Ethnic Enclaves: Coming To A Suburb Near You

The Annandale Chamber of Commerce's Web site and brochures published by Fairfax County try to convey a 19th Century American charm, with photos of a Civil War-era church, a rustic barn, a farmers market and a nostalgic name: "The Annandale Village Centre". In reality, the face of downtown Annandale has changed from white to Asian, and its unofficial, oft-invoked moniker is Koreatown. Although a visitor wouldn't know it from the Chamber of Commerce fliers, signs with large Korean characters now dominate Annandale's urban streetscape, which by one count includes as many as 929 Korean businesses. The naming issue that divides Annandale illustrates the tensions that have developed across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region as large-scale immigration transforms suburban neighborhoods into ethnic enclaves. Strained relations are well-documented along residential streets, where immigrants have moved into neighborhoods. But if anything, those tensions are more keenly felt along Main Street, which often is the public face of a community.