[saybanana]

This is happening in Los Angeles's city Chinatown. They are not targeting Chinatown only. It is just most of the inner city districts and neighborhoods are are gentrifying. Downtown LA is growing and a "hot" place to build, and live. Chinatown is the northern end of Downtown LA with lots of underused lots especially large parking lots. Many who live there are old timers who live in the several high rise senior housing. Yes there are young families, immigrants of Chinese, Latino, Vietnamese origins in the surrounding apartments. It has always been that way. The Chinese community has expanded and moved east and northeast and scattered rather than concentrated in the San Gabriel valley communities like Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia, South Pasadena, Pasadena, Monterey Park and other communities. Also growing communities in Orange County especially Irvine. Im not sure what the demographic of new Chinese immigrants are, but I think many are more educated with money to buy into the safer, better schools, and do business in these suburbs east of Downtown. Even the more working class immigrants can find homes/rentals and jobs in these suburbs rather rely on the traditional inner city Chinatown which seems largely dependent on tourists/locals who want easy concentrated access to Chinatown.

I have noticed some of the nicer traditional sections of Chinatown are turned into art galleries. Some new food businesses especially vietnamese, fusion asain, New Orleans food, Korean BBQ and a few bars. Still isnt booming unlike other parts of Downtown LA like Little Tokyo, Arts District, South Park. For the most part, most of Chinatown is free of chain anything. Only got a starbucks in past year or 2. No major grocers, major shoppin retail, or drug stores like CVS, Rite Aid, Even a lack of fast food types like McDs, subway shop, though there is a Burger King I think and a failed city Walmart in the western edge, but I think the Burger King will be torn and new housing built.

I should have organized my thoughts better, and too lazy to fix what I wrote, too much march madness in my head.

There are several new mix-used housing projects proposals for many of the parking lots of Chinatown. Surely they will be expensive for the current population to move into. And Im not sure Downtown is desirable for those more affluent Chinese in the suburb to move. This may be the decline of old LA's chinatown.