The changing spatial distribution of Australia's Vietnamese communities

Coughlan, James E. (2008) The changing spatial distribution of Australia's Vietnamese communities. In: Proceedings of the Annual Conference of The Australian Sociological Association 2008. pp. 1-34. From: Re-imagining Sociology, 2-5 December 2008, The University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

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Abstract

Since the late 1980s there has been debate concerning the formation of Vietnamese 'ethnic enclaves' and 'ghettos' in some Australian cities. Most of this debate has been based on a somewhat contested analysis of country of birth data from various Australian censuses, and at times the debate was driven by dated assimilationist philosophies. This paper describes the changing spatial distribution and concentration of Vietnamese communities in Australia over the two past decades, through an examination of national Statistical Local Area (SLA) level data from recent Australian Censuses. Rather than focus analysis on country of birth data, this research analyses data of individuals (i) of Vietnamese ancestry and (ii) who spoke the Vietnamese language at home. A number of SLA factors are considered in an attempt to provide an initial discussion of meso-level factors which have contributed to changes in the Vietnamese-Australian distributions and concentrations. The data reveal a contrasting picture of the spatial distribution and concentration of the Vietnamese-Australian communities, and indicate that although a few areas of 'high' Vietnamese spatial concentration have persisted into 2006, overall there is an increasing dispersion of Vietnamese-Australians into the broader Australian community.

Item ID: 7828
Item Type: Conference Item (Research - E1)
ISBN: 978-0-7340-3984-2
Keywords: Vietnamese-Australians; spatial distribution; geographic distribution; concentration; Australia; census data
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Date Deposited: 18 Jan 2010 03:04
FoR Codes: 16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1603 Demography > 160399 Demography not elsewhere classified @ 60%
16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1608 Sociology > 160803 Race and Ethnic Relations @ 20%
16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1604 Human Geography > 160404 Urban and Regional Studies (excl Planning) @ 20%
SEO Codes: 91 ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK > 9101 Macroeconomics > 910102 Demography @ 60%
94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9401 Community Service (excl. Work) > 940116 Social Class and Inequalities @ 20%
94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9401 Community Service (excl. Work) > 940111 Ethnicity, Multiculturalism and Migrant Development and Welfare @ 20%
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