Ethnic Precincts

Professor Paul Spoonley has called for Auckland to develop ethnic precincts.

I’m somewhat dubious. While certainly in some cities like Sydney’s Chinatown it has worked very well, in many other cities it has been a disaster having ethnic precincts. The Netherlands comes to mind – they are struggling with the issues of having realised that many immigrants are remaining isolationist, rather than contributing to a blend of cultures.

At the end of the day, I think it is up to the individuals. If indivudals from particular races tend to all live in one area, then that is their choice. But that is a different matter from having the City Council specifically try to create ethnic precincts.