Human Geography

Bright lights, colorful signs, and delicious smells, all are things that may be found in an ethnic neighborhood. An ethnic neighborhood is a neighborhood, where the majority, if not all the population is of the same belief, and follows the same religion. One of the most well-known neighborhoods in Chicago is Chinatown. Chinatown has many cultural traits that set it apart from neighboring areas; however there is always a looming threat of internal and external threats to its culture. China town possess many cultural traditions and customs. One major cultural trait is the color red. In Chinese culture, red signifies happiness, prosperity, and luck. Many buildings have a very generous use of red. Doorways, walls, and even windows covers have been painted red. Another cultural style was having curved roofs. Buddhists in China believed in having ghosts, spirits, and demons. Evil spirits and demons bring bad luck to households, and were believed to try to torment the people in the dwellings. To counteract this, Buddhists believed curved roofs warded evil spirits. Because of this belief in china, it was also migrated into Chinatown. Many roofs in china town had curves on the edges. One last trait is the Chinese festival of lights. On Chinese New Year’s, during the festival, paper lanterns were lit. In addition to this, the elderly were considered to be the most wise, so on New Year’s they were addressed to first. Chinatown has many different cultural traits, and because of an intercity location, it is always under constant threat. One way it can be affected is via external threats.
External threats can impact many ethnic neighborhoods. They can disrupt the established customs residents are used to. One such example is the migration of new people with different cultural heritages. Because Chinatown is in a mid-city location, people are constantly moving and entering the area. In the future, it is possible that a new group of people will move into what is now china