• Luk, Chiu M. “Contextualizing the Emergence of New Chinatowns: An Introduction.” GeoJournal 64.1 (n.d.): 1-6. JSTOR. Web. 1 Apr. 2017.

This text seeks to provide insight on what it means to be a “new” Chinatown by presenting the work and arguments of several experts and their papers, to have them debate and create a discourse with one another. The idea of what a Chinatown should be is expanded to include suburban neighborhoods, using Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others as examples, excluding the case of New York City. The author also cites globalization as a catalyst for the appearance of these new Chinatowns; Chinatowns function more so as an “ethnic economy” rather than for settling in these areas for societal/cultural reasons. This journal is relevant to our research as it can help in understand the future of Chinatowns, specifically in New York, as we see Chinatowns emerging in new, less urban settings than Manhattan, such as Brooklyn and Queens. Also, by citing the research of others, this paper can lead us to the work of seven other experts on Chinatowns and their findings.

  • Lee, Rose Hum. “The Decline of Chinatowns in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 54.5 (1949): 422-32. JSTOR. Web. 1 Apr. 2017.

In this article, Rose Hum Lee, the first woman and Asian American head of the sociology department at Roosevelt University delves into the causes for the historical decline of Chinatowns in her home state of Montana during the 1940s. While this topic is not directly related to the recent development in Manhattan Chinatown, it will be important to analyze the causes of decline at that time and see if there are analogous situations in the present. Lee documents the reasons for the creation of Chinatowns and the effects of denied citizenship for Chinese immigrants. She then transitions to talk about how gender ratios, specialized employment and vertical mobility all have taken part in the decrease of Chinatowns, as well as more immediate causes, such as war and depression. A further close reading of this text will contribute to an understanding of how social, political, and economic factors can work to decrease ghetto structures like Chinatowns.

  • Cuozzo, Steve. “Chinatown Slowly Losing Its Charm – and Its Restaurants.” New York Post. New York Post, 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

The author, Steve Cuozzo, is suggesting that Chinatown is slowly, but surely losing its cultural hold on old traditions. The Chinatown as we once knew from the late 1900’s is slowly becoming more Americanized and also quite frankly, shrinking in size. Cuozzo made a valid point that many of the traditional businesses that have been around for decades are now starting to close their doors because there is a market need for clothes and living space instead of food. Restaurants play a huge role in Chinese traditions in which they are what social gatherings revolve around. Some weddings are even held at restaurants. With a steady decline these restaurants, there’s no wonder Chinatown is not anything like it was years ago. Cuozzo is also quick to point out that it’s not even the food that makes Chinatown so unique to New Yorkers. Chinatown is the link to the past, a link to old New York and how things used to be. With the decline of restaurants playing a huge role in Chinatown losing its charms, the overall picture that we should be seeing is that we’re losing our historic neighborhoods to trendy snack and bar spots and the inevitable gentrification.

 

  • Chu, Peter. “‘The Best Coffee in Flushing’ Shuts Down.” Showcasing the Best of the Community and Ethnic Media. Voices of NY, 1 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

One Fulton Square, a new residential/commercial complex opened up in Flushing and is proving to be one of the more expensive investments made in the area. With its high rent, a famous coffee shop in Flushing by the name of Presso was forced to close its doors. The rent is simply way too much to be able to make a profit from the business. It is becoming harder and hard to rent out space in Flushing and  or Chinatown if this gentrification continues to grow. The value of the land rises sharply, and more Chinatown/Flushing stores will have to close.

 

  • Sze, Lena. “Chinatown Then and Neoliberal Now: Gentrification Consciousness and the Ethnic-Specific Museum.” Identities, 17:5 (2010): 510-529, EBSCO. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.

Lena Sze uses a study of the Museum of Chinese in America to investigate the way that “gentrification consciousness” shown in small and midsize ethnic museums represents the resistance to gentrification which is restrained by the surrounding and larger society. Urban development created by the surrounding community displays gentrification as a natural result of cultural concentration and portrays it as a beneficial factor in the economics of both the small community and the larger surroundings. Sze uses the relationship between the culture specific museum and the neighborhood around it which is rapidly becoming a tourist center through loss of authenticity to explore the “intersection of cultural tourism, gentrification, and urban development in the neo-liberal period”.

 

  • Gee, Peter. “The Struggle for Quality Affordable Housing in New York City: Asian Americans for Equality.” Asian American Policy Review, vol. 22, 2011/2012, pp. 9-17. EBSCO. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.

This text explores how Asian Americans are affected by the current state of affordable housing and the role of the Asian Americans for Equality(AAFE) are working to obtain affordable housing in Manhattan’s Chinatown.This paper mainly focuses on the evolution of the AAFE and its triumphs. However, the case for Chinatown is strong enough to merit in-depth analysis.

 

  • Pitkow, Marlene. “A Temple for Tourists in New York’s Chinatown.” Journal of American     Culture (01911813), vol. 10, 1987, pp. 107-114. EBSCO. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.

In this text, Pitkow observes the people who are entering and leaving the Eastern States Buddhist Associations’s Temple. This information allows us a glimpse of cultural practices as performed in the 1980’s and a point for contrast for how practicing things presently. This “field note” provides us with background on all beliefs practiced in that ares; Confucian and Taoist philosophies among them.

 

  • King, Haitung, and Frances B. Locke. “Chinese in the United States: A Century of Occupational Transition.” The International Migration Review, vol. 14, no. 1, 1980, pp. 15–42.,

This paper examines the changing occupation patterns of the U.S Chinese over the past one hundred years, based on the hypothesis of historic ramification that the successive legal and socio-economic restrictions directed against the Chinese since early years would have played a major role in the shaping of the occupation structure of this minority. This paper does a macroscopic review, and the interpretation of the findings are confined to the drawing of general inferences. This paper functions as laying the groundwork for which detailed field studies may be initiated.

  • Zhou, Min, and John R. Logan. “In and Out of Chinatown: Residential Mobility and Segregation of New York City’s Chinese.” Social Forces, vol. 70, no. 2, 1991, pp. 387–407.,

In this paper, the authors investigates the residential patterns of Chinese residents of the New York metropolitan area. After stating that “ the best-developed theoretical model for research on minority group incorporation into society predicts gradual but progressive assimilation. The aim of the paper is to question whether the aforementioned model accounts for the differences in the characteristics of individuals living in different parts of the metropolis. They conclude that socioeconomic status, marital status, and fertility operate among the Chinese, as with any other group, to [promote residential location outside the Chinatown enclave].

  • Yuan, D. Y. “Chinatown and Beyond: The Chinese Population in Metropolitan New York.” 27.4(1966): 321-32. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.

This text speaks to the shift on how the Chinese have been enumerated in the United States. Currently the enumeration of the Chinese is more for demographic than political reasons since they no longer are considered a problem. This text then goes on to speak about the characteristics of Chinatown populations that have not yet been studied despite the vital importance to shes light on its various compositions i.e sex, age, marital status, educational, and labor force compositions. The paper represents an initial attempt  at a demographic analysis of New York’s Chinatown within the limitation of the published census data.

 

  • “New York Chinatown History.” New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2017

This text walks through the history of Chinatown from the settlement of the Chinese in the Western parts of America to the migration of immigrants Eastward. It also analyzes the changes that occurred with the Chinese people due to changing conditions of the environment like socio-economic shifts.

 

  • China’s Millionaire Migration. Youtube. SBS Dateline, 7 June 2016. Web. 1 May 2017

This documentary covers the immigration of wealthy Chinese people and how it impacts the surrounding area. These changes range from bumping the cost of living up to creating a citadel of high rise complexes to creating a gap in the cultural traditions in some areas. Because of this moving in of rich Chinese immigrants, there is a new rift created within the society and it presents some social and economical turmoil within the community.