2011 Chapters (Layout Features)

Ethnoscapes

Irazabal Zurita, Clara E.

Although the urban planning and design literature extensively explores the intersection of race and space, much less work has been done on the study of ethnicity and space, an interrelation I refer to as producting ethnoscapes. This chapter discusses the emergence of ethnoscapes as contemporary spatial typologies, heightened by the new global socio-economic order. The chapter analyzes different processes of ethnicization of space, particularly focusing on Latina/o ethnoscapes in the United States. Latina/os have distinctively used processes of territorializing, regulating, and symbolizing place to sustain distinctive communities flavored by ethnic business and social associations (Arreola 2002; Aguilar San Juan 2005; Irazabal and Gomez-Barris 2007; Irazabal and Farhat 2008). The chapter is composed of four sections. The first three sections discuss critical dimensions of ethnoscapes, spatial and temporal, and political dimensions. The last section discusses emerging challenges and opportunities for urban design and development presented by the increased saliency of ethnicity in the urban world.