Bosnian Settlement Patterns in St. Louis

Background and Purpose

St. Louis is home to the largest Bosnian community outside Bosnia. Estimates range from between 35,000 upwards to 75,000. Part of the challenge of obtaining an exact count is that the U.S.-born children of the first-generation dissolve in the White category of the Census. Furthermore, while several studies have explored different dimensions of health and mental health among those who were resettled in the 1990s, we know next to nothing about the second generation. This gap in our understanding is important for three interrelated reasons: (1) being phenotypically white but also predominantly Muslim, the second generation Bosnian youth provide a unique case of growing up Muslim-American in the context of a growing racialization of Islam, (2) widely considered an immigrant success story, a deeper understanding of influences and dimensions that facilitated their incorporation may yield important insights for policy makers and social service providers working with refugee and immigrant populations, and (3) immigrants and refugees have been recognized as a potential demographic to reverse decades of population decline in old industrial cities.

The poster presents findings from a longitudinal qualitative study of Bosnian families and their children in St. Louis.

Methods

The analysis in this poster uses U.S. Census data on the settlement patterns of the Bosnian first generation in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Geocoded data on foreign-born residents who noted Bosnia-Herzegovina as their country of birth were mapped using GIS computer software. The analysis is complemented by qualitative data from 25 in-depth interviews with Bosnian youth and their parents on residential choice. Interviews with parents were conducted in Bosnian and interviews with youth were conducted in English. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded using Atlas.ti.

Results

The results show an initial concentration of first arrivals in Bevo Mill, a declining urban neighborhood in south St. Louis beginning in the early 1990s. These patterns were facilitated by affordable housing in that neighborhood as well as easy access to the primary refugee resettlement agency in the city. But the analysis also reveals a gradual movement to South County beginning in the early 2000s and by 2010 the majority of the first generation had relocated to the suburbs. The analysis of qualitative interview data revealed that this movement was primarily triggered by the search for better housing, safer communities and better schools.   

Conclusions and Implications

These findings highlight the critical importance of public urban school systems and perceptions of public safety for the incorporation and retention of immigrant and refugee families in old industrial cities. Furthermore, in contrast to a growing literature on new immigrant destinations, the Bosnian experience seems to follow a much more traditional path of adaptation from an inner city gateway neighborhood followed by a gradual suburban movement which raises important questions for future research.