Quote:
Originally Posted by Capsicum
Right, how is it that immigrant enclaves avoid being gentrified out of existence near the expensive parts of big inner cities?
Or it just a matter of time, that eventually they will?
I mean, I understand that there are thrifty things immigrants are willing to put up with such as sharing with extended families, taking public transit instead of driving etc. but first of all, the native-born poor could in theory also do this, and secondly, even if they do this, there's still some limit to how much you're willing to sacrifice just for the sake of living in one given place, if there are cheaper places elsewhere.
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Don't know about other cities but in San Francisco certain ones are politically powerful and have managed to put in place zoning and other restrictions that preserve them as they have historically been. This ranges from the tourist mecca of Chinatown, where blocking gentrification has been win/win for both the low income Asian immigrants who live there and the city's tourist economy that dotes on the place. But another neighborhood, the Tenderloin, which used to be an area of flop houses for poor whites is morphining into "Little Saigon", home of southeast Asian immigrants (not just Vietnamese but also Cambodian, Thai etc) with the city's encouragement.
On the other hand, the city's former "Little Italy", North Beach, is becoming a Hollywood stage set of a Little Italy. Still lots of Italian coffee houses and restaurants, but far more white, native-born yuppies living there than immigrants from anywhere.
It should be noted that besides zoning, those seeking to preserve the past in these areas depend on rent control which keeps the areas affordable for immigrants who have lived there a long time.