Symposium on the Ghetto.s

Abstract

Nearly a decade into the new millennium, many traditionally black ghettos like Harlem, the Fillmore, and Chicago's South Side have experienced declining population and gentrification. Now seems like a fitting time to evaluate the conceptual merits of the term and the trajectory of research on the “ghetto.” Much of the research on poverty neighborhoods focuses on Chicago—but is Chicago's South Side representative of poverty neighborhoods (and ghettos) in other cities? Recently, this issue has been widely discussed on the Community and Urban Sociology listserve; as a follow‐up, we invited an international group of scholars to offer their views on the subject in this Symposium on the ghetto.

Exploring the Concept of Ghetto

“…From the historical point of view, the ghetto was established in medieval Europe, "Perhaps due to the power of stereotypical representations of ghettos in the United States, and more recently the rise of the 'ghetto fabulous' discourse, it is seldom acknowledged that the term ghetto in fact comes from Renaissance (16th century) Venice" (Slater, 2009). The first Jewish generation was settled in Venice under permission of Venetian government in 1382 (Haynes, 2008), the residents made a living by lending money, doing business and medicine, Jews were allowed to keep their customs and manage their own affairs. However, the Jews lost their statuses and were seen as the sources of moral corruption and carriers of disease for strengthening the regional power and the eruption of syphilis.…”

“…However, the Jews lost their statuses and were seen as the sources of moral corruption and carriers of disease for strengthening the regional power and the eruption of syphilis. In 1516, around 700 Jews were banished to the Ghetto Nuovo, it was an island located in the Northwest edge of the city, and the entry was controlled by two gates which were locked at sunset (Haynes, 2008). The Ghetto Vecchio and the Ghetto Nuocissimo were built following the establishment of Ghetto Nuovo.…”

“…As a result of isolation, ghettos developed their own culture, religion and social institutions inside and formed a strong collective consciousness and solidarity. The Medieval Jewish ghettos "developed as an urban space isolated from the outside world" (Haynes, 2008). Jews were free within the ghetto areas, they could wear any clothes and jewelry inside and were allowed to practice their religion; a set of various organizations were coined in Jewish ghettos, for instance, business associations and markets, charities, aid organizations and religious places; in 18 th century, the largest European ghetto even had its own city hall, this indicated a complete right of administration (Wacquant, 2004).…”

‘Ain't nothin' here in Buffalo’: Residents' perceptions about living in a racially isolated, high-poverty neighborhood

“…Scholars argue that segregation interacts *Corresponding author. Email: adelman4@buffalo.edu with neighborhood poverty to perpetuate the existence of the American ghetto (Haynes and Hutchison 2008 (see Haynes and Hutchison's [2008] introduction and other articles in the 'Symposium on the Ghetto' in City & Community).…”

Exploring the Locational Preferences of Syrian Migrants in Ankara and a Case Study of Önder, Ulubey, and Alemdağ Neighborhoods as an Ethnic Urban Enclave

“…Bu çalışmanın amacı, Ankara kentindeki Suriyeli göçmenler özelinde mekânsal yoğunlaşmanın bilimsel olarak ortaya koyulması ve Ankara'daki en yoğun Suriyeli göçmen nüfusa sahip yerleşimin daha detaylı bir biçimde betimlenmesidir. Bu araştırmanın kavramsal arka planını, Avrupa ve Amerika'dan gelişen ve mekânsal yoğunlaşmayı tanımlayan "getto" (Park, Burgess ve Mckenzie, 1925;Wirth, 1927;Clark, 1965;Massey ve Denton, 1989;Haynes ve Hutchison, 2008) ve "kentsel adacık" (Peach, 1996;…”