Intergenerational Spatial Assimilation Among the Descendents of Mexican Immigrants in Metropolitan Los Angeles

Hispanics in the greater Los Angeles area tend to reside in segregated areas. Yet it is difficult to determine whether these high levels of residential segregation result from exclusion or voluntary decisions to remain in certain areas. Recently, sociologist Susan Brown analyzed data from the Russell Sage-supported Immigrant and Inter-generational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles (IIMMLA) project. She argues that, in some cases, family and social obligations among Mexicans may slow spatial assimilation until the third generation. But the results derived from the cross-sectional data are not conclusive. With an award from the Foundation, Brown, who is a co-investigator in the IIMMLA project, will examine Mexican American residential mobility, measured within families, at two points in time. The project aims to determine the extent to which childhood and current neighborhood of residence differ, both in actual distance from each other, and in social and economic characteristics. With matched pairs of childhood and adult addresses, it will be possible to trace spatial mobility between generations.