Geographical study of ethnicity: Comparison between downtown and suburban Chinese in Metropolitan Los Angeles

There are two main schools of theory in the history of ethnic study in the US: acculturation/assimilation, and ethnicity/pluralism. The former emphasizes ethnic groups will merge to the host society and lose their entity; the latter indicates the ethnic identity will continue to exist. This paper proposes a now model of ethnic group distribution multiple cluster to support ethnicity/pluralism theory by adding the spatial perspective. The model indicates there are both traditional ethnic enclaves in inner city and new relatively concentrated ethnic residential and business districts. Creating a new landscape of their own in suburb will help the persistence of ethnic identity. The situation of Chinese. in Monterey Park becomes a Chinese hub with strong ethnic signature and entities, which attracts more Chinese people and businesses.