The Chinatown vote
Adam Smith writes about Chinatown voters in the latest issue of Sampan:
Though Chinatown’s voter turnout has dramatically increased over the past two decades, the neighborhood is quickly emerging as a neighborhood with two distinct populations: the traditional Chinatown residents, many of whom are Chinese who live in subsidized or low-cost housing, and new Chinatown residents, many of whom can afford luxury condos and largely are not Asian.
With these dual populations, the Chinatown vote is not what some might expect.
In fact, only about 41% of registered voters in Ward 3, Precinct 8 have Asian surnames, according to an analysis by the Sampan of the precinct’s voter list as of March 15.
…
Of the 264 new registered voters added to Ward 3, Precinct 8 by the towers, only about 15 have Asian names.
…
The Chinatown Gateway Coalition, which is a diverse group of Chinatown organizations, recently said that the housing stock in the neighborhood has grown by one-third since 2000. The coalition predicted the housing stock will more than double by 2010 to a total of about 4,400 units. A majority of that new housing is expected to be high-priced, potentially upsetting Chinatown’s tradition as a low-cost place to live with many subsidized housing units.
Pretty interesting stuff. If you’re a Bostonian you should strongly consider reading the whole article.
While Chinatown may be becoming less Chinese/Asian, it is a behemoth in the Asian American Commission, as Mr. Smith reported a couple of weeks ago. The late Jim Kelly, who used to represent Chinatown, would have been quite proud, I’m sure.
