How Chinese Immigrants Are Urbanizing a Connecticut Suburb

Oscar Perry Abello examines Montville, Connecticut as an example of communities "grappling with the increasing urbanization of suburbs."

In the case of Montville, the 2001 development of the Mohegan Sun Casino quickly paved the way for an influx of Chinese clientele and employees. The Chinese labor force, according to the article, has been especially influential on the character of the community: "Accustomed to the far more dense and walkable communities in more traditional Chinatowns in the U.S. (as well as in China), these recent and long-term immigrant workers are challenging what life can look like in what might otherwise be considered a suburb."

More specifically, the 20 percent of the casino workforce of Asian descent has "'crowded' into the existing suburban housing stock near the casino — mostly detached single-family homes with large open floor plans." Those residents have adapted those homes to "increase capacity beyond the number of existing bedrooms."

For more on this particular case study, the city is the subject of a new exhibit at the Museum of Chinese in America, located in New York's Chinatown, titled "SubUrbanisms: Casino Urbanization, Chinatowns and the Contested American Landscape." Abello also describes the exhibit, especially its goal of changing perceptions about the immigrant population in the city.