Beyond the Cosmopolis: Sustaining Hyper-Diversity in the Suburbs of Peel Region, Ontario

Jennifer Dean, Kristen Regier, Asiya Patel, Kathi Wilson and Effat Ghassemi
Additional contact information
Jennifer Dean: School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada
Kristen Regier: School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada
Asiya Patel: School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada
Kathi Wilson: Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Canada
Effat Ghassemi: Newcomer Centre of Peel, Canada

Urban Planning, 2018, vol. 3, issue 4, 38-49

Abstract: Globalization has increased the flow of transnational migrants into many European and North American cities. These shifting socio-demographic patterns have resulted in the rapid development of ‘cosmopolitan’ urban centres where difference and diversity are ubiquitous (Sandercock, 2003). However, as ethnic enclaves form outside the urban core in suburban communities, there is uncertainty about whether cultural homogeneity is desirable or sustainable in a multicultural country. Indeed, planning communities for increasing diversity and difference will remain, what Leonie Sandercock (2004) calls, “one of the greatest tasks for planners of the 21st century”. Thus, this article uses the theory of hyper-diversity to illuminate how immigrants’ interactions with their local suburban community represents cultural pluralism and diversity beyond ethnicity. Specifically, this study explores differing attitudes, activities and lifestyles among diverse immigrant populations in the Region of Peel, one of the fastest growing and most culturally diverse areas in Canada. Focus groups with 60 immigrant youth and 55 immigrant adults were conducted to qualitatively capture perspectives and experiences in ethnic enclaves. The findings highlight the existence of attitudes in favor of multicultural lifestyles, activities that take newcomers beyond the borders of their enclaves, and lifestyles that require additional infrastructure to support sustainability of immigration in the suburbs. In conclusion, this article adds to the debate on cultural pluralism and ‘homogeneous’ ethnic enclaves by using the emergent concept of hyper-diversity as a way to think about the future sustainability of suburbs in an era of global migration.

Keywords: belonging; hyper-diversity; immigration; inclusion; social planning; suburbs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/1700 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:urbpla:v3:y:2018:i:4:p:38-49

DOI: 10.17645/up.v3i4.1700

Access Statistics for this article

Urban Planning is currently edited by Tiago Cardoso

More articles in Urban Planning from Cogitatio Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by António Vieira () and IT Department ().