Which City Planning Conditions in Philadelphia, PA, Support an Emerging Latinx Population?

Abstract

As a country founded by immigrants, the U.S. faces a multidimensional reality in contending with the projected growth of the Latinx population. By 2050, the Latinx population will reach 128 million or twenty-nine percent of the U.S. population, with “new immigrants and their descendants” accounting for seventy-four percent of the projected growth, which will eclipse the white population. This research focuses on how Latinx immigrants from Mexico and Central America create positive economic, cultural, political, and social impacts in select U.S. cities. The study applies quantitative analyses of the overall changes in Philadelphia County’s change in population from the 1970 to 2020 census based on data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), the U.S. Census Bureau, and the American Community Survey. The qualitative research consists of ethnographic interviews of Latinx immigrants living in South Philadelphia. Semi-structured interviews with fifteen (15) Latinx immigrants living in South Philadelphia and working throughout the Greater Philadelphia region will be conducted based on ethnographic theoretical frameworks. Findings from interviews with Latinx immigrants in South Philadelphia will provide critical insights for local and national city and regional planners about the current and ongoing activities related to the generation of urban vitality. Moreover, ArcGIS will produce data visualizations of population changes, transnational journeys, and city planning conditions in Philadelphia, PA, with supplementary analyses to be completed in R. This research seeks to understand which city planning conditions in Philadelphia, PA, support an emerging Latinx population migrating from Mexico and Central America.