Photographic Essay
Critically reflect on the positives and/or negatives of ethnic residential concentration as perceptible within specific landscapes in Sydney.
Introduction
Cabramatta is a suburb located in south-west Sydney, New South Wales and is part of the City of Fairfield government area. The largest Vietnamese community in Australia is found in Cabramatta (source). According to the 2011 Census of Population and Housing of Cabramatta conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (footnote), of the 22,676 total responses, 6,330 people listed their heritage as being Vietnamese, with only 29 stating that both parents were born in Australia. These numbers are also comparable with the total population in Cabramatta of those of Chinese background residing in Cabramatta. Of the 6,157 people with this recorded ethnicity, only 25 were listed as having both parents born in Australia.
Figure 1. Street map of Cabramatta Source: Google images
These numbers reveal a high concentration of people with ethnic background of both Chinese and Vietnamese in the Cabramatta area. Such ethnic residential concentration can have both negative and positive impact on both the individuals, the rest of the population in Cabramatta and society as a whole.
As revealed by the numbers above, a large number of the Vietnamese and Chinese ethnic residence are new arrivals or first generation Australians. This has resulted in a large number of non-English speaking peoples residing within the Cabramatta area with the 2011 census data revealing 62 percent.
In this manner, the ethnic residential concentration of Vietnamese and Chinese peoples within Cabramatta can provide a benefit to these groups. For example, due to a high density of Vietnamese peoples within Cabramatta many of the shop fronts are written in the Vietnamese language and sell products directly imported from Vietnam (see Figure 2 below).
Figure 2. Asian Grocery, looking south along Arthur
Introduction
Cabramatta is a suburb located in south-west Sydney, New South Wales and is part of the City of Fairfield government area. The largest Vietnamese community in Australia is found in Cabramatta (source). According to the 2011 Census of Population and Housing of Cabramatta conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (footnote), of the 22,676 total responses, 6,330 people listed their heritage as being Vietnamese, with only 29 stating that both parents were born in Australia. These numbers are also comparable with the total population in Cabramatta of those of Chinese background residing in Cabramatta. Of the 6,157 people with this recorded ethnicity, only 25 were listed as having both parents born in Australia.
Figure 1. Street map of Cabramatta Source: Google images
These numbers reveal a high concentration of people with ethnic background of both Chinese and Vietnamese in the Cabramatta area. Such ethnic residential concentration can have both negative and positive impact on both the individuals, the rest of the population in Cabramatta and society as a whole.
As revealed by the numbers above, a large number of the Vietnamese and Chinese ethnic residence are new arrivals or first generation Australians. This has resulted in a large number of non-English speaking peoples residing within the Cabramatta area with the 2011 census data revealing 62 percent.
In this manner, the ethnic residential concentration of Vietnamese and Chinese peoples within Cabramatta can provide a benefit to these groups. For example, due to a high density of Vietnamese peoples within Cabramatta many of the shop fronts are written in the Vietnamese language and sell products directly imported from Vietnam (see Figure 2 below).
Figure 2. Asian Grocery, looking south along Arthur