One of the most important markers of gentrification is a shift in the demographics of a neighborhood. While changes in the average age of the population can be very significant, the strongest evidence is found in changes in ethnicity. This shift can be seen just walking through the streets of Chinatown, but is even more evident in statistics, even within the space of ten years. According to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), the White population was the only racial group to grow in New York’s Chinatown from 2000 to 2010 (“Chinatown Then and Now”). Chinatowns in Philadelphia and Boston have even experienced a doubling of White populations. While the majority of people in New York’s Chinatown are still Asian, the fringes of the area defined as Chinatown are slowly shifting to contain a White population as high as 21% (“Chinatown Neighborhood in New York, NY”). This change from an almost completely Asian population (in the center sections of Chinatown, there is still a 98% Asian population) to a mixed one is evident in an increase in high rises for Western business and residence, and a decrease in small family owned businesses such as restaurants, herbal shops, vegetable stands and butcher shops.
There has also been a shift in the ratio of family households to non-family households. While New York’s Chinatown still has a slightly higher number of family households, East-coast Chinatowns have all “drastically decreased” from 1990 to 2010 (“Chinatown Then and Now”). The loss of the traditional multigenerational living style that is common in Asian countries is related to the increase in young, single, working men and women, who live in upscale housing in the area, and make use of the businesses that are directed towards their higher spending capacity. Such residents displace large families because they do not need to support any dependents, and thus can afford the higher rents that newly built luxury condos charge.
The loss of families of Chinese immigrants threatens to devolve the strongly cultured neighborhood of Chinatown into little more than another heavily capitalist hang out for the young and wealthy. The dilution of a dense Chinese population as developers continue to seek new neighborhoods to exploit will break down the rich heritage that stood out as a precious possession of our city.
“Chinatown neighborhood in New York, New York (NY), 10002, 10013 detailed profile”. Citydata.com. http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Chinatown-New-York-NY.html. Date Accessed 22 May 2017.
“Chinatown Then and Now: Gentrification in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia”. Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. http://aaldef.org/Chinatown%20Then%20and%20Now%20AALDEF.pdf. Date Accessed 22 May 2017.
