Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. There are shops selling Italian goods as well as Italian restaurants lining the streets.

Ethnic enclaves facilitate the economic integration of new immigrants by providing social networks and economic resources. Research shows that ethnic networks provide employment and self-employment opportunities for immigrants within the specialized ethnic economy, leading to added economic activity.

Chinese immigrants were particularly instrumental in building railroads in the American west, and as Chinese laborers grew successful in the United States, a number of them became entrepreneurs in their own right.

28In terms of economic structure, Chinatown is still a traditional ethnic enclave with trade as its most important economic activity.

The development of most Chinatowns typically resulted from mass migration to an area without any or with very few Chinese residents. Binondo in Manila, established in 1594, is recognized as the world’s oldest Chinatown.

While the Flushing Chinatown in Queens has become the largest Chinatown in the world, it has also become the epicenter of organized prostitution in the United States. Flushing is undergoing rapid gentrification by Chinese transnational entities.

The area referred to as “Little Canton,” had thirty-three retail stores, fifteen pharmacies/Chinese herbalists and five restaurants. In 1853 the neighborhood was given the name “Chinatown” by the press. The first Chinese hand laundry was started on the corner of Washington Dupont Streets in 1851.

Instead of projecting a family-friendly atmosphere, Chinatowns in Chicago and New York City promoted a kind of “slum” tourism, where white tourists were invited to revel in the sights, sounds, and smells of poor, ethnic neighborhoods.