Urbanization
The urban metropolis and its function in
society cannot be understood without
studying its composition as a city of
immigrants, their newcomer families and
friends and the ties that bind them.
By overlooking the ethnic culture and
networks of the city's immigrants, the
study of the urban centre is at best a
futile effort. Ethnic tendencies and
particularly ethnic residential
segregation, are areas of examination than
cannot be neglected if we are to
understand the individual and group
experiences that ultimately influence urban
growth. It is therefore important
to carefully explore these areas so that
insight into the underpinnings of
the urban metropolis is achieved. Looking at
Canadian urban centres from
1850-1920, specifically the city of Toronto, I will
examine the issue of
ethnic residential segregation and its significance to the
urban centre. I
will attempt to prove that this phenomenon is a consequence of
ethnic
concentration in particular industries resulting from ethnic networks
and
socio-economic inequalities present within society. Furthermore, the
existence
of these vibrant yet segregated ethnic communities does not imply
that
assimilation is failing to occur. Consequently, standard
assimilation
frameworks, which assume that proximity to the majority group
increases with
socio-economic gains, must be re-evaluated. Urban and
historical geographers
have become increasingly interested in studying
residential segregation through
the context of changes in the industrial
workplace (Scott, 1986). A number of
industries like clothing, textile, iron
and steel have employed large
proportions of immigrant workers (Leiberson,
1933). Toronto is no exception.
Early immigrant settlers came to North
America in search of a 'better' life and
increased economic opportunities
(Lindstrom-Best, 1979) and Toronto's economic
ambience appealed to them.
1850's Toronto saw increased prosperity with
expanding enterprises, jobs and
especially railway building. By the 1860's, when
this first rail construction
boom had faded, the city blossomed into a
regionally dominant railway centre
with track access throughout the province,
into adjoining Montreal, Detroit
and New York. More importantly though, steam
and iron transport expansion
unravelled the way for industrialization (Harney,
1985). Toronto's
harbourfront thrived with rail traffic, entailing machine and
engine works,
coal-yards, moulding and forging plants and steam-driven factories
(Globe,
1866). The new gas works, the Grand Trunk Railway workshops, the
Toronto
Rolling Mills, and the Gooderham and Worts distillery exemplified
this
flourishing industrialization. Moreover, other processing operations,
such as
wood or hardware manufactories, tanneries and meat-packing houses
accompanied
industrial growth. All in all, by the 1860's, working
opportunities in the city
could readily urge on its settlement, which
consequently began to accelerate
rapidly (Harney, 1985). In light of these
increased working opportunities
distinct Torontonian neighbourhoods
developed. St. John's Ward bounded by
Henderson, Yonge, Front and
University and the Italian neighbourhoods bounded by
Henderson, Manning,
Dundas and Ossington are just two of the distinct
communities that resulted.
By the 1900's, the 'Ward' as it was popularly know,
primarily consisted of
East Europeans of Jewish descent. They initially settled
in the Ward because
they had little choice. Upon their arrival, they were in
immediate need of
cheap accommodation near steady employment (Harney, 1985). St.
John's
Ward, adjacent to the commercial centre of the city, provided them
this
opportunity. They had relatively few skills and no credit although
their
affinity for the garment industry proved valuable (Speisman, 1979).
Suffice it
is to say, the Ward was in close proximity to this industry.
During the early
twentieth century, the notable clothing firms, the Lowndes
Co., Johnson Brothers
and others were located on Front Street, Wellington
Street, Church and Bay. By
1910, the T. Eaton company had erected an
enormous manufacturing firm bounded by
Bay, Albert, Louisa and James.
This company would eventually grow to be the
largest sole employer of Jews in
the Ward (Harney, 1985). Factory employees
elected to reside near their
places of employment (Harney, 1985). Working long
hours, they wished to
minimize travelling time thus choosing to live close to
the companies that
employed them. In addition, as proximity to major clothing
firms increased,
so too did employment opportunities. The Ward, similar to many
other areas
throughout North America, thus evolved into an immigrant haven
adjacent to
the central business district. Despite the fact that not all Jews
made their
livelihoods in clothing factories, it was the factories' presence
and
proximity to affordable housing that attracted Jewish immigrants to the
area (Rischin,
1964) and created a vibrant ethnic neighbourhood. Similar
ethnic neighbourhood
appeared as divergent immigrant occupational skills
emerged. The first Finnish
inhabitant of Toronto, a tailor named James
Lindala, ventured to the city upon
hearing of the high demand for skilled
tailors (Lindstrom-Best, 1979). Settling
in the south-central part of
Toronto, near the railroad and tailoring shops on
King, Lindala resided
as close to prospective employment as feasible
(Lindstrom-Best, 1979). Other
Finnish tailors soon followed the pattern
established by the Finn, also
settling near the tailoring shops on King, in
search of prospective work. By
1901, distinct Finnish housing patterns were
clearly established. All Finns
in the area clustered by Lindala, in the
south-central part of the city, a
region bounded by Queen, King, Peter and York.
All Finnish men were
tailors and all resided as close to their place of work as
possible. It is
evident than that immigrant concentration in particular
occupations directly
impacts the spatial location and segregation of various
ethnic groups, as is
demonstrated in the Jewish and Finnish communities of
Toronto.
Furthermore, ethnic residential segregation prior to 1930
(when
transportation was not easily and economically accessible) cannot be
attributed
to a lack of assimilation. It resulted as a necessary component of
life,
determined by divergent occupational skills. However, divergent
occupational
skills are not the only determinants of residential segregation.
As established,
most immigrants lived in ethnic enclaves near their place of
work thus ethnic
networks prevalent in employment and elsewhere must be
examined. The
contributions of these networks to the formation of ethnic
neighbourhoods are
essential to our understanding of the spatial organization
of the metropolis.
MacDonald and MacDonald (1964) note that 'chain
migration' is instrumental in
solidifying spatial patterns established by
early immigrants. They define this
as a process whereby prospective
immigrants learn of opportunities in the
receiving community and have initial
lodging and employment arranged by means of
primary social relationships with
migrants who precede them. Elaborating, they
say this type of migration
frequently results in the creation of ethnic
neighbourhoods and the
transplantation of entire kin networks in the area of
destination. This
process was evident in the case of the Finnish immigrants who
settled in
Toronto. Kinship, letters and word of mouth played the most prominent
role in
the recruitment of these immigrants (Lindstrom-Best, 1979). The
first
nineteen Finnish settlers recruited through ethnic networks were
profoundly
important in determining the spatial pattern and composition of
the Finnish
population. They were one another's friends or relatives and the
men were all
tailors (Lindstrom-Best, 1979). Consequently, they settled near
each other and
near their place of work. Conversely, work and locale
intertwined in terms of
social structure and in space through residential
segregation. Hawley (1944)
believes this segregation is an indicator of a
lack of assimilation into the
dominant society. "Redistribution," he says "of
a minority group
in the same territorial pattern as that of the majority
group results in...an
assimilation of the subjugated group in to the social
structure." He goes
on to assert that a lack of language and occupational
skills leaves the
immigrant without alternative employment possibilities,
hence indicating failure
to assimilate with the majority. Though his beliefs
do put forth a model of
assimilation, they are not adequately founded. Ethnic
neighbourhoods and
networks within these neighbourhoods can actually help an
individual integrate
themselves into the dominant culture. The lack of
familiarity with English and
with the occupational structure of the receiving
society are not handicaps to
the immigrant who finds a place in an ethnic
neighbourhood or ethnic business.
This is because networks and resources
present within the community help to
assist the new immigrant, by actually
facilitating incorporation into the larger
society. They provide the initial
resources required to surmount the obstacles
and barriers to participation in
society's institutions (Breton & Isajiw
& Kalbach & Reitz, 1990).
The Ward's Mutual Benefit Society is a prime
example of one such resource. In
a system in which public welfare was all but
inconceivable, both on the part
of the government and on the part of the
possible recipient, the immigrant
needed all the help he could get. The Mutual
Benefit Society was one
answer to this problem for the ethnic Jews of Toronto.
The establishment
served to facilitate Jewish immigrants with difficult times
following their
arrival, and to assist them in transporting other family members
to the city
from the old country (Harney, 1985). Thus at the level of the
individual,
ethnic networks and resources are the structural links between
destination
and origin which mediate the migrant's integration into a new
society
(Locher, 1979). They contribute to the creation of an ethnic
neighbourhood
where immigrants of the same cultural background assist one
another with
incorporation in the new society. Though the integration may be
slow or
tedious, perhaps even generations long, it is a clear indication
of
incorporation into society and not a lack of assimilation as Hawley
(1944)
suggests. Evidently than the concentration of immigrants in a
particular
neighbourhood, results from the availability of housing, work and
ethnic
networks, which facilitate this initial settlement and occupational
adjustment.
However, these are not the only factors contributing to the
creation of
neighbourhoods and ethnic residential segregation. For some
groups, their
patterns of segregation may to some extent suggest a lack of
social acceptance
by the larger society (Breton & Isajiw & Kalbach
& Reitz, 1990).
Examination of this entails an understanding of
Toronto's population
composition. Historically Toronto's British have enjoyed
undisputed numerical,
political, economic and social dominance (Kalbach,
1980). As anxiety increased
over the years concerning the 'quality' of
immigrants settling in Canada,
increasing numbers of restrictions were placed
on those particular ethnic groups
which were thought not to be of the best
quality. The preference was for
immigrants of British origins, northern and
western Europeans, and those born in
the United States because they could
identify with Canada's British heritage and
more adequately handle the
harshness of the northern climate. Immigrants from
central, eastern, and
southern European countries, the Middle East, Asia and
other non-European
countries have encountered numerous restrictions associated
with the extent
to which their language, customs and appearance differed from
the Anglo-Saxon
standard (Kalbach, 1980). These restrictions alone indicate the
presence of
discrimination and a hierarchy of ethnic preferences although
the
discrimination does not end here. Incorporation of a minority group into
a
majority involves two sets of processes: one on the side of members of
ethnic
groups and another on the part of individuals and institutions of the
greater
society (Gordon, 1964) These two groups must work together to entail
integration
and to promote assimilation. Unfortunately this has not been the
case. Toronto's
Anglo-Saxon majority did not help much in making
foreigners feel at home. In
fact they blatantly discriminated against them
and this perpetuated ethnic
residential segregation. Evidence of this
discrimination, quite readily found in
Toronto's daily newspaper The
Globe (1918) read: "PASSENGERS PROTEST
AGAINST FOREIGNERS Passengers on
the Toronto Suburban car... last evening,
showed their displeasure at having
to travel into the city with 50 foreigners,
who were in charge of three
county constables. Women in the car protested to the
constables, who could do
nothing having instructions to escort the men from a
Weston plant to
their homes in the city. This was the first time that the
foreigners have
used the radial. Until yesterday they came into the city by the
steam
railway. (Globe, 1918)" Clearly demonstrating the majority's
intolerance of
immigrants, this article displays their prejudice. It is evident
that the
'foreigners' were, for the first time, allowed access to the radial on
that
particular date in 1918. The fact that they were not provided access to
all
of society's amenities until that point in time plainly
implicates
discrimination. Furthermore, their restricted access to
transportation indicates
an obstruction of assimilation and reinforcement of
ethnic residential
segregation. As a result of these restrictions, immigrants
had no choice but to
live as close to their workplace as possible, spatially
segregated from the
majority population. Discrimination in the workplace was
also an issue. Although
most immigrants lacked the occupational skills
necessary for upward mobility the
few who did possess superior skills were
denied access to many sectors of the
workforce (Harney, 1985). All foreigners
knew, for example, that there was no
work for them in government agencies. By
way of illustration, Toronto's Hydro
Commission employed only workers of
British origin under the pretext that
well-spoken English was an exclusive
requirement (Harney, 1985) Similarly, this
workforce discrimination was
indicative of a failure of the majority to accept
the minority, resulting in
an impeded assimilation process. Ethnic residential
segregation was also
reinforced as immigrants continued working in the factories
and shops that
surrounded them and did not place such restrictions upon
them.
Assimilation frameworks must subsequently be re-evaluated. Spatial
segregation,
to some degree, may indicate a lack of assimilation. However, it
may be the
majority who cannot find it within themselves to accept others. As
an urban
space divided into many sections, Toronto spoke to each immigrant
group in a
distinct manner. Since their established and refined British
neighbours saw the
city differently, they misunderstood the newcomers'
behaviour (Harvey, 1985).
Subsequently, the majority and not the minority
group impeded the process of
assimilation. In its entirety ethnic residential
segregation can be linked to
many factors, which have not been discussed
within the context of this paper.
However, my main purpose was to
illuminate the role of ethnic divisions of
labour in creating housing
patterns, ethnic networks in solidifying these
patterns and, discrimination
in perpetuating spatially segregated neighbourhoods.
We must also keep in
mind that assimilation is not always a natural procedure
and thus cannot
adequately explain the process of ethnic segregation. It is
necessary to look
beyond models that accentuate ideal methods of dispersal
because we do not
live in an ideal world.
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