Immigrants and dynamics of spatial neighborhood change from 2000-2016: assessment from a lesser known gateway city, Greensboro, NC

One of the overarching ambitions of urban geographers and planners is to understand the processes of neighborhood change over time and how it is shaped by race/ethnicity and economy. While there have been numerous studies on the impact of immigrants on neighborhood change, very few have focused on lesser known and newer immigrant gateway cities such as Greensboro, the third largest city in North Carolina located in the Piedmont Triad area. Traditionally, Greensboro has had a large black population due to its ties to slavery and segregation in the South, followed by significant involvement in the civil rights movement. In recent years, however, it has become a host for foreign-born population with its non-white population reaching 51.3%. Given the current political climate, in which immigrants are often viewed as less desirable to the native-born, especially within their neighborhoods, this study examines the dynamic of neighborhood change in Greensboro in terms of demographics, economics, and quality of life (QoL) from 2000-2016. Very specifically, this research intends to: (1) understand how the new immigrant population has changed the neighborhood dynamic of Greensboro over the years; (2) understand how these demographic changes have impacted the business landscape and QoL index of these neighborhoods. The NGHIS IPUMS, America Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates summary file data of 2009 (2004-2008), 2011 (2005-2010), 2016 (2010-2015) and Reference USA business data of 2005, 2010, and 2015 are used to examine these questions. The results of the Markov Chain analysis confirm that the City of Greensboro, especially West Market Street areas of Greensboro have seen a succession of foreign-born populations from native-born populations. While economy and QoL index fell at the initial invasion stage, an overall increase in QoL is shown within areas that have a high concentration of immigrants. The results of this study indicates that the process of economic incorporation and the inclusion of immigrants in the local economy depends on ethnic and racial diversity of the area