A common characteristic shared by many Indigenous peoples is a greater propensity to live in rural or remote areas. This has been reflected in both academic and policy discussion. However, despite the relative concentration in rural or remote areas, most Indigenous populations are in fact highly urbanised. This is particularly the case in developed countries. Around 70 per cent of Native American and Alaska Natives live in urban areas, as do 75 per cent of Indigenous Australians. Despite this high level of urbanisation, relatively little is known economically and demographically about urban Indigenous populations either in Australia, in other comparable developed countries like the US or in developing countries. What we do know though is that urban Indigenous populations differ economically and demographically in a number of policy relevant ways from both non-Indigenous urban populations as well as their non-urban Indigenous counterparts. The aim of this presentation is to summarise a set of interrelated research that looks at the economics and demography of urban Indigenous populations. The seminar will include new results on residential segregation from the 2010 US Census as well as demographic and socioeconomic analysis of the American Community Survey. These results will be presented alongside published analysis of the Australian Indigenous population.

Seminar recording: The first PDF document below contains presentation slides and seminar audio. The second contains slides only.