The readings on immigrant enclaves focused solely on predominantly Asian enclaves. They provided a brief history on traditional Chinatowns and Chinese immigration.
Chinese immigration began noticeably during the 19th century when they came from overseas looking to work in mines and railroad construction sites. They were originally poor laborers of minimum education and skills. The Chinese Exclusion Act successfully lowered the number of Chinese immigrating to the U.S. and faced with discrimination and violence, the Chinese congregated in urban areas, forming so-called Chinatown enclaves in large cities such as San Francisco and New York City. Chinatown provided protection from racism and the means of survival for the Chinese. In exchange, however, they secluded themselves from the rest of the city. The large influx of Chinese immigrants didn’t really occur until after the 1960s when legislations preventing Chinese immigration to the U.S. were lifted and the Chinese finally opened its doors to the rest of the world. The new wave of immigrants were better educated and more affluent than their predecessors. They had the means to form communities outside of overcrowded Chinatowns. As a result, Asian-prevalent communities such as those in Sunset Park and Flushing came into being.
Places such as Flushing and Sunset Park are not considered traditional enclaves such as Chinatown. They are considered ethnoburbs. One of the reasons they are different from an enclave is because of the diversity found within these communities. It is not solely composed of one ethnicity. There also reside a considerable number of immigrants from various countries. Another reason is that these ethnoburbs tend to be in more suburban areas. The original immigrants who formed this community chose the location because they were socioeconomically able to do so with the intention of forming a comfortable and secure environment, but often times the area becomes filled with successful businesses. When immigrants obtain the means to relocate, many choose to go farther away into suburbs. This may cause conflict with the current residents because of cultural differences.
Some Chinese immigrants who are beginning to establish themselves in predominately-white neighborhoods, will no doubt experience difficulty assimilating into the American culture and obtaining general acceptance by the pre-established natives in the community.
