Healthy Placemaking: How Do Immigrant Food Entrepreneurs Contribute to Community Wellbeing in a Multiethnic Community?

Metropolitan suburban communities have become increasingly diverse in the past two decades. Most working-class and lower-income immigrant households settle in the old industrial suburbs of U.S. metro regions, helping to reverse the decline of many of these first-ring suburban communities. Policymakers have celebrated the contribution of these newcomers to the labor market and local economy but have paid less attention to the health effects of immigrant revitalization.

My research addresses this gap by focusing on the ways that immigrant food entrepreneurs contribute to the health and wellbeing of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, a multiethnic working-class suburb. My dissertation, Healthy Placemaking: How Do Immigrant Food Entrepreneurs Contribute to Community Wellbeing in a Multiethnic Community?, sheds light on three questions: How do immigrant food entrepreneurs contribute to community and economic development? How do they shape the food environment of a diverse community? How do they impact people’s food shopping and consumption patterns?

I use a mixed-method design to explore these questions. First, using historical research to examine the ways that immigrant food businesses impact vacancy and food access over time, I show that the persistent operation, ownership, and business transfer of ethnic food businesses stabilized the community and provided continuous access to food. Second, utilizing interviews, field observation, and a survey of customers at ethnic and non-ethnic food businesses to explore the roles of immigrant-run food stores among immigrant and native-born residents, my findings reveal that ethnic food businesses served both ethnic and non-ethnic clientele, promoted walking, and enhanced community safety and relationships. Third, cross-sectional surveys of a sample of residents demonstrated that ethnic food businesses contributed to the diversity and density of the food environment, enabling residents to navigate the food environment based on their own needs, preferences, and food budgets.

Return to Table of Contents