19552 GW Mag 26_Final_singles - Flipbook - Page 31
“We look at the mutual influence of
immigrants and urban landscapes—
how they interact and change each other.”
— ELIZABETH CHACKO, PROFESSOR OF
GEOGRAPHY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
in the class seeking “a more formal education around the
topic of immigration…given how large a discussion issue it
has become in the world of American politics,” he said. At
the same time, the class “was a good way to immerse myself
in this new city that I was moving to.”
Straight to the Suburbs
Unlike New York or San Francisco, for example, which
have centuries-old immigrant traditions, Washington has
only experienced wide-spread migration for about 50 years,
Chacko said. But what it lacks in a lengthy history, it makes
up for in diversity.
In 2023, the city was home to 95,400 foreign-born
residents—about 14 percent of the population and near the
national average. The total immigrant population in the
metropolitan area equals about 1.3 million, with most of the
growth in the suburbs.
“Newer immigrants do not live in the central cities,”
Chacko noted, pointing to factors like gentrification, high
rents and urban development in downtown locales. “Today,
immigrants are moving directly to the suburbs.” Ironically, she
said, that migration flow has helped shift the tenor of once
virulently anti-immigrant counties in Maryland and Virginia as
ethnic groups exert influence over local economies and politics.
“I am an immigrant, and I haven’t faced overt racism. But
because I study immigration, I know what some people face,”
Chacko said. “Hopefully I can open our students’ eyes to
those indignities.”
Indeed political science major Bradley Fowler said he
found connections between the stories of D.C.’s diverse
In her Dean’s Seminar, Chacko teaches students like So昀椀a Barahona
(left) and Jazlene Ramos to think like urban geographers.
populations and his own suburban New Jersey upbringing,
despite not identifying as a city dweller or an immigrant.
“While many of the experiences we study in class differ
from my own, the discussions about discrimination and
racism resonate with me, as these are challenges that
many people of color, myself included, have faced,” he said.
The New Chinatown
For the Chinatown project, students ventured into the
small, historic downtown area framed by the Qing-dynasty
style Friendship Arch.
The current Chinatown—along H and I streets between
5th and 8th streets—is the city’s second Chinese district after
residents were forcibly removed from a 1920s Federal
Triangle location to create space for the National Mall. Even
today, only about 300 Chinese people live in downtown
Chinatown—from its peak population of thousands in the
1970s—as larger Chinese communities settled in suburban
areas like Rockville. Chacko tasks her students with finding
physical elements that signal the neighborhood’s geographic
boundaries—like places of worship, stores and restaurants
and signage along Metro stations and sidewalks.
Looking closely, Kervick said he found evidence of
the shrinking ethnic population—like the scarcity of
Chinese-owned businesses instead of chain stores and
restaurants displaying Mandarin characters. “My main
takeaway was how quickly ethnic enclaves can be swallowed
up by outside forces especially economically,” he said. “Besides
the archway there was not much that made it incredibly
distinct from the rest of the city.”
Throughout the semester, the class also compared D.C.’s
immigrant landscapes to other cities’ ethnic boroughs—like
the Russian and Ukrainian sections of New York’s Brighton
Beach, Cuban population centers in Miami and the little
Mogadishu neighborhood in Minneapolis. Chacko also
encouraged students to share their own personal backgrounds and histories.
“Being able to not just learn about geography concepts,
but also real stories of the people around me is fascinating,”
said biology major Dylan Mach. The class discussions
offered “real-world, firsthand perspectives that connect
directly to what we’re learning.”
Indeed, while the class learned how migration shapes the
city’s neighborhoods, Chacko also hopes students honed their
geography skills and thought critically about urban spaces.
“Geography is about the relationship between people and
place,” she said. “What better way to actually understand that
relationship than by observing and understanding how theory
fits into the empirical example of a city-wide case study?”
GW Arts & Sciences | RESEARCH & LEARNING | 31
