Institutional Ecosystems of Housing Support in Chinese, Southeast Asian, and African Philadelphia

Abstract

How has the diversity of post-1965 immigration to the United States influenced newcomers’ housing experiences and civil society’s housing support systems? Planning scholars have shown immigration’s role in revitalizing cities and housing markets, but we have done less to parse the variety of housing problems that immigrants experience and the ways civil society addresses them. This article examines the recent history of civil society organizations’ housing support strategies in Chinese, Southeast Asian, and African communities in Philadelphia. We find that the diversity within and between groups has shaped largely distinct “institutional ecosystems” and approaches to housing support.