November 4, 2012, Sunday, 308

The Dilemmas of Diversity

From The Peopling of New York City

An advertisement for MacDougall's Garden Apartments.

While early developers built Jackson Heights as an alternative to life in Manhattan for white upper middle-class residents, today, people of various cultures, races, and backgrounds populate the neighborhood. What caused the diversity of Jackson Heights? Was the transition smooth, or was it riddled with conflict? We answer these questions by analyzing old newspapers, microfilms, articles, and government documents.

Much of this website discusses the development of Jackson Heights in recent years. However, it is also important to examine the processes that helped shape the neighborhood. Moreover, it is also essential to note the early developers' intentions in founding Jackson Heights. It is this knowledge that enables us to gain a greater understanding of how the neighborhood and its goals were redefined over time.

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Next, we discuss the factors that contributed to the influx of minority residents and business owners in the neighborhood. In addition to presenting census data that reflects a major shift in Jackson Heights' population, we address popular characterizations of the neighborhood. And in fact, what were the realities behind the perception of neighborhood downgrade?

The process of diversification in the neighborhood was not a simple matter, but rather one of conflict and cooperation. Indeed, many of the supposed signs of diversity were actually representative of segregation in the neighborhood. We discuss not only the discrimination newer residents faced, but also how these practices affect Jackson Heights.

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