CONVEYING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY ALONG BOLSA AVENUE - LITTLE SAIGON AS A MODEL OF ETHNIC COMMERCIAL BELTS

In the past, ethnic enclaves have functioned as homogeneous residentia l areas providing support and comfort to newly arrived immigrants. A n ew form of urban village is increasingly serving commuting immigrants who live in integrated residential neighbourhoods. Little Saigon, a Vi etnamese commercial belt in Southern California, serves as a model of this emerging form. Participant observation and interviews with users of Little Saigon and other ethnic commercial belts in Southern Califor nia reveal that these areas provide users with places where they can e xperience the sense of community previously provided by ethnic ghettos . Little Saigon demonstrates that ethnic, commercial enclaves benefit diverse groups of individuals: in these places immigrants with limited English gain employment, older immigrants find solace, and ''American ized'' immigrants and their children connect with their ancestral cult ure. Concomitant with the cultural advantages are the perpetuation of stereotypes, erosion of ethnic boundaries and persistent forms of spec ialized crime that threaten these areas' success and yield negative pe rceptions of the areas' ethnic groups.