The first suburban Chinatown

by Timothy P. Fong

Monterey Park, California, is a community of 60,000 residents, located east of downtown Los Angeles. Dubbed by the media the "First Suburban Chinatown," Monterey Park is the only city in the continental United States with a majority Asian American population. Since the early 1970s, large numbers of Chinese immigrants moved there and transformed a quiet, predominantly white middle-class bedroom community into a bustling international boomtown. Timothy Fong examines the demographic, economic, social, and cultural changes taking place in Monterey Park, as well as the political reactions to change. Although the city was initially recognized for its liberal attitude toward newcomers, rapid economic development and population growth spawned numerous problems. Greater density, traffic congestion, less open space and parking, and strain on city services are problems that any city would encounter with rapid unplanned growth. The prominence of Chinese-language business signs, and ethnic restaura