Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

The increasing importance of Phoenix as a large urban conglomerate (it is the 6^th largest U.S. city) located in a border state and as a receiver of native and immigrant newcomers both contribute to the growing Latino population in the city. The recent influx of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Cubans to the Phoenix metropolitan area has the potential to alter the sociocultural, political, and economic landscapes of this city, and begs the question of whether Phoenix is becoming the newest Latino immigrant gateway. Relying on qualitative, in-depth interviews with 60 recent arrivals over a 2-year period, this research introduces the immigrants and their geography: first, by focusing on patterns of immigration to the Phoenix metropolitan area; and then by describing the immigrants’ novel patterns of settlement and residential behavior in the city.