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The food is no different, neither are traditions, etc. Point taken. You feel I'm placing too much emphasis on aesthetics, and I don't think you're placing enough emphasis on them.
I suppose what I'm thinking is that while even the most urban Chinatowns in the US aren't as dense as most Asian cities (Boston's density is over 28,000 people per square mile in Chinatown), it is an emulation of what a traditional Asian city is like. Tiny, super-dense neighborhoods throughout the streets. Tacky neon signs, dead rabbits, ducks, etc hanging upside down in the window of a fast-food resaurant. Dirty streets, dirty people, and if you're not Asian (like me), a general feeling of "am I still in Boston? (or NY, or SF, etc depending on where you're living)
I don't see how you'd get that sort of atmosphere and feeling in a strip-mall.
I get what you are saying that older, more urban Chinatowns have a better atmosphere and all. But all I was saying is that people shouldn't automatically disregard suburban style Chinatowns or other ethnic enclaves as not "real" ethnic neighborhoods b/c they are, just not in the "traditional" sense.
I get what you are saying that older, more urban Chinatowns have a better atmosphere and all. But all I was saying is that people shouldn't automatically disregard suburban style Chinatowns or other ethnic enclaves as not "real" ethnic neighborhoods b/c they are, just not in the "traditional" sense.
Yea I know...I suppose when you grow up in the area of a "traditional" city like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, etc., you view your way as the right way and therefore, the only way a certain city/neighborhood should be. So when we see a Chinatown that doesn't fit our picture of what a Chinatown is, we instantly think "pffft, what the hell is that?"
It's not right, and it's definitely elitist, but I suppose it's the natural way for people to react when shown something that is different from what they have always seen.
That's why the Sun Belt cities always get a bum wrap on this website. The urbanity of newly-developed cities is so much different from that of traditional cities that we don't consider them to be in the same class. When I've spent time in Atlanta, Denver and Charlotte (that is time outside of the downtown areas, in actual neighborhoods within the city), I've always thought "How is this considered to be an actual city?! It's all single family homes and we seem to be in the woods!". I think it's only human for people to not understand things that deviate from their traditional views.
You don't have to kissup to the sunbelters. Their idea of cities is not real. Urban sprawly cities are unstainable and a complete ugly mess. Its the truth.
Yea I know...I suppose when you grow up in the area of a "traditional" city like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, etc., you view your way as the right way and therefore, the only way a certain city/neighborhood should be. So when we see a Chinatown that doesn't fit our picture of what a Chinatown is, we instantly think "pffft, what the hell is that?"
It's not right, and it's definitely elitist, but I suppose it's the natural way for people to react when shown something that is different from what they have always seen.
That's why the Sun Belt cities always get a bum wrap on this website. The urbanity of newly-developed cities is so much different from that of traditional cities that we don't consider them to be in the same class. When I've spent time in Atlanta, Denver and Charlotte (that is time outside of the downtown areas, in actual neighborhoods within the city), I've always thought "How is this considered to be an actual city?! It's all single family homes and we seem to be in the woods!". I think it's only human for people to not understand things that deviate from their traditional views.
I get what you're saying and I agree that is the case for SOME people that are from areas with more traditional, urban cities. But I just want to point out I was born and raised in the SF Bay Area and have spent A LOT of time in SF's Chinatown, my mom's side of the family is Asian. I pretty much go everytime I am back visiting home and have so many memories as a kid spending time there. But I suppose if I never had left the Bay Area then I might have more of that "elitist" attitude that is prevalent in that area and other areas similar to it. Gotta open your mind though....
This thread is about the best/most vibrant Chinatowns. What is so vibrant about a strip mall?
For that matter, what's so vibrant about narrow streets, or old buildings? Buildings are not vibrant, it's the people and the vitality of a community that make something vibrant. Houston's China Town is newer, and follows newer architectural styles and urban layouts. It's vibrant because it's huge and growing with lots of new buildings, places to meet for social and cultural interaction, and yes, strip centers. The existence of strip malls does not mean they are living the American lifestyle. It looks much like the newer areas of Chinese cities reflecting the modern age in which it developed. It has room to grow and is growing at a rapid pace. I would consider this vibrant.
It may not be picturesque (though some of it is), but it is a large vibrant contemporary community. And I'm not a Houston appologist; I find many things about Houston appalling.
For that matter, what's so vibrant about narrow streets, or old buildings? Buildings are not vibrant, it's the people and the vitality of a community that make something vibrant.
Seriously? Buildings have people in them, whether it's for work or living...people add to the vibrancy of a neighborhood...the closer buildings are packed together, the more people there are in a small area. The more people there are in an area, the more vibrant that area will be, right?
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Houston's China Town is newer, and follows newer architectural styles and urban layouts. It's vibrant because it's huge and growing with lots of new buildings, places to meet for social and cultural interaction, and yes, strip centers.
Being huge does not equal being vibrant. Single family developments that cover several square miles do not equal vibrancy even though they are huge. Turn those 5 thousand new people and put them on one or two blocks? That will help turn an area vibrant.
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The existence of strip malls does not mean they are living the American lifestyle. It looks much like the newer areas of Chinese cities reflecting the modern age in which it developed. It has room to grow and is growing at a rapid pace.
The strip malls in China are apart of the Americanization/Westernization of that country...so basically the China-stripmalls (or New Chinatowns) found in some of the newer cities are the American versions of the Americanization of Chinese society (now that's a mouthful!).
EDIT: However. let's separate just Chinatown by itself....
According to wikipedia, Manhattan Chinatown by itself has a pop of 90-100K in an area of 0.36 sq. miles.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Manhattan
So if that's accurate, there are an incredible ~250,000 people/sq. mile in Manhattan's Chinatown!!!
Now, that's what I call packin' em like sardines!
Who knows what the densities really are with all the illegals for both Chinatowns!
The thing about it is that, as enjoyable as it is to walk through Chinatown in San Francisco for tourists and those who live in other neighborhoods, most of the Chinese residents who live there, that I've spoken to, hate it. I worked at a school for a while which was predominantly chinese immigrant students. They talked about how slummy, moldy, and infested most of the apartments there were, with literally dozens of people sometimes sharing tiny spaces.
They were jealous of people who lived in other, nicer parts of the city, and felt like it was unfair that they had to live in such crammed delapidated quarters. It was interesting to get that perspective as most people usually feel "wow, Chinatown, it's so authentic and cool" and dont think about the downside of it
It's interesting too that the Hispanic District in SF (the Mission) was considered cool to go to for a while because it had a slummy vibe (even though a lot of it has now been gentrified), but Chinatown never had that stigma. It was a totally different perception as I never thought of Chinatown as actually being "ghetto" (maybe because crime rates in Chinatown are lower than the Mission, but I think its because as Americans we don't usually associate Asian with Ghetto). After hearing the descriptions, though, it became clear the living conditions in Chinatown were very "ghetto".
Im not sure about NYC's Chinatown (only been there a couple times) but I imagine it has its share of that as well.
EDIT: However. let's separate just Chinatown by itself....
According to wikipedia, Manhattan Chinatown by itself has a pop of 90-100K in an area of 0.36 sq. miles.. Chinatown, Manhattan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So if that's accurate, there are an incredible ~250,000 people/sq. mile in Manhattan's Chinatown!!!
Now, that's what I call packin' em like sardines!
Who knows what the densities really are with all the illegals for both Chinatowns!
I've always thought of a traditional "Chinatown" to be the emulation of an Asian city and lifestyle within a larger American city (a city within a city). To me, the strip mall-style of Chinatown is just an area where a bunch of Asian people live an American lifestyle. I'm not trying to sound so negative about these cities, but they're just not the same as the traditional Chinatowns.
This thread is about the best/most vibrant Chinatowns. What is so vibrant about a strip mall?
have you been to the suburban chinatown of LA's san gabriel valley? if not, you might want to reassess your opinion about suburban chinatowns not being "vibrant". in fact, the sgv contains one of the premier chinatowns in the entire country.
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