Three Cities Where New Immigrants Revitalized Main Street

Fusion lists three cities as examples of new immigrants becoming the face of community businesses in neighborhoods needing a boost.

1 minute read

January 14, 2015, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Philadelphia Italian market

newskin0 / Flickr

According to an article by Ted Husson, "new immigrants are increasingly becoming the face of community businesses across the country and, in some cases, a lifeline for dying neighborhoods."

A new report by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the Fiscal Policy Institute backs up what has probably been anecdotally apparent in a neighborhood near you: "Nationally, immigrants make up 13 percent of the population, but represent an outsized 28 percent of Main Street business owners..."

Husson goes on to list three cities (i.e., Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Nashville) where new immigrant communities revitalized neighborhoods in a pattern of decline. 

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 in Fusion

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