City Futures Research Centre

Religious and Ethnic Residential Segregation

in Western Sydney

Dr Ryan Allen

University of Minnesota

5 June 2017

“Is Sydney a city of enclaves?”

“There's no denying that there are parts of Sydney that are deeply

monocultural. When we think ‘enclaves’, many immediately think of

western suburbs such as Fairfield, Cabramatta and Auburn, where it

does feel like you have set foot in another country. Perhaps less

noticeable though are the invisibly gated Anglo-Saxon (for lack of

a better term) enclaves - such as the Shire and the Northern

Beaches. Given the multicultural society that we live in, why aren't

we mingling more?”

MARIAM VEISZADEH an Afghan-born lawyer in Sydney writing in the Sydney Morning

Herald in 2011

Enclaves in Sydney?

Distribution of “Host” Ancestry Groups

Distribution of Chinese Ancestry

Distribution of Chinese Ancestry

Distribution of Indian Ancestry

Distribution of Indian Ancestry

Distribution of Lebanese Ancestry

Distribution of Lebanese Ancestry

Distribution of Christians

Distribution of Buddhists

Distribution of Buddhists

Distribution of Hindus

Distribution of Hindus

Distribution of Muslims

Distribution of Muslims

Typology of Residential Segregation

Ancestry Typology Map

Ancestry Typology Map

Religion Typology Map

Religion Typology Map

Religions In Sydney Are Multi-ethnic

Christianity Buddhism Hinduism Islam Judaism Other None

Australian (24.8%)

Chinese (34.2%)

Indian (68.4%)

Lebanese (16.6%)

Jewish(17.4%)

British (34.2%)

British (45.0%)

British (11.3%)

Vietnamese (19.6%)

S Asian (11.3%)

Turkish (11.1%)

British (16.8%)

Indian (19.2%)

Australian (28.9%)

Irish (6.7%)

British (11.3%)

Nepalese (7.4%)

Mideastern (9.2%)

Australian (16.6%)

Australian (17.3%)

Chinese (7.6%)

Italian (5.1%)

SE Asian (7.6%)

British (7.4%)

C Asian (7.7%)

South African (8.1%)

Irish (5.6%)

Irish (5.1%)

German (2.6%)

Sri Lankan (7.5%)

Sri Lankan (2.8%)

Australian (6.2%)

Polish (8.0%)

Iranian (2.8%)

German (2.6%)

Take Home Points

1. Sydney characterized by ethnic mix, rather than ethnic enclaves

2. Sydney is (relatively) more segregated by religion

– Religious enclaves are exception, not rule

– Christian areas most pronounced

3. Reality of Western suburbs doesn’t fit popular imagination

4. Residential mixing provides opportunities for “mingling”

– Does mingling occur?

Thank You!