What does an understanding of ‘place’ bring to research on the everyday lived experiences of people from migrant communities?
Introduction
Sociology provides insight into human behaviour and how such behaviours are influenced by social interactions that occur within organisations, the planet and societies (Ferrante 2007). Therefore, sociology has an irrefutable connection with geography. This connection is underlined by Porter and Howell (2012) who affirm that societies live in different geographical locations on the earth and that the social institutions established within the society are governed by formal and informal laws, regulations and directives that are restrict within areas demarcated by imaginary boundaries on the earth’s surface.
Amongst the earliest studies in sociology were triggered by the rapid social change that arose from urban migration as a result of increased rate of industrialisation in the urban areas (Porter & Howell 2012). Therefore, the concept of place is extensively entrenched within sociology. The concept of migration has changed significantly due to interplay of different global forces such as war and economic challenges that force people to emigrate to different parts of the world. The past decade has been characterised by a remarkable increase in the rate of immigration globally. Considering the fact that immigration involves crossing different borders, the immigrants experience a live that is different from their norm (Chivez 2016). This paper seeks to evaluate what the understanding of ‘place’ brings to research on everyday lived experiences of people from migrant communities. The analysis focuses on the geographers’ perspective of place.
Discussion
The relevance of geography to the society arises from the distinctive view of geographers on the world. One of the geographical perspectives relate to place. Ellis and Wright (2005) are of the view that ‘geographers focus on the real world relationships and dependencies among the phenomena and processes that give character to any location or place’ (p.27). Past studies have shown that the social, economic, environmental and social processes within a particular place or location provide adequate insight on the distinctiveness of the prevailing character or behaviour within a society. According to Day (2006), the daily activities undertaken by people with within a particular community are as a result of accessibility to different geographical places within which members of the community can interact. Therefore, behaviours amongst individuals within a particular community follow specific patterns that are defined by the prevailing characteristics of the place.
Geographers understanding of the concept of place have greatly contributed to improvement in research on lived experiences amongst the immigrant communities. This assertion arises from the fact that the understanding of place has expanded researchers’ appreciation on the fundamental dimensions that should be taken into consideration in evaluating lived experiences amongst immigrant communities. First, a systematic analysis on different places can provide a comprehensive understanding on the prevailing geographic variability. According to geographers’, the definition of place is not limited to internal characteristics. On the contrary, geographers recognise place to also include the movement of people, goods and ideas across borders. Freidman and Schultermandl (2011) affirm that ‘the interconnectivity of people as national boundaries continue to loosen and everyday experiences of people around the world place them within a simultaneous field of the local and the global’ (p.45). The cross-border movement result in creation of interdependencies between different places, which can either lead to reduction or increase in the prevailing differences.
The understanding of place according to geographers has also enhanced research on lived experiences amongst immigrant communities by focusing on the environmental impact on humankind. According to O’Neill (2010), geographers are extensively concerned about environmental impact on lived experiences amongst immigrant communities. In their opinion, variations in natural climate across different places has a significant impact lived experiences amongst immigrant communities. One of the notable effects entails the impact of global warming and climate change on the immigrant communities. The immigrant communities in the affected places are the most vulnerable to environmental impacts of climate change and global warming. For example, a study conducted in the United States in 2006 indicates that food insecurity amongst Mexican immigrants in the US is substantially high at 30% to 80% compared to US nationals (ProQuest 2008).
In relation to place, geographers are of the view that the relationship between humans and the environment depends on a societies’ view and attitude towards the environment. Attitudes vary according to places. High rate of immigration leads to constraint on environmental resources on the places within which the immigrants settle (Bohon & Conley 2015). The resource constraint increases the likelihood of the immigrants encountering negative lived experiences. This aspect is supported by Markgraf (2004) who asserts that ‘anti-immigrant perspectives of some environmental movement have associated increased immigration with negative environmental outcomes such as increase in the rate of pollution and resource use’ (para. 1). According to Hickman, Mai and Crowley (2012), the impact of environmental change to humans can be mitigated through human actions. However, to achieve this outcome, it is imperative for the humans to develop a positive perception towards the environment.
On the basis of the above finding, it is evident that geographers understanding of place have greatly contributed to research on understanding of the everyday lived experiences amongst immigrant communities by establishing the correlation between the immigrants impact with on environmental resources, such as resource scarcity and pollution and the resulting everyday lived experiences.
In addition to geographers’ understanding of place in relation to the environment, geographers’ work has also focused on societal organisation with reference to communities’ organisation into groups’ depending on their economic and living conditions. According to geographers, societies living in urban areas are organised depending on their economic conditions and social status. The minority ethnic communities tend to experience persistent segregation because of their social and economic status. The immigrant communities tend to live in societies that are characterised by poor living standards, which increase their prevalence to discrimination in relation to different aspects. One of the notable effects of place on the lived experiences of immigrant community relates to discrimination of immigrant communities living in town suburbs to accessing basic amenities such as water and sewerage system.
In addition to this view, immigrant’s communities in the informal settlements experience discrimination with reference to waste disposal. The places within which the immigrant communities live tend to be characterised by poor waste disposal. For example, it is estimated that over 1.5 million Latinos living in the United States live in unincorporated communities that are characterised by poor housing and do not have access to sewage and water treatment facilities. This aspect is further illustrated in the case of Latino towns in California during the 1990s whereby the Latino towns experienced extensive pollution because of toxic waste disposals from different cities. Nevertheless, the Latinos managed to win a court case that sought to remove the toxic waste incinerator from the Latino cities on the basis of health grounds (Loue & Sajatvic 2012).
The geographical perspective on the concept of place has created additional insight on the importance of ensuring that societies are established as undifferentiated wholes as opposed to segregating the ethnic minorities such as immigrants on the basis of their geographic location in the society. This aspect is supported by the fact that governments tend to establish major institutions such as spatially such as multi-locational firms within geographically defined areas. Location of such firms has a significant impact on the economic status of the adjacent communities. Thus, limiting the location of economic activities to a particular area significantly contributes to unequal distribution of economic resources. For example, location of the economic hubs away from areas within which the immigrant communities live adversely affects their capacity to access employment opportunities.
Conclusion
The above analysis underlines the fact that a strong correlation exists between geographers’ understanding on the concept of place and the everyday lived experiences amongst immigrants. Therefore, on the basis of geographers work on place, it is possible to develop a comprehensive understanding on the daily issues experienced by immigrants. The study shows that geographers have associated place with three main aspects that include the environment, economic activities and social stratification.
First, geographers association of place with the environment has provided critical insight on the impact of immigrants on the environment and the resulting negative effects. For example, a high rate of immigration into a particular place increases resource scarcity. Moreover, the likelihood of such places experiencing environmental degradation is increased substantially. Thus, the immigrant populations face the risk of experiencing food insecurity. The review has also provided insight on how geographers’ work of place increases discrimination amongst immigrant communities’ because of social stratification. However, this practice is mainly common in the urban areas where the immigrant communities are discriminated on the basis of different aspects such as access to job opportunities and provision of social amenities such as water and sewerage system. On the basis of this aspect, geographers’ work on the concept of place has provided important knowledge on the importance of ensuring that the immigrant communities are not segregated on the basis of their geographical location.
References
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