The term ghetto gets many negative connotations in todays language, however the ghettoization of a neighborhood is just the place in which minorities live together mainly due to societal and economic pressures.  Areas in large cities have turned into ghettos throughout the years, especially during times of large amounts of immigration.  The Chinese in particular create one of the most popular sections of many cities, including New York City and Los Angeles.  These Chinatowns while made of people of the same origin are very different.

One important fact for each of the Chinatowns, is that as time goes on, and with the increase in sophistication of the technology, the communities are linked more to their cultures and the rest of the world and city.  I initially believed that as time goes on the communities would become less and less like their initial roots, but with the upcoming and recent technology this is understandable.  Within my own family this is true, my Nonna who lives in Astoria, Queens, is able to talk to her sisters who are living in South Africa and Trieste, Italy.

It also surprised me that the communities in both cities are becoming more ethnically diverse.  When visiting Chinatown in Manhattan, it is easy to tell that is a Chinese neighborhood, however, being of non-Asian background, I do not feel out of place.  These neighborhoods are being ‘ethnoburbs,’ multicultural, a neighborhood made of a mixture of various ethnic groups.  Though the neighborhoods within Los Angeles and New York City are different especially in effect of this mixture of ethnic groups, they have many commonalities.  The mixture I believe adds to the notion of “Americanness,” which differs from what those native born to these neighborhoods think.