Map: The Geography of Arab Detroit

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This map (without data sources or references) is featured in the book Arab Detroit 9/11: Life in the Terror Decade by Nabeel Abraham, Sally Howell, and Andrew Shryock. It’s unclear what year this represents or the source of information. Based on the chapter I assume the data comes from the “Detroit Arab American Study” (DAAS) in 2003.

“Although Arabs can be found throughout metropolitan Detroit, there are tow areas that contain the major concentrations of people of Middle Eastern descent. Each area contains about half of Arab Detroit’s population and includes a band running from east to west. One area runs across Wayne County, and the other lies in the suburbs north of Detroit in Oakland and Macomb counties. The first area is centered in the city of Dearborn, which borders the western edge of Detroit and, with one-third of its population classified as Arab (2005 ACS), is often considered to be the largest concentration of Arabs in the United States. This is the historic home of most Lebanese Muslims and more recently includes Yemeni, Palestinian, and Iraqi Muslims. The area extends eastward from Dearborn into the west side of Detroit, includes portions of Downriver to the south, and, moves across through Dearborn Heights into Wayne COunty’s western suburbs. […]

The second area lies mostly in the suburbs north of Detroit, in Oakland and Macomb counties, and is home to the Iraqi Christian population, the Syrian population, the Lebanese Christian population, and a mix of other, largely professional Arab Americans. As Dearborn has historically been the entry point for Lebanese Muslims, the initial area for newly arriving Chaldeans has been a cluster of blocks surrounding Seven Mile Road in Detroit, now called Chaldean Town. The area still houses a number of Chaldean-owned businesses and a small population of Chaldean immigrants, but the vast majority of Iraqi Christians have resettled in Southfield, Oak Park, West Bloomfield, Troy, and other suburbs, especially Sterling Heights, home to the nations largest concentration of Chaldeans.”

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