Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Geography
First Advisor
Martha Works
Term of Graduation
Spring 2009
Date of Publication
4-15-2009
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.) in Geography
Department
Geography
Language
English
Subjects
Urban renewal -- Massachusetts – Framingham, Framingham (Mass.) -- Emigration and immigration -- Social aspects, Brazilian Americans -- Massachusetts -- Framingham -- Ethnic identity, Brazilian Americans -- Massachusetts -- Framingham -- Social conditions, Brazilian Americans -- Massachusetts -- Framingham -- Economic conditions, Immigrants -- Massachusetts -- Framingham -- Social conditions
DOI
10.15760/etd.6375
Physical Description
1 online resource (2, vii, 105 pages)
Abstract
Over the past thirty years, Massachusetts has become a hub of Brazilian immigration. Within Massachusetts, the town of Framingham has the highest concentration of Brazilian residents; one census tract in the southern part of this Boston suburb is an astounding 57.4 percent Brazilian. The presence of the Brazilian population in downtown Framingham, also referred to as South Framingham, has transformed the area into a landscape of Brazilian ethnicity.
When Brazilians began arriving in South Framingham in the early 1980s, the downtown Central Business District was a blighted landscape. This thesis analyzes how Brazilian identities have become imprinted on the landscape of South Framingham and, in the process, how Brazilian business owners revitalized downtown. Starting with initial Brazilian immigration to Framingham, I present a chronological analysis of how the area developed into an ethnic enclave and, most recently, how the area has become a landscape of ethnic contention. While Brazilian immigrants have improved the economic vitality of South Framingham, the current economic recession and other local factors may diminish the future success of Brazilian business owners and, consequently, their visibility in the landscape of downtown Framingham.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26152
Recommended Citation
Skorczeski, Laura Aldea, "Ethnic Place Making: Thirty Years of Brazilian Immigration to South Framingham, Massachusetts" (2009). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4491.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6375
Comments
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