Mapping Spatial Inequality

The Issue: The New Geography of Poverty and Immigration, Spatial Mismatch and Obstacles to Accessing Immigrant Services

Poverty, immigration and service provision are dynamic spatial phenomena. Historically, immigration and poverty were characteristics of big cities. But now we are witnessing a new geography of poverty and immigration in the United States. Suburbs have experienced a dramatic increase in low-income immigrant populations in recent years. We see this trend in the Bay Area, where many immigrants are no longer settling in big cities like San Francisco, as they did historically. Instead, they are moving directly to suburbs, such as Fremont and Mountain View.

These rapidly changing immigration patterns, however, have not been followed by a parallel shift in the location of non-profit and community-based organizations that serve low-income and immigrant populations. As a result, there is a spatial mismatch between where immigrants live and where services are provided. Since the 1960s, American social policy has shifted to a model of public-private partnerships where government funding finances local nonprofit organizations to provide services to the disadvantaged. As nonprofits are increasingly taking on the service-provider role, scholars argue that their focus on local issues make these organizations uniquely situated to understand and advocate for the vulnerable populations they serve. Without nonprofits located in close proximity to growing immigrant populations, families risk greater food insecurity, difficult access to health care or legal services, and fewer opportunities for civic engagement. These problems are compounded by inadequate government funding of immigrant-serving nonprofits. When funding is not allocated according to the proportion of poor immigrants in a city, gaps in services arise, forcing families to travel further to access services. Thus, the mismatch between funding and location of service providers and local demographics has direct consequences for the health and well-being of immigrants.

Besides a spatial mismatch between the demand for and supply of immigrant services, immigrants also face a variety of other obstacles when accessing services. Linguistic, financial, legal, and logistical barriers all prevent immigrants from accessing the services they need. Moreover, there is no comprehensive database with information on whether organizations provide language support, provide low-cost or free services, have any restrictions in serving specific groups of immigrants, and whether organizations are open during the weekend or evening hours to improve access to these services for immigrants who often have multiple jobs.