The Latino City

The Latino City: Examining What Makes a City Uniquely Latino

On Thursday, September 27th, the BU Center for Latin American Studies and the Initiative on Cities co-sponsored a discussion on the emergence and development of Latino communities in the heart of American cities. The event was moderated by Jonathan Calvillo, an Assistant Professor who teaches Sociology of Religion at BU, and the panel featured Dr. Llana Barber, a Professor SUNY at Old Westbury and Erualdo González, a professor at California State University, Fullerton.

Dr. Barber’s book, Latino City: Immigration and Urban Crisis in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1945–2000, explores the influx of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and how their settlement in Lawrence has shaped the city. González’s book, Latino City: Urban Planning, Politics, and the Grassroots, traces the history of urban development in Santa Ana, California, one of the most highly populated Latino communities in the United States. Although their research pertained to communities separated by thousands of miles, several similar themes emerged across the two, including the role that urban planning and development played in gentrifying Latino communities, and, more importantly, the impact that activism and community engagement had on making these communities stronger, despite the hardships they faced.

Read more about the discussion here.