Developing Strategies for U.S. Po rtal Neighborhoods: An Ex ploratory…

Developing Strategies for U.S. Po rtal Neighborhoods:
An Ex ploratory Co nvening for Urban Leaders
Se pte mber 2 6-2 7, Mi ami

One of the most formative trends shaping U.S. cities is the effect of continuous
immigration to the U.S. The 1990s saw immigration levels second only to those that
occurred at the end of the 19th Century. The U.S. foreign-born population grew 57.4
percent in the 1990s, and by 2000 nearly one-third of U.S. immigrants resided outside of
established settlement states.1

This trend is expected to continue. The Population Resource Center reports that
between 2000 and 2050 the U.S. will add 130 million people, 90 percent of which will be
racial and ethnic minorities, largely fueled by continued immigration. Although the
particulars of these estimates may vary depending on changes to federal legislation,
immigration is likely to continue in substantial numbers in the future.

Immigration will have both positive and negative effects on the cities that receive these
newcomers. Some local officials view new immigrants as attractive ways to provide
needed labor, fresh businesses, and buying power. Others see newcomers as
consumers of public services, challenging the ability of the public sector to provide the
services.

At the neighborhood level, immigration has led to the presence of a form of
neighborhood that has received little focus among neighborhood leaders, policy makers,
and public sector decision makers. These neighborhoods can best be described as
"portal neighborhoods." Portal neighborhoods are typically the first place of arrival for
immigrants. They are largely rental neighborhoods where they develop the necessary
skills to integrate into the community, find their first jobs, learn the language, customs
and approaches of the U.S., enroll their children in schools and perhaps open their first
bank account. These are places like West Lake in Los Angeles (Central Americans),
Chinatown in New York City, Ironbound in Newark (Brazilians) and many other urban and
inner-suburban neighborhoods that house a mix of immigrants. Once established,
immigrants are likely to move to neighborhoods with more long-term residents, and
new arrivals take their place.

While there is a great deal of literature on what it takes to bring about neighborhood
revitalization in distressed cities, there is very little written about strengthening portal
neighborhoods so they can play their role more effectively - integrating new residents
and encouraging new talent and entrepreneurs to thrive.




1
 Audrey Singer, "The Rise of New Immigrant Gateways," Center for Urban and Metropolitan
Studies, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, February 2005.
Despite the fact that these neighborhoods often have problems associated with
distressed communities, such as high crime, relatively low property values and
problematic schools, the approach to improving portal neighborhoods is probably not
the same as approaches to distressed neighborhoods. For example, increasing
homeownership, if it leads to fewer rental units, will mean that fewer new immigrants
needing rental housing can live in the neighborhood. Strategies may include ensuring
the availability of affordable housing, keeping crime in check, improving facilities for
youth and adult education, providing appropriate financial services and encouraging
entrepreneurship within the community.

Much more thinking is needed about what strategies for such neighborhoods should be,
which institutions should carry them out, and what urban leaders can do to strengthen
portal neighborhoods.

CEOs for Cities is hosting a national convening, Developing Strategies for U.S. Portal
Neighborhoods, September 26-27 in Miami. The meeting will bring together a diverse
group of community leaders, national immigration specialists, civic leaders, federal
officials and others. To our knowledge, this is a first-of-its kind meeting seeking to
combine the knowledge of experts working on the integration of immigrants with
neighborhood improvement specialists.

The project is sponsored by CEOs for Cities and headed by Paul C. Brophy, a national
expert on community development and neighborhood revitalization.


A bout CE O s for Ci tie s

We must h ave stro n g c itie s to h ave a stro n g A meri c a.

That's why CEOs for Cities exists. With our national network of mayors, corporate CEOs,
university presidents, foundation officials and business and civic leaders, we act as an
idea lab for cities. It's our job to take a fresh look at cities and make the most of their
assets by building new leadership partnerships around urban innovations.

We help urban leaders understand how people want to live in cities today and translate
that into action.

We d i scover the trends that will affect cities for better or worse, d eci pher what can be
done to respond and d e velo p new innovations to put to work in cities.

For more information, visit www.ceosforcities.org.




Que stio ns?
Contact Sonja Koehler, Program Director, CEOs for Cities, at skoehler@ceosforcities.org or 312.553.4630.