"Diverse" Suburbs

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Again, if we use "diverse" with it's proper definition, the Twin Cities is AS diverse as anywhere. Diverse means "different". No where in the definition does it state that it can only be diverse if only a certain percentage of a group lives in an area. Yes, we are still a mostly Caucasian area, however that does not mean we are not a diverse state. Some people here confuse that fact quite often. Diverse doesn't mean majority minorities...

I think it's a major reach to suggest that by any definition of the term Minnesota is AS diverse as anywhere. I agree that diversity can't be strictly defined by specific percentages, but it's pretty silly to argue, for example, that the Twin Cities is AS diverse as many other major metro area in the country. And no one here has said anything about "majority minorities." I think that's where some of the confusion is coming from; it's not just about white people and everyone else. I think some posters think of it like that.

The most diverse area I've ever lived in was about a quarter white, a quarter Asian, a quarter black, and a quarter Hispanic, with a wide range of diversity within those categories (people of different ages, different ethnic backgrounds, different socioeconomic backgrounds, etc.) I don't think there are any neighborhoods that come close to that level of diversity in the Twin Cities. Not that that means that the Twin Cities AREN'T diverse -- I think they are. It's just that people are fooling themselves if they think that the Twin Cities' diversity is anywhere near what you find in many other places. If, say, a school with 100 kids had 90 kids of one race and 10 kids of various other races diverse, would you? Well, maybe you would, but I wouldn't, and I certainly wouldn't say that it was AS diverse as a school with larger numbers of more different backgrounds. I don't think most people would. (to be fair, I also don't think racial diversity alone is a fair look at diversity, either; a racially or ethnically diverse school where all the kids are from the same socioeconomic background is lacking in some diversity, too. Diversity comes in different forms.)

I think the Twin Cities are diverse, but I think it's pretty laughable for people to believe that the area comes close to comparing to some of the country's other big cities when it comes to diversity. I think it's changing, and that time will come (especially since the Twin Cities are really a port of entry for so many incoming immigrants), but to suggest otherwise requires a very creative interpretation and definition of what it means to be a diverse metro area.