Ethnoburb - History of The Term "Ethnoburb"

History of The Term "Ethnoburb"

The term was first coined in 1997 by Dr. Wei Li, then assistant professor of Geography and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut, in a paper examining the suburban Chinese population in Los Angeles, California. She further examines and delineates the difference between "Chinatowns" and "ethnoburbs" in "Ethnoburb versus Chinatown: Two Types of Urban Ethnic Communities in Los Angeles".

Ethnoburbs emerge for a variety on reasons, in combination or as separate entities. These include significant changes in world politics and economy, policy changes in the United States' national policies, and demographic shifts in individual or in local connecting neighborhoods. These communities have substantial external connections to the globalised mainstream economy, leading to higher socioeconomic levels in its residents. An ethnoburb functions as a social hub and a place where immigrants may work and do business within their own networks. This definition of an ethnoburb closely resembles that of the ethnic enclave as defined and studied by sociologists Wilson and Portes. Though the terms are different, the types and functions of these hubs are nearly identical. The formation of ethnoburbs also have an effect on the cultural and political characteristics of a city. In cities like San Francisco, Vancouver, and Toronto; also the New York City-Philadelphia and Washington, DC areas; and in the San Gabriel Valley in California, for example, Chinese immigrants have built large houses and malls catering to Chinese businesses, changing the landscape of these and a significant number of smaller communities throughout the U.S.

Dr. Wei Li's book Ethnoburb: The New Ethnic Community in Urban America, explores in depth the phenomenon of ethnoburbs scattered through the United States. She coined the term 'ethnoburb' in 1997, to describe the new formation of contemporary suburban Asian settlements, and continues her studies in larger metropolitan areas in the U.S. and in Vancouver, Canada. Studies of "ethnoburbs" are not limited to Dr. Li. The term has become widely used in academia and is slowly gaining usage in the popular vernacular.