Race, Social Identity, and Generative Spaces: Miami as a Microcosm of Categorical Complexity in a 21st-Century Global City

Abstract

This article draws principally from the work of preeminent sociologist Alejandro Portes on the rise of Miami as a global city (segmented assimilation as well as the institutional bases for social cohesion amid diversity) to propose a blueprint for reducing social inequality in Greater Miami. Employing key insights from psychology and sociology, we bring together data and research on macro-level structural changes, meso-level dynamics of city politics and institutions, and micro-level dimensions of interactions and attitudes to highlight prospects for promoting ethnoracial interdependence. The diversity and transience that characterize Miami create a major opportunity to disrupt ethnoracial social and economic inequality. Strong public coordinating institutions are required, guided by necessary conditions that facilitate the closing of group-based social distance. We propose three cases—children-targeted programming, emerging prospects in health care, and diversity focused planning in education and housing—as offering opportunities to place Miami 2030 on the path toward cohesive and egalitarian diversity.