Housing
Chinatowns Are Gentrifying at an Alarming Rate
According to a new study, the Asian population is falling rapidly; and real estate prices are sky-rocketing.
A good rule of thumb to assess changing demographics in a Chinatown: the share of Asian versus non-Asian restaurants in the neighborhood. This is according to a new land-use study of the three largest East Coast Chinatowns - Boston, New York, and Philadelphia - conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, out today.
Restaurants are a good indicator of Chinatowns' ability to "serve local and regional Asian immigrants," the report says. Right now, just under half of the restaurants in New York's Chinatown are Asian; more than half are Asian in Boston and Philadelphia. But that's changing quickly, as these neighborhoods get gutted by gentrification.