Post-World War II Asian American Suburban Culture
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2018
Publication Title
American History
Abstract
Substantial numbers of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants moved into suburbs across the United States after World War II, bringing distinctive everyday lifeways, identities, worldviews, family types, and community norms that remade much of American suburbia. Although Asian Americans were excluded from suburbs on racial grounds since the late 19th century, American Cold War objectives in Asia and the Pacific and domestic American civil rights struggles afforded Asian Americans increased access to suburban housing in the 1950s, especially Chinese and Japanese Americans. Following passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, new groups of Asian Americans, particularly Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, and South Asian Indian, joined Chinese and Japanese Americans in settling in earnest into all kinds of suburban neighborhoods. At the turn of the 21st century, a majority of Asians resided in the suburbs, which also became the preferred gateway communities for new immigrants who often bypassed urban cores and moved straight to the suburbs when they arrived.
Keywords
Asian americans; Immigration; Post-1945 suburbs; Cultural politics, "Right to the suburb"; Race; Space; Place; Design; Assimilation; Temples; Religious centers; Shopping malls; Restaurants; Foodways; Schools
Disciplines
Asian American Studies | Community-Based Research | Race and Ethnicity | Regional Sociology
Language
English
Repository Citation
Padoongpatt, M.
(2018).
Post-World War II Asian American Suburban Culture.
American History
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.539