Abstract
We examined conditions among Latinos in rural Georgia, using Morris and Winter's (1978) model for housing adjustment and adaptation, in order to develop a framework for extending the segmented assimilation model into the literature on residential assimilation. Morris and Winter's model is predicated on the notion that persons who suffer from multiple normative deficits will deviate from housing norms. We argue that significant deviations from housing norm's may lead to delayed incorporation or, at worst, downward assimilation. Using unstructured interviews with key informants and focus groups with Latino residents in four rural counties, we find that Latino immigrants in rural Georgia aspire to live in housing conditions typically identified with American housing norms; however, due to lack of income, legal status, and other deficits, they cannot. In short, the results of our study offer support for Morris and Winter's theory and suggest that the housing stock available to Latino migrants in rural Georgia may impede incorporation to other areas of American life.
Recommended Citation
Atiles, Jorge, and Stephanie Bohon. 2003. "Camas Calientes: Housing Adjustments and Barriers to Social and Economic Adaptation Among Georgia's Rural Latinos." Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 19(1): Article 5. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/jrss/vol19/iss1/5
Publication Date
6-30-2003
