Ciaon oetw,andPicoUnion—to Koreatown, —Chinatown, neighborhoodsinLos three immigrant Angeles We studiedthespacebetween homeandschool in thanthoseliving elsewhere. risk inner cityatgreater tling environments children ofthe putimmigrant Suchunset- and anti-intellectualyouth subcultures. abuse andalcoholism, drug violentcrimes, youth gangs, teenagepregnancies, single parenthood, disruption, family inadequateschools, with poverty, Today, neighborhoods are many plagued immigrant andspeaklittleornoEnglish. host society, withthe lackfamiliarity education andjobskills, parents many have immigrant low levels of bilities, Aside from jugglingwork andhousehold responsi- full-time—some atseveral jobsondifferent shifts. often live withbothparents working infamilies children Intheseneighborhoods, neighborhoods. intheinner-city withinthem, of and, America are highlyconcentratedinthebigcities Immigrants constructive activities. vised, out ofschoolthanthosewhoare involved insuper- dren are more likely toreceive anddrop poorgrades Suchchil- inafter-schoolhours. and unsupervised to asmany as15million—children are leftalone atleast8million—andup Nationwide, takes place. 2:00and8:00p.m.—when mostjuvenile crime of thehours victimsduring ofbeingcrime most atrisk Children are onthestreets. with friends—often out orsimplyhanging athomeby themselves, sort, perday activitieshours ofsome eitherinsupervised school year they spendatleastthree after-school the During average ofonly180days inschool. school-agechildren spendan In theUnitedStates, CPRC CALIFORNIA SERVING RESEARCH C ALIFORNIA P OLICY CPRC school life.We focusedonthree specificquestions: children’s influenceimmigrant structures after- examine ways inwhichneighborhood-basedsocial lyb esstat,taking intoaccount ally by censustracts, We definedneighborhoodsgeographic- residents andtheircommunities. they play arole inthesociallifeoflocal totheextentthat ofsocialstructures part offices—as anddoctors credit unions, barbershops, beautysalons, arcades, tions—restaurants,bookstores, We alsoregardedkarate studios. economicinstitu- and SAT preparation schools, after-school tutoring, suchas vate children businesses andyouths, serving aswell pri- asvarious munity-based organizations, and othernonprofit com- culturalcenters, churches, tures tobeorganizationsorinstitutionsthatinclude We considered neighborhood-basedsocialstruc- Research Methods race andethnicity? andhow dothey vary by neighborhood level, existatthe What typesofsocialstructures ain,andsenseofdirection andpurpose? rations, occupationalaspi- children’s beliefineducation, foster andhow may thesesocialrelations affect different neighborhood-basedsocialstructures andlocalleaders—do neighbors, coethnics, ents, par- What typesofsocialrelations—with peers, building? tocommunity tocontribute race andethnicity, asmediatedby interact withoneanother, How doneighborhood-basedsocialstructures How NeighborhoodsMatter for ImmigrantAdolescents UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA R ESEARCH o.1,N.8December2002 8 No. 14, Vol. Brief C ENTER Min Zhou FI A T L U X city boundaries, some community-based organiza- Koreatown was shared by Koreans, Mexicans, tions, and the opinion of local residents.We use the Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and other Asians (mostly term “community” to suggest an interlocking sys- Filipinos, along with some Chinese and Southeast tem of social structures based on a shared identity, a Asians). Although Koreans experienced impressive sense of cultural heritage, as well as shared values population growth—(164%) between 1980 and and norms. 1990—they made up only one-fifth of the neigh- borhood’s population (about two-thirds of the Our fieldwork included four components: pre- Asians were Korean, and other Asians were mostly arranged, one-on-one interviews with adolescents Filipinos). Not surprisingly, more than half of the and adults with teenage children; numerous random residents were Latinos, among whom 28% were interviews with parents,local leaders,social workers, Salvadorans, 16% Guatemalans, and 40% Mexicans. and business owners; nonintrusive participant obs- Like Pico Union, Koreatown was also losing its ervations of structured activities and random gath- non-Latino white population. erings; and participant observations with researchers doing volunteer work in selective publicly funded All three neighborhoods are overwhelmingly dom- programs for children and parents, private after- inated by foreign-born populations, especially re- school services, and cultural centers. We also cent arrivals. In Pico Union and Koreatown, about analyzed various data from the U.S. census, the Cali- two-thirds of the immigrants arrived in the United fornia Department of Education, the Los Angeles States after 1980. Unified School District, and the mainstream as well Public schools reflect these demographic patterns. as ethnic media. In the high school serving the three neighborhoods, Findings 88% of its 4,888-member student body are Latino and 9% are Asian. Forty-five percent of the students Three demographic patterns—racial makeup, nativ- are classified as “English learners” (formerly limited- ity, and poverty—stand out. First, as of 1990, all English proficiency), and more than 75% are quali- three neighborhoods were minority-dominant. For fied for receiving free or subsidized lunches—an example, even though Chinatown is Chinese- indicator of poverty. In one of the neighborhood dominated (60% Chinese and 15.6% other Asian), middle schools, 95% of the 3,193-member student many of its residents were ethnic Chinese from body are Latino and 4% are Asian. Fifty-five percent Vietnam and Southeast Asia.The Latinos in China- are classified as English learners, and 85% received town were mostly Mexicans. free or subsidized lunch. Between 1980 and 1990, Chinatown experienced Residents of these neighborhoods are generally only modest growth. The growth of the Chinese poorly educated, low skilled, and poverty stricken. population seemed to be offset by the decline of About two-thirds of adults in Chinatown and Pico other Asians (primarily Japanese and Filipinos). Union lack high-school diplomas and very few Chinatown’s non-Latino white population grew have college degrees. In Koreatown, the proportion during this period, but it was unclear whether this without a high-school diploma (44%) is com- gain was due to gentrification or the influx of non- paratively lower, but still twice as high as that of Latino white immigrants. non-Latino whites (22%). Although twice as many Latinos dominated the Pico Union neighborhood, Koreatown residents have college degrees (16%) but they were a mixture of Mexicans (45%), Salva- compared to the other two neighborhoods, the dorans (31%), and Guatemalans (14%). Most of the number is significantly lower than that of non- Latinos were recent immigrants, and undocu- Latino whites (21%). mented immigrants were overrepresented. Central Americans in this neighborhood were the fastest- Ethnic Businesses and Social Structures growing group, at a rate of 90% between 1980 and A wide range of retail businesses thrive in the three 1990. Pico Union’s Asian population also grew fast, neighborhoods. Upscale restaurants, coffee shops, at a rate of 73%, and its non-Latino white popula- and retail stores are found in Chinatown and Korea- tion was diminishing. town, but not in Pico Union.The upscale businesses in Chinatown tend to attract suburban coethnics Non-English language TV stations, newspapers and and non-Latino white families, urban professionals, periodicals are important sources of information for and tourists, while those in Koreatown tend to at- all three neighborhoods. While all ethnic media tract predominantly suburban middle-class Korean similarly cover national and international news, families and a weekday lunch crowd of multiethnic business and commerce, entertainment, and sports, professionals. there is a clear distinction between the Chinese- or Korean-language media and the Spanish-language All three neighborhoods also have various ethnically media in education-related coverage. specific businesses and professional services (e.g., herbal doctors, medicine stores, acupuncture clinics, Chinese- and Korean-language media have regular legal offices, financial institutions, barbers, groceries, and substantial forums and information sessions on and ethnic bookstores). But such businesses in education and local schools, such as the timing and Koreatown or Chinatown are mostly owned by preparation of various standardized tests, school coethnics, while those in Pico Union tend to be (college and high school) ranking, scholarships, pri- owned by entrepreneurs of various national origins. vate tutoring, and various private educational insti- tutions and services. Such coverage is lacking in the There are noticeable differences between the two Spanish-language media. Asian neighborhoods. The variety of commercial businesses in Koreatown is quite similar to that in Child and Youth Organizations Chinatown, but its density level is much higher.The and Afterschool Services most distinctive feature is its ethnic retail and rec- Formal organizations and institutions with specific reational entertainment industry,featuring a colorful programs serving children or youths exist in all three nightlife and a focus on golfing neighborhoods. The numbers and types of both Many suburban Korean families from as far away as nonprofit CBOs and the programs they offer do not Orange County regularly attend church, shop, and vary drastically.Many of them depend primarily on entertain friends in Koreatown. Parents send their public funds or on a combination of funds from var- young and teenage children to after-school aca- ious levels of government, private foundations, and demic services in Koreatown while they themselves individual or organizational donations. play and practice at the golf ranges, not only for the The functions and services of nonprofit CBOs are low prices but also for coethnic socialization. similar across ethnic neighborhoods, but inequalities In Pico Union, commercial activities appear to exist in the availability of private services oriented thrive. Except for one large Latino supermarket, toward youths. Korean children in Koreatown have however, businesses are mostly small retail shops and easy access to a wide variety of after-school tutoring restaurants owned and run by South Americans, and extracurricular activities offered by private Middle-Easterners, Koreans or other Asians. Unlike Korean businesses. Chinese children in Chinatown Chinatown and Koreatown, Pico Union does not also have such access, primarily in the suburban seem to have achieved the kind of cultural status Chinese-immigrant community in Monterey Park, that attracts tourists and suburban middle-class eight miles to the east. However, Latino children in coethnics. Ethnic businesses in Pico Union are less the same neighborhoods are kept out of these pri- interconnected with one another and with non- vate ethnic institutions because of cultural and lan- profit community-based organizations (CBOs) than guage barriers, a lack of familiarity and comfort, and those in Chinatown and Koreatown. a lack of economic resources. In comparison to the two Asian neighborhoods, we We find that children and adolescents who are in- observed few suburban middle-class Latino families volved in supervised afterschool activities in their visiting Pico Union regularly. Latinos do go to the neighborhoods tend to do better in school, be more neighborhood from elsewhere in Los Angeles and ambitious and articulate about their college plans the San Fernando Valley,but most of these coethnic and future careers, and have a clearer sense of pur- members are from working-class rather than pose than those who are not so involved. We also middle-class backgrounds. find that the Asian-Latino difference in school 1504 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA performance and college preparation is largely due PAID to this unequal access to neighborhood-based re- California Policy Research Center University of Cali- sources, such as privately run afterschool activities. 1950 Addison Street, Suite 202 fornia Berkeley, California 94720-7410 Conclusions and Recommendations Neighborhood-based social structures vary by eth- nicity,differing primarily in the coethnicity of own- ership and the level of middle-class involvement. Koreatown seems to have the highest density and variety of coethnically owned or run businesses and social or cultural institutions, and Pico Union the least, with Chinatown in between. One significant source of such variation is the level of development of the ethnic-enclave economy, which is determined by various broader structural factors such as premigration socioeconomic status who are severely underserved need particular and modes of incorporation of the groups. Ethnic- attention. enclave economic activities tend to interconnect with other ethnic social-service organizations and Children who are economically disadvantaged attract suburban middle-class coethnics, hence re- and culturally marginalized would benefit from ducing social isolation in inner-city neighborhoods. access to alternative private after-school pro- grams, but would need financial assistance to Social institutions are the key to reproducing or gain such access. interpreting new forms of relations and generating new mechanisms of support and control. But they These children would also benefit from extra- can become more resourceful when they are con- curricular ethnic-language schools, but would nected to local economic institutions. However, require financial support in order to attend. they can also affect group members in paradoxical The state should provide multilingual educa- ways—to help disadvantaged group members get tional materials to inform immigrant communi- ahead in mainstream society, or to reinforce intra- ties (e.g., about college preparation and options). group and/or intergroup divisions. The state should encourage intergroup relations Publicly funded school-based and community- and coalitions by providing incentives to neigh- based after-school programs are instrumental but borhood businesses that provide services to insufficient in inner-city neighborhoods. Nonprofit more than one ethnic group, and put resources and religious organizations have the experience and into building public-private partnerships. infrastructure to implement such support for immi- The state should provide incentives to entrepre- grant families,yet they are severely underfunded and neurs to develop educational enrichment and understaffed. other educationally related programs (such as The role of ethnic entrepreneurship is critical for tutoring, music, sports, etc.). community building, as is the case of private supplementary educational establishments for facil- Min Zhou is a professor of sociology and chair of the Asian itating the flow of information and enhancing inter- American Studies Interdepartmental Degree Program at the generational relations. University of California, Los Angeles.This Brief is based on research funded by CPRC’s Policy Research Program. For these reasons, we make the following policy recommendations: For CPRC Briefs and a complete publica- tions list, see www.ucop.edu/cprc or call While long-term after-school programs should (510) 643-9328. This Brief may be copied start from grade school, adolescents and youths without permission.