Commentary: What Asian immigrants, seeking the American dream, found in Southern California suburbs
For generations, suburban homeownership has symbolized American success — epitomizing the American dream, the myth of a universally achievable “good life.” Over the last four decades, L.A. has been the promised land for Asian immigrants seeking this all-American lifestyle. The east San Gabriel Valley made some of these dreams a reality. How did this happen? How did Asians change — and cleave to — American suburbia?
L.A.’s rise from western outpost to global city took off in the 1920s. Buoyed by agriculture, then the defense, entertainment and hospitality industries and later trans-Pacific trade, L.A.’s economic growth led
