Ethnoburb

An ethnoburb is a suburban residential and business area in North America with a notable cluster of a particular ethnic minority population. Although the ethnic minority group may not constitute the majority within the region, as there may be a variety of ethnicities present, it does compose a significant amount of the population. This can greatly influence the social geography within the area because of cultural and religious traditional values exhibited. Ethnoburbs allow for ethnic minority groups to maintain their individual identity, however, they can also restrict their ability to fully assimilate into North American culture and society. According to Dr. Wei Li, author of many writings on the subject, the ethnoburb has resulted from "the influence of international geopolitical and global economic restructuring, changing national immigration and trade policies, and local demographic, economic and political contexts."

Although many assume that an ethnoburb is composed of immigrants with a lower economic standing, this may not always be the case as many ethnoburbs are made up of wealthy and high economic status individuals in more expensive neighbourhoods and communities. For this reason, there is not always a "one size fits all" definition of what can be expected when examining an ethnoburb. Through comparing different locations of ethnoburbs various degrees of social characteristics, including economic standings and cultural assimilation, can be observed.