Ethnicity and an Emerging Indochinese Commercial District in Orange County

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Abstract
The recent influx of Indochinese refugees into Orange County has generated unique spatial patterns. West-central Orange County cities have been the resettlement destination for the majority of the refugees. The cities of Sańta Ana, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, and Westminster share 61 percent of the total Indochinese population in Orange County. One consequence of this resettlement pattern is the development of an emerging Indochinese commercial district. Along Bolsa Avenue, between Magnolia Street and Brookhurst Street, retail establishments are rapidly becoming Indochinese in ownership. The commercial district has become the commercial and cultural focus for the Indochinese community. Although the results of a shopper survey reveal that the overwhelming majority of the shoppers are Indochinese, about 10 percent of the shoppers are American. Even though the economic success of the district is admirable, the development has not been without its problems. Some long-time residents and American proprietors apparently resent the success of the Indochinese. Community tensions have inhibited acceptance of the Indochinese in Orange County. The author attempts to investigate the ethnicity of proprietors, the spatial behavior and ethnicity of shoppers, and the origin and development of an emerging Indochinese commercial district in Orange County.

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