Immigration in Greater Philadelphia

Greater Philadelphia's population is becoming more diverse. Immigration has helped many communities in the region replenish population losses. Greater Philadelphia's foreign-born population has grown and changed rapidly since 1990. This Data Snapshot series examines the foreign-born population in Greater Philadelphia using American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

    Strategies for Older Suburbs Roundtable: How Immigrant Businesses Can Bring New Vitality to Downtown Retail Districts

    On Friday, October 16, 2015, DVRPC held an event about how immigrant businesses can bring new vitality to downtown retail districts. The event featured presentations by Christina Arlt, AICP and Emily Costello, AICP of DVRPC's Office of Smart Growth. David Dyssegaard Kallick, the Director of the Immigration Research Initiative at the Fiscal Policy Institute gave a presentation about his report, Bringing Vitality to Main Street. Lorissa Luciani, PP, AICP, the Deputy Director of Community Development for Cherry Hill Township, gave a presentation about immigrants in Cherry Hill Township.

    Presentations

    Regional Community and Economic Development Forum

    On October 1, 2013, DVRPC hosted an event about the role of immigrants in the regional economy for the Regional Community and Economic Development Forum. The event featured presentations about recently released DVRPC publications about immigration by Mary Bell and Christina Arlt, AICP. Amanda Bergson-Shilcock from the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians gave a presentation about Immigrant Workers & Entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia Region. Finally, Elisabeth Perez-Luna of WHYY moderated a panel with three distinguished panelists, including Jennifer Rodriguez from the Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs, Domenic Vitiello from the University of Pennsylvania, and Nicholas Montalto of Diversity Dynamics, LLC. The biographies for the speakers [0.1 MB pdf], a summary of the event [0.1 MB pdf], and the presentations [4.2 MB pdf] are available.

    On Friday, October 9, 2015, DVRPC held a Regional Community and Economic Development Forum about the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Daniel Miles, PhD, of Econsult Solutions, Inc. provided an overview of the use of EB-5 funding in Greater Philadelphia. Next Michael Boyer of DVRPC moderated a panel that included Anne Bovaird Nevins of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Nikolaus Grieshaber of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and Ahsan Nasratullah of the Global City Regional Center. The agenda, speaker bios [0.1 MB pdf], and highlights [0.1 MB pdf] from the event are available.