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The London case illustrates the distributive and redistributive functions of an old Chinatown: While it has been a port of entry for new immigrants, it distributes old-timers and replicates its functions in other Chinatowns.
An Ecological-Dissimilarist Approach to Residential Distribution
The present work follows both human ecological and dissimilarist approaches to explain the relationship between Chinese social and physical distance. Human ecologists are concerned with the relationship of ethnic groups to urban morphology and pattern, while dissimilarists are concerned with topological concept of interrelationship and spatial mixing of ethnic groups. In short, the ecological approach is concrete, while the dissimilarist approach is abstract. The aim of this book is, therefore, to bring the two approaches into the spatial analysis of ethnicity in line with the established literature of social geography.
One point which this book emphasises is residential distribution. While workplaces, schools, and other public institutions offer opportunities for other forms of social interaction (Gordon, 1964), this study focuses on ethnic residential distribution. Social interaction is identified through measuring the degree of segregation between ethnic group residences. Residence, in terms of the census population, refers to night-time distribution and reflects a more truthful picture of ethnic segregation than daytime distribution, where ethnic groups are expected to achieve a higher degree of spatial similarity in their workplaces or at school (Peach, 1975). Very often, choice and constraint operate in ethnic minority housing in Britain.