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11.013J | Spring 2025 | Undergraduate

# American Urban History

### Urban Migration and Diversity

1. Later in the semester we’ll think about a number of changes in mobility within the modernizing city (streetcars, subways, automobiles) and the ways they opened up new opportunities for urban dwellers. The readings from the week (and from last week as well) present mobility on a grander scale: from the 1800s onward, massive numbers of people are moving around the country and the planet. From what you see in the readings—and being as specific as possible—please reflect on how these migrations have changed and shaped the modern city and the experiences of people living in them.

2. Earlier in our readings, Louis Wirth’s article stressed the importance of heterogeneity as a key aspect of urbanism: cities are not just large, they are diverse. Using material from this week’s primary sources, reflect on the benefits—and challenges—of this aspect of modern cities.

#### Student Reflection 1:

> Especially in urban areas, a surge in immigration and migration meant that groups of people who had previously not interacted with each other were brought together in close proximity. The formation of ethnic enclaves allowed residents of similar backgrounds to connect with each other, more so than if they had been where they previously lived. However, this may have also created a more pronounced distinction between the different communities. Some immigrant communities, like those from Western Europe and eventually Southern and Eastern Europe, were able to assimilate into American urban life much more rapidly than those from other parts of the globe (or even from within the United States). In other cases, a growing immigrant population brought the city more together. In New York, for example, predominantly Jewish neighborhoods retained much of their identity throughout the 1960s and became ingrained into the city.

> Another factor of migration that reshaped the urban landscape was the redistribution into suburbs. During the Second Great Migration, “white flight” to the suburbs changed government investment into developing urban areas. Despite this, urban areas were revitalized with an increase of population from immigration, and the positive economic impact continued to introduce more diversity into the population. By the 1990s, there began direct immigration to the suburbs as well, not just to the city. The expansion of the features that make up a city, including heterogeneity and population density was entirely new to suburban areas.

> Diversity in cities opened up new opportunities for cultural expression through mediums like art and music. As more traditional forms of art were exposed to the changing environments that people were creating them in, they drew inspiration from other cultures and art movements. For example, the Jazz Age in the 1920s introduced new genres like blues and jazz, and alongside this artistic surge, younger generations could receive higher quality music education that opened up the door to personal music-making or future career pathways. However, the long-standing anti-migrant sentiments could not be changed in such a short period of time, and tensions continued to tip over in the city. Urban riots, such as the ones in LA targeting Korean-American store owners or the attacks on African American residents by police forces, were often the tipping point of deep-seated aggression and insecurities that manifested into violence. Since communities in a city have close ties to distinct physical spaces and frequently interact with each other, it is difficult to significantly change generational tensions over a short period of time.

> [by an MIT student, reproduced with permission]

#### Student Reflection 2:

> Migration came in waves during the 19th and 20th centuries as legislation alternated between creating barriers for immigration and loosening restrictions. The natural attraction of new immigrants towards others of their same background—referred to as chain migration—came about as they could take advantage of the groundwork developed by others: familiar language, more available capital, and networks linked by common culture. Therefore, as there was a general migration within America towards urban centers, these new immigrants also congregated in cities, near others of their own ethnicity. This was a positive feedback loop forming urban enclaves in many major cities—Chinatowns, Little Italys, Yiddish-speaking centers. Additionally, there was also a mass migration within America from African Americans escaping sharecropping in hopes of a better life. This influx of labor was used to fill certain markets, including the Bracero Program using Mexican workers to alleviate agriculture labor shortages, which inflamed tensions as this was perceived as “stealing jobs.” Cities also became increasingly stratified due to the ethnic enclaves: in addition to the chain migration mentioned above, federal organizations, especially during the New Deal, legally cemented the previous divisions by restricting housing to specific races, and designing welfare programs like Social Security or unemployment insurance to exclude industries dominated by immigrants.

> As the demographics of immigration changed, so did the way certain races were viewed. I was fascinated to see that the previous hatred towards Catholics, Jews, and segregation between different European descent quickly became condensed into an overarching description of “white” in the face of the New Deal restructuring of society and an influx of non-white immigrants. Similarly, Chinese and other Asian immigrants—who had faced the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Johnson-Reed Act, and had been the targets of nativist riots on the West Coast—came to be viewed more favorably during the Cold War. The emergence of the model minority myth positioned Asians as “successful” and “hardworking,” in part because these groups were now seen as allies against communism.

> Despite the numerous examples of conflict that inevitably come about when populations of differing language, religion, and culture collide, their diversity can bring about a wealth of benefits. The most obvious example is the blending and invention of new culture. Black musicians in New York brought about jazz music, which evolved into rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm, and blues upon integration of electric guitars and musical experimentation in the cities. This proliferation of jazz music brought about a wave of musical education, expanding access to instruments and musical literacy to much of America. Their urban environment also served as a feedback loop on the kinds of arts that developed: Houston’s Frenchtown combined blues and la-la because of its large Creole migrant population. Long standing ethnic enclaves also shaped the city around themselves. As they built businesses and neighborhoods designed to best fit the needs of their specific demographics, unique urban landscapes emerged, like the pedestrian focused plaza in the Oak Cliff area, or the Fujianese area in Manhattan that served as a transit hub for Chinese restaurants. While the rapid diversification of urban populations has a painful history—marked by lingering racial tensions and discrimination—it has also driven innovation and cultural fusion that would have been impossible without the convergence of so many different traditions and perspectives.

> [by an MIT student, reproduced with permission]

## Course Info

##### Instructor

- Ezra Haber Glenn

##### Departments

- Urban Studies and Planning
- History

##### As Taught In

Spring 2025

##### Level

Undergraduate

##### Topics

- Humanities
  - History
    - American History
- Social Science
  - Urban Studies

##### Learning Resource Types

assignment Written Assignments
Student Work
Readings

Browse Resources

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