Abstract

Excerpted From: Agnes Mung, The Ticking Clock: Preserving Asian Ethnic Enclaves Within the United States, 33 Elder Law Journal 261 (2025) (370 Footnotes) (Full Document)

In the United States, where the average apartment size for a new rental is 916 square feet, it is difficult to fathom why someone would rather live alone in a tiny, eighty square feet room. The answer: community and independence. In the case of eighty-year-old Suzhu Mai, she continues to live alone in San Francisco's Chinatown after her husband passed away three decades ago. She is able to live freely and see her friends every day. She can also find a doctor who speaks her dialect within a fifteen-minute walk--a vital resource for the aging community. Furthermore, there are many nearby Chinese restaurants and grocery stores available for Mai to choose from. Twenty-five percent of San Francisco's households in Chinatown have a resident who is sixty-five or older and living alone. A recent survey indicated that seventy-eight percent of 900 monolingual seniors living outside of Chinatown wanted to move back to Chinatown. Chinatown is just one of many examples of a community with shared characteristics, commonly known as ethnic enclaves.

Immigrant or ethnic enclaves are areas with high concentrations of specific racial or ethnic minority groups. In these enclaves, members of the community share a commonality: language, culture, ethnicity, and/or nationality. Ethnic enclaves also provide economic, social, and cultural resources to those within them. Ethnic enclaves are typically identified by the name associated with a country, such as Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, etc. These communities can be the first step for new immigrants in America, but are also a step for Asian Americans to delve into their heritage. Many immigrants, particularly older immigrants, choose to live in these enclaves because they have limited social connections and resources outside of the enclaves.

It is a common misconception that Asians living in the United States are accurately depicted by movies like “Crazy Rich Asians.” In reality, Asian Americans are the most economically-divided racial group in the country. Between 1970 to 2016, top Asian earners experienced marked income growth. In 2016, the top Asian earners had over ten times more income than Asians who were at the bottom ten percent. This measure of inequality was notably greater than the ratio for any other race. One reason for this significant income disparity is widely varying education levels and incomes of Asians living in the U.S.

Asian Americans are currently the fastest-growing population in the United States. Asian Americans account for thirty-one percent of the U.S. elder immigrant population. In 2019, the Asian American population ages sixty-five and older was 2.49 million and is projected to grow to 7.9 million by 2060. In the U.S, 12.6% of all Asian Americans are living below the poverty line. The poverty rate for Asian Americans aged sixty-five and older was 9.3% in 2019, while the rate for all older Americans was 8.9%. Asian American poverty is especially concentrated in large American cities with ethnic enclaves. For example, in Seattle's Chinatown International District, 25% of the 3,500 residents are seniors, 34% of the residents live in poverty, and many speak limited or no English. Although Asian homeownership rate is on the rise, Asians also have a lower homeownership rate than the U.S. public overall. Homeownership challenges can be traced to 1913, when the first Alien Land Law was passed by the California state legislature, which prohibited foreigners from owning land.

This Note will explore the intersection between low-income older Asians and monolingual older Asians living in ethnic enclaves, as well as the challenges compounded by these factors. This Note analyzes the role ethnic enclaves have played in alleviating these challenges and the current threats residents in ethnic enclaves face. Part II will examine the history of selected East Asian ethnic enclaves, tracing their formation and their decline in the present day. Part III will highlight the various language, healthcare, and housing challenges Asian American older adults face and the role ethnic enclaves have played in mitigating these obstacles. Finally, Part IV will recommend changing housing laws by passing rent control laws, zoning reform laws, and increasing funding for affordable housing. Part IV also proposes expanding culturally and linguistically appropriate services in current ethnic enclaves, while increasing support by community organizations to improve safety and transportation. The analysis of this Note will focus on the older residents of East Asian ethnic enclaves, specifically focusing on Chinatowns and Koreatowns. Finally, Part V will summarize the Note, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness and directly addressing the concerns of this cast-aside group.

[. . .]

There is no doubt that racism played a pivotal role in the creation of ethnic enclaves. Even today, the needs of older Asian Americans continue to be overlooked. Although there are laws to protect this vulnerable population, enforcement is often slow, and complaints fail to be reported for various reasons. As older adults are forced to leave their homes of many years, state governments must examine alternative options to retain affordable housing and safe conditions. Federal and local governments can enact laws and provide funding to protect the underserved community of older Asian adults, while community organizations can fill in the gaps by providing culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate care. The issues faced by Asian older adults are varied and require dedicated focus on their specific challenges, which can only be achieved with unwavering advocates behind the community.

Agnes Mung, Administrative Editor 2024-2025, The Elder Law Journal; J.D. 2025, University of Illinois College of Law; B.A. 2019, History, California Polytechnic State University.