Gateway City

Historically, gateways were the traditional cities where immigrants settled including port cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Now new immigration patterns have created additional gateway cities. For example, Cleveland and Buffalo were strong immigrant destinations in the early 1900s, while New York and Chicago were and continue to be strong gateway cities. After WWII, cities such as Miami and Los Angeles saw increased immigration patterns. Now, we have new emerging gateway cities such as Dallas, and Washington, D.C., which have both seen high immigration rates in the last 20 years.

Gateway cities have traditionally been midsize urban centers which were home to industries and employment opportunities offering residents good jobs and a "gateway" to the American Dream. Unfortunately, in many former gateway cities there has been a decline in manufacturing jobs, and the cities have been unable to rebuild and reposition themselves to attract new population growth.

Cities which hope to attract new immigrants may face stubborn social and economic challenges. Many cities have begun to analyze how to improve their infrastructure in order to leverage untapped assets.