Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging in Diverse Neighbourhoods and Everyday Spaces Lily Xia Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Geography Department of Geography Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Lily Xia, Ottawa, Canada, 2020 i Abstract In this thesis, I examine issues of immigrant belonging, such as feelings of being accepted, recognized, and trusted, as well as having a sense of community and support. The focus is on the context of the neighbourhood in shaping immigrant sense of belonging. Neighbourhoods in Canadian cities are the locus of multiple structural forces – among these the provision of housing, services, infrastructure, and community that contribute to meeting everyday needs and feeling included, but also of discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion through processes of enclosure, neoliberal urban policies, gentrification, and revanchism. In my thesis, I use spaces of encounter as the theoretical framework to examine immigrants’ sense of belonging. Through narratives of belonging and not belonging, I aim to capture the full complexity of immigrants’ sense of belonging. To do so, I adopted a collaborative qualitative approach combining multiple methods, including critical ethnography, descriptive Census data analysis, media analysis, and photovoice interviews with 13 immigrant men and women from diverse countries of origin. The neighbourhood selected for this study is Ledbury-Heron Gate, a low-income, immigrant neighbourhood in Ottawa. Subject to stigmatization and mass evictions, Ledbury-Heron Gate is a contentious space and the site of struggles between residents, mainstream media, developers, and city officials. Yet, many participants have found amenities, mutual support, and solidarity in the neighbourhood that they have come to appreciate and value. I present a narrative of Ledbury-Heron Gate that is not portrayed elsewhere, a complex and sometimes contradictory story of belonging and not belonging. My findings reveal that sense of belonging is not simple, and there can be simultaneous feelings of comfort and recognition combined with resentment and fear. I emphasize the participants’ accounts of agency and knowledge among the residents of ii Ledbury-Heron Gate and their ability to create spaces where they can build community and solidarity. Yet, they encounter challenges such as (in)accessibility, discrimination, and disinvestment. Based on the narratives that I will recount in this thesis, it will become clear that the participants are keenly aware of the barriers that they face; yet they refuse to let these determine their sense of belonging and support for one another. Their efforts, with proper structural support from various levels of government, local institutions, and NGOs, hold the potential to transform spaces of encounter into spaces of empowerment and connection. Their complex and at times contradicting narratives of sense of belonging and experiences of exclusion show the nuances that come from being an immigrant trying to belong to a place that is not always inclusive. iii Acknowledgements This thesis was possibly the longest and most enriching two years of my life and I couldn’t have done it without the help of so many people; this thesis was truly a team project.1 Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Luisa Veronis, who spent many many hours listening to me ramble about my various incoherent thoughts and feelings and tried to make some sort of sense out of it all. Thank you for your guidance, knowledge, and for providing me with the opportunity to work on the project, applying for funding so I did not go broke, and trusting me when I need it the most. Thank you to SSHRC, that helped to fund my thesis through the Partnership Grant – Building Migrant Resilience in Cities – Immigration et résilience en milieu urbain. Thank you to the other members of the project team, Lina, Rachel, and Idris, whose help was invaluable. Thank you especially to Lina, who was with me for the majority of the project, learning together and working together. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Brian Ray and Dr. David Moffette, for agreeing to read this much too long thesis. Thank you Brian, for guiding me through the census profile and your patient and eloquent explanations. Thank you David, for 1 This study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SHRC) of Canada through the Partnership “Building Migrant Resilience in Cities/Immigration et résilience en milieu urbain” (BMRC-IRMU): Preston, V. PI, Belkhodja, C., Gabriel, C., Lochhead, C., Douglas, D., Dyson, D., Zikic, J., Hennebry, J., Shields, J., Veronis, L., Hynie, M., Mandell, N., Bhuyan, R., Ghosh, S. and collaborators. Migration and Resilience in Urban Canada - Immigration et résilience en milieu urbain (BMRC-IMRU): Discovering Strengths and Building Capacity, Partnership Grant. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, SSHRC#896-2016-1004, 2,499,525, 2016-2021 $. For more information on the project, see: http://bmrc-irmu.info.yorku.ca/ iv your enthusiasm and dance moves. Thank you Dr. Jen Ridgley, who couldn’t stay on my committee, but who spent many hours in and outside of class guiding my thoughts. Thank you to my sister, Lydia, who is always the dork I need whenever I need her. She is my heart and my soul and there is never a day that I am not grateful to have her in my life. Sorry I couldn’t chat with you today, but I will talk with you tomorrow. Thanks mom, for being the OG immigrant and bringing us to a place Lydia could exist. And thanks grandma, for teaching me the important things, like mahjong and irreverence. Thank you to everyone who supported me in the last couple of years as I went on the educational, personal, and emotional journey of a lifetime, and I hope you stay in my life as I continue to grow and improve. Thank you Jamie, Noah, Souheil, Aatikah, Ryan, Iria, and the Guelph crew (Lucas, Belinda, Carla, and Jamila) who truly have seen me at my worst. If trust were marble jars, you guys would have overflowing ones. Extra thanks to Noah, who has become my left hand, closest to my heart, I’ll see you soon. Most of all thank you to my participants and everyone in Ledbury-Heron Gate who gave me their time, energy, and knowledge. Thank you especially Rasha, Yasmin, Kimber, and Abeba, who let me hang out with them and ask them obnoxious questions. RIP Glen. Thank you to the members of the Herongate Tenant Coalition, who have become great friends. Thank you Josh, Mumina, Tammy, and Nima, not only for your friendship, but also your hard work and dedication to improving the world, you guys give me hope. Thank you even more for your support of me, in academic, in life, and in everything in between. Special thanks to Nima and Marian, who are with me right now at 11:45pm on Friday night finishing this thesis. v Table of Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Why Study Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging ................................................................ 3 1.2 Objectives and Questions ................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Research Context ............................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Organization of Thesis ..................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 – Literature Review ................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Research on Immigrants and Neighbourhoods in Canada ...................................... 11 2.1.1 Settlement Patterns ................................................................................................. 12 2.1.2 Housing Experiences .............................................................................................. 14 2.1.3 Everyday Experiences ............................................................................................. 15 2.2 Sense of Belonging .......................................................................................................... 17 2.3 Conceptual Framework: Spaces of Encounter ............................................................ 25 2.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3 – Methodology ......................................................................................................... 31 3.1 Overview of Research Methods and Timeline ........................................................... 32 3.2 Neighbourhood Selection .............................................................................................. 33 3.2.1 Census Data Neighbourhood Profile ..................................................................