LANDMARK MOVEMENTS AND MOMENTS

Where We Live: Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

Vietnamese man in an apron, food safety gloves, and a cap laughs as he prepares a large tub of steaming crawfish. Another man works beside him.

Does place matter in becoming a community?

Chapter objectives
  • Learn how different Asian American and Pacific Islander community groups both shape and are shaped by their distinct environments to build new lives, homes, and cultures in the United States.
  • Understand how these Asian American and Pacific Islander groups engage in placemaking, which includes connecting, mixing, and merging languages, cultures, and practices of their ancestral homelands with those in the US.
  • Explore how different Asian American and Pacific Islander groups offer various cultural, social, linguistic, and economic contributions to the US, all while dealing with diverse social, political, and economic challenges.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have established a myriad of communities across the United States amid their immigration journeys. This chapter offers five snapshots into these diverse and bustling communities, each distinct with their own industries, culture, and experiences. The chapter examines specific communities in five specific locations: Vietnamese American communities in Texas and the Gulf; immigrant communities in the Borough of Queens, New York City; Tongan Americans in Salt Lake City, Utah; Palestinian Americans in Chicago, Illinois; and Afghan Americans in New York City. The chapter explores how these communities in their respective places have utilized different spaces to form communities while navigating various challenges. The chapter also explores the many ways Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have established their lives across these different regions while strengthening their communities and the spaces around them.

Modules in this chapter


Vietnamese Americans in the Texas Gulf

New Immigrant Communities of Queens, New York City

Tongan Community in Salt Lake City, Utah

Palestinian Americans in Chicago, Illinois

Afghan Americans in New York Post-9/11

Vietnamese Americans in the Texas Gulf

New Immigrant Communities of Queens, New York City

Tongan Community in Salt Lake City, Utah

Palestinian Americans in Chicago, Illinois

Afghan Americans in New York Post-9/11

Chapter Sources


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“The Effect of the East-Bound 7 Train.” Ariel Property Advisors, August 24, 2016, arielpa.com/report/report-Neighborhood-East-Bound-7-Train. 

Alsultany, Evelyn. “Introduction.” Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11. NYU Press, 2012.

Ansary, Tamim. West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002.

Atoigue, Zeta. “Day 190: Tongan Community, Salt Lake City, Utah — APIAHiP.” Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation. 2024.

Berger, Joseph. “Afghan Women Strive to Mix New Liberties and Old Beliefs.” New York Times, November 28, 2004.

Burnett, John. “Decades After Clashing With The Klan, A Thriving Vietnamese Community In Texas.” Houston Public Media, November 28, 2018. www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2018/11/28/313247/decades-after-clashing-with-the-klan-a-thriving-vietnamese-community-in-texas/.

Chan, Stefanos. “They Helped New York Bounce Back. Now Their Rents Are Surging.” New York Times, May 8, 2023.

Chhaya Community Development Corporation. “A Vision for Lt. Frank McConnell Park, Richmond Hill.” Published 2024. https://urbandesignforum.org/wp-content/uploads/Richmond-Hill-Final-Materials_Final-Report_Local-Center_Revised-2.pdf. 

Collier, Daequan. “Local Center: Chhaya CDC’s Vision for Richmond Hill.” Posted February 7, 2024, by Urban Design Forum. Youtube, 2 min., 5 sec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcjIlIRM1Vo.

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The Asian American Studies Center acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands) and pay our respects to the honuukvetam (ancestors), ‘ahiihirom (elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

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