"Little Saigon District" What do ya think ?

[foxelipsus]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I'm fine with Little Saigon although there are other names I would prefer, "little Indochina" for one might be more apropos, but do they really need 1.7 miles of Bellaire Blvd? The Gandhi District is about 1/3 that size along Hillcroft and a name like that is more inclusive as well. BTW Chinatown, in Houston anyway, is a informal designation as are most of these "Little" whatever's.

Omg Little Gandhi would be an amazing official name, and Little Asia might be more appropriate for the Bellaire strip, for sure.

[Vicman]

Oh yes, any Arab-speaking immigrant would likely blend in well. Houston generally doesn't get a lot of people from the French-speaking Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) and AFAIK the numbers of those from Persian Gulf Arab countries are relatively small. I was wondering where most of Houston's Arabs in particular come from.

Originally Posted by foxelipsus

I would say any nation that primarily speaks Arabic, which would be Morrocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and several more in the Middle East, but nations that do not speak Arabic (such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq) are often lumped into the category, but I don't think people from those nations consider themselves Arabs, and would correct someone who said they were Arabs.

I know where "Little Persia" or "Little Tehran" is, it's on Westheimer near Belt 8.

"Little Colombia" is on Richmond near Gessner.

[foxelipsus]

Originally Posted by Vicman

Oh yes, any Arab-speaking immigrant would likely blend in well. Houston generally doesn't get a lot of people from the French-speaking Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) and AFAIK the numbers of those from Persian Gulf Arab countries are relatively small. I was wondering where most of Houston's Arabs in particular come from.

From what I've seen, there are plenty of Persians and Afghans and Pakistanis in Houston, none of which are Arabs, but all of which are often confused with Arabs. Some Lebanese, some Turkish, a little bit of everything else. The former two are generally considered to be Middle Eastern, whereas Pakistan is more often considered part of the SubContinent (India region) however where I come from (UK) it's also considered Middle Eastern and Arab (the latter is definitely incorrect, the former depends on who you ask but according to most Pakistanis it's incorrect too as far as I know).

And yes, there are very few North Africans in the US in general. Most of the North Africans living outside North Africa that I have met, were in Spain and France.

[Vicman]

Some Franco-Maghrebians go to Quebec too.

It would seem like then Houston's Arab population's mostly from the Levant? (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel)? How many are Egyptian?

Of the Pakistanis I wonder how many are Punjabi, Mujahir (people who came over from India in 1949), Sindhi, Pashtun, etc.

Of the Afghans I wonder how many are from each of the major ethnic groups (Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, etc.)

I would imagine most of the Iranians are Persian, but I wonder how many Azeris, Kurds, Armenians, and Arabs are in the mix...

Originally Posted by foxelipsus

From what I've seen, there are plenty of Persians and Afghans and Pakistanis in Houston, none of which are Arabs, but all of which are often confused with Arabs. Some Lebanese, some Turkish, a little bit of everything else. The former two are generally considered to be Middle Eastern, whereas Pakistan is more often considered part of the SubContinent (India region) however where I come from (UK) it's also considered Middle Eastern and Arab (the latter is definitely incorrect, the former depends on who you ask but according to most Pakistanis it's incorrect too as far as I know).

And yes, there are very few North Africans in the US in general. Most of the North Africans living outside North Africa that I have met, were in Spain and France.

[ipuck]

This could potentially turn that area into a tourist attraction.

Once you put up a name like that, people and media would start using it.

People that don't know Vietnamese food would go there for this. And the Vietnamese food here might be comparable to Los Angeles.

Right now only the Houston natives know that area is highly concentrated with Vietnamese.

As the 2nd largest Vietnamese population in United states, I think this will do wonders for the city.

The Vietnamese people have really bring their culture and assimilated into the city. From crawfish, nail salons, pho, and various other Vietnamese business that many of us have frequented in our daily lives.

As I said earlier, that are is borderline ghetto if the Vietnamese have not move in and build all those shopping centers and restaurants and supermarkets.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

It would do wonders, but ironically, Aleif is predominately Hispanic not Vietnamese.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

It would do wonders, but ironically, Aleif is predominately Hispanic not Vietnamese.

I think it's a commercial standpoint, not resident. At least this will separate Chinatown from the Vietnamese predominate area which lies outside the belt.