mogaphoto photographs 1997-2007
fields corner
While a century ago Boston's immigrants came from Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Russia, today they come from Haiti,
Brazil, Mexico, Cape Verde, China, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and many other places around the world.
This small garden park, in the Fields Corner area of Dorchester, is part of the Chua Luc Hoa Buddhist Center. I went
there recently with an MIT class called Boston's Ethnic Neighborhoods. According to a 2000 report from the
Boston Redevelopment Authority, more than 25% of Boston residents are foreign born. According to a 2005 article
in the Dorchester Reporter, more than 11,000 Vietnamese now live in the area. Our MIT class to date has focused on
the historic development of one of Boston's most well-known "ethnic enclaves": Chinatown. This week we discussed
Italian immigration and the changing character of the North End. Throughout the semester we have been debating
the similarities and differences between the "old" and the "new" immigration.
©2002-2008
Steven T. Moga
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