The "Choice"

To define just what ethnic residential concentrations are, Eugene Turner explains that they are, “neighborhoods in which members of ethnic groups live much closer to each other than would be the case if they were distributed randomly.” (Turner, 268) There are no longer restrictions placed based on race, but many people are choosing to live in a place where they are grouped together. Times have changed, and Turner continues on to say that many of today’s concentrations began as ghettos, but many metropolitan areas that have more amounts of ethnicities have become more concentrated post-1970s. All of these many protests that have led up to today would lead some to believe that our society would be more intertwined with other races. The word “choice” must be used loosely, as there are various factors that come into play as to why these members of a certain group gravitate towards these communities. Many people move into these communities because they have family that already live at that location. There can be limited financial resources, so that is the only area where they can afford housing, or employment locations, where they choose a residence around the area of the job or convenience of lesser transportation. 

Turner, Eugene. “Ethnic Residential Concentrations in United States Metropolitan Areas.” Geographical Review, Vol. 95, No. 2. American Geographical Society. 2005.  pp.267-285