Ethnic neighborhoods were zones in Imperial Center for its nonhuman inhabitants.
Alien species from Imperial arctic worlds would be segregated to the planet's colder altitudes while those from hot, tropical worlds were confined to the equator. Those accustomed to subterranean settings were confined to the lower, shadowy levels beneath the towering skyscrapers. Though these ethnic neighborhoods were officially to protect alien residents from supposed "genuine prejudice," they were in reality part of the Galactic Empire's Humanocentric policies.
Conditions inside such places were very poor and the residents were often the targets of Stormtroopers. According to an Imperial propaganda report by Pollux Hax, architecture varied from neighborhood to neighborhood to reflect the various different cultures of the galaxy's alien species, though this may have been untrue. To support Imperial propaganda claims that the alien residents were being protected from prejudice, they were dominated by statues to honor alien heroes from the homeworlds of the residents. A notable ethnic neighborhood was the Alien Protection Zone, also known as the Invisible Sector (Invisec).
The ethnic neighborhoods were probably based on the Warsaw Ghetto of Nazi Germany and the townships of Apartheid South Africa, both of which had real-world similarities with the Galactic Empire.