‘urban schizophrenia” the better.
The same applies for the Mexican-Puerto Rican population in El Barrio.
