How Houston Has Become The Most Diverse Place In America

[M II A II R II K]

How Houston Has Become The Most Diverse Place In America


MAY 9, 2017

By BRITTNY MEJIA

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...htmlstory.html

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The story of how his city turned from a town of oil industry roughnecks and white blue-collar workers into a major political centrifuge for immigration reform, demographic analysts say, is nothing less than the story of the American city of the future.

- Houston boomed through the mid-20th century, thanks to the oil bonanza, and most of those who came to get rich were white. Large numbers of Vietnamese refugees began arriving in the 1970s, and after an oil collapse in 1982, they were followed by an influx of Latinos driven by cheap housing and employment opportunities. Whites, meanwhile, started drifting out. The multi-ethnic boom has occurred deep in the heart of a state that has often seemed to regard conservatism, and Texas identity, as an element of religion.

- Demographic experts say the Houston metro area, home to the third-largest population of undocumented immigrants in the country — behind New York and Los Angeles — is a roadmap to what U.S. cities will look like in the coming decades as whites learn to live as minorities in the American heartland. Census projections have opened a window into the America of 2050, “and it’s Houston today,” said Stephen Klineberg, a sociology professor at Rice University. ---“This biracial Southern city dominated by white men throughout all of its history has become, by many measures, the single most ethnically diverse major metropolitan area in the country,” Klineberg said.

- The expansion has not all happened smoothly. Gridlock has worsened and schools have been pressed to accommodate the influx of students. Close to 70,000 students have limited proficiency in English, a situation that has angered some longtime residents. --- “The whole idea of having bilingual teachers and specific programs just to address those folks I think is overwhelmingly tilted in the wrong direction,” said Sam Herrera, outreach director of Stop the Magnet, a local political action committee that supports deportation of those in the country illegally. “Folks need to come here, they need to assimilate and they need to learn the language.”

- Today, most of the city’s Latino growth springs from children born to immigrants who arrived two or three decades ago. And it’s only going to become more pronounced. In Harris County, of which Houston is the county seat, 51% of all those under the age of 20 are Latinos, and 19% are African American. What that means is a whole new dynamic, in which minorities are no longer seen as outsiders. “Suddenly these are 100% American kids, and they’re falling in love with each other, making multiracial babies,” Klineberg said. A “psychology of inevitability” begins to set in around immigration, he said — it’s happening, and it might not be a bad thing.

- Segregation is a fact of life across Texas, and in Harris County, white, black and Latino neighborhoods are still in some cases divided by major highways and rail lines, the Houston Chronicle concluded in 2015. Yet the number of affluent white neighborhoods set off by themselves is far fewer than the number found in Los Angeles, according to research from the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Diversity has swept across the city — into the rodeo, where mixed-race couples bring their children decked out in boots and cowboy hats, and even into the classic cowboy bars.

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[photoLith]

The one thing I greatly miss about Houston is the incredible diversity in the city. So much incredible food and culture in one place. Then I moved to Pittsburgh, which I do love, but its basically the least diverse city in America; 67% white, 27% black, 2.75% Asian, and only 1.3% Hispanic.

[pdxtex]

the future of this country will indeed be the sunbelt and south. I wish mainstream press would drop the segregation is bad narrative. most people by choice would probably self segregate themselves anyway, choosing to be with people of similar ethnicities or incomes or whatever cultural alignment they adhere too. diversity is fine and all cultures should be embraced, but culturally diverse neighborhoods are not the benchmark of urban culture....educated liberals are the only american subset that try to engrain themselves with people that are the exact opposite of themselves...everybody else, seeks people like themselves....

[dc_denizen]

diversity is overrated. who cares how many people of different colors there are, if they all drive suburbans and live in ranch houses and work in the O&G business.

real diversity means you have an economy that employs people with all kinds of skills and abilities, profitably.

Portland or Nashville are more diverse than Houston from this standpoint.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

diversity is overrated. who cares how many people of different colors there are, if they all drive suburbans and live in ranch houses and work in the O&G business.

real diversity means you have an economy that employs people with all kinds of skills and abilities, profitably.

Portland or Nashville are more diverse than Houston from this standpoint.

To an extent I agree, also the idea of race in the USA makes no sense. What is "white" or "latino" for example? They're incredibly broad terms that overlap quite often.

[pdxtex]

leaders try to politicize and socially engineer culture in this country. the left is obsessed with race because of some latent white guilt, and the right is obsessed with phony piety. both stink....

[chris08876]

Transplants I'd imagine play a role. We'll probally see a similar affect in terms of diversity for Atlanta, and Charlotte. Hubs for people fleeing the expensive Northeast or West Coast. Same could be said for Dallas-FT Worth and the given, Houston.

[mhays]

Houston is highly diverse, but I'd give higher grades to places where more people are from overseas, not the neighboring country of different skin colors of American born. LA and NY would still rank higher. Also in NY especially, much of this is seen by walking around or being on transit, which is a different experience vs. driving through it.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

diversity is overrated. who cares how many people of different colors there are, if they all drive suburbans and live in ranch houses and work in the O&G business.

real diversity means you have an economy that employs people with all kinds of skills and abilities, profitably.

Portland or Nashville are more diverse than Houston from this standpoint.

I'm not sure why after all these years of SSP, there's still such a misperception about Houston's economy. It's much more than O&G, although that's a very important part of it, and probably always will be. Here's a good article on the area's economic diversity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Houston


Everyone live in ranch houses? In suburbia and in the city, there are still a lot, although in the last 2-3 decades, more two-story than one-story have been built. I've been looking for one-story homes down there, and haven't seen nearly as many one-story as two-story. In the inner city, where older homes are being replaced all over the place, the replacements are almost all two-story, and quite a few three-story as well. Mid-rise apartments are proliferating, as are highrise condo towers. Low rise condos and townhomes have been popular since the 60s. You can drive for several miles in some areas (e.g., Uptown) and see nothing but condos and townhomes that were built decades ago and are still thriving.

I think it would be great if we didn't have to go through this every time there's an SSP thread on Houston. Other major sites seem to have moved beyond stereotypes.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by mhays

Houston is highly diverse, but I'd give higher grades to places where more people are from overseas, not the neighboring country of different skin colors of American born. LA and NY would still rank higher. Also in NY especially, much of this is seen by walking around or being on transit, which is a different experience vs. driving through it.

At the same time, if you go to public spaces, stores, restaurants, street festivals, etc. in Houston, the diversity is pretty much in your face. Where I lunch last Saturday, I was surrounded by Vietnamese, Chinese, Indians, Middle Easterners, as well as Hispanic and Black. There are parts of the city where signs are not in English and the languages you hear are from the countries of origin. Chinatown is the most significant example.

So it's not just the neighboring country. I think the article is misleading in that respect.

Still, I get even more of a feeling of diversity in LA and NY.

[Docere]

Diverse meaning the balance of America's "four groups" - Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians - and ignoring variations within these groups?

What percentage of the white population is made up of immigrants? What percentage of the Hispanic population in Houston is Mexican? How many countries represented in the foreign born populations of at least 5000 or 10,000?

[tech12]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

leaders try to politicize and socially engineer culture in this country. the left is obsessed with race because of some latent white guilt, and the right is obsessed with phony piety. both stink....

"the left" is "obsessed" with race because a bunch of right wingers can't stop being racist.

White guilt? lol get out of here with that bullshit.

Originally Posted by pdxtex

I wish mainstream press would drop the segregation is bad narrative.

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by tech12

"the left" is "obsessed" with race because a bunch of right wingers can't stop being racist.

White guilt? lol get out of here with that bullshit.

oakland plz.....that was the entire narrative of the last election. if you vote for anybody but hillary, you are a fill in the blank. the democrats are the ones with dischord. coastal elite identity politics versus labor....i tried to explain this to a friend from berkely. she couldn't understand why downriver teamsters in wyandotte were nothing like bay area democrats....twice obama voters voted for trump. not racists. centrist, beer drinking bowlers who work at the ford plant. who took a chance on populism, not globalism......also yes, self segregation is fine. obviously im not talking about redlining neighborhoods and yes, white guilt, get outta here with that bullshit. i agree. i dont owe shit to anybody and nobody owes me a thing. self determination is the name of the game, not victimization....

[The North One]

The "left" isn't "obsessed" with race. The "left" simply wants the "right" to stop sabotaging this country in the name of oppression.

[pdxtex]

there is no real oppression in this country in 2017. my father in law was thrown in a prison camp during world war 2, his family had their business stolen by the american government, and they didnt receive beans except for a lousy reparation check 50 years later. thats oppression. he went to college afterward, got an mba from ucla, started a business and became successful. people in 2017 are not oppressed. they're lazy and make bad decisions.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

there is no real oppression in this country in 2017. my father in law was thrown in a prison camp during world war 2, his family had their business stolen by the american government, and they didnt receive beans except for a lousy reparation check 50 years later. thats oppression. he went to college afterward, got an mba from ucla, started a business and became successful. people in 2017 are not oppressed. they're lazy and make bad decisions.

WOW. Just, fucking, wow.

I'm gonna pretend this is satire for my own sanity, it's just too fucking bizarre.

[pdxtex]

its not bizarre. also not satire. you have read about japanese internment, right?? you have the freedom to express yourself, travel, choose what you want for dinner, love who you want, get married, not get married, have a baby. whatever. you aren't oppressed. maybe you dont have a job you like or your rent is too high, nope not oppression. people by in large have the ability to be self determining in this country in this day and age. you also have the right to vote, something 90 million americans didnt do, and guess what, a loon took office...but its only 4 years and you can still determine your own path...not oppressed....

[dc_denizen]

amen, pdx

[photoLith]

^
pffff don't you know that everyone that isn't a white male in America is oppressed.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

there is no real oppression in this country in 2017. my father in law was thrown in a prison camp during world war 2, his family had their business stolen by the american government, and they didnt receive beans except for a lousy reparation check 50 years later. thats oppression. he went to college afterward, got an mba from ucla, started a business and became successful. people in 2017 are not oppressed. they're lazy and make bad decisions.

I rarely comment outside of the Los Angeles threads, but felt compelled to do so here.

My maternal grandparents and their immediate families also spent the bulk of WWII in the Poston an Gila River camps in Arizona. They had their businesses and properties seized by the U.S. government. That was oppression; you're absolutely correct in that regard.

However, writing of the struggles of other minority groups as the simple result of "laziness" or "bad decisions" is really myopic.