James Zarsadiaz’s Resisting Change in Suburbia: Asian Immigrants and Frontier Nostalgia in L.A. offers a critical examination of the transformation of the East San Gabriel Valley, a region shaped by competing visions of suburban life. Awarded the 2023 Lawrence W. Levine Award for the best book in American cultural history, this study situates Asian American suburbanization within broader racial and economic dynamics, challenging the notion of a stable, white-dominated suburban ideal.
Drawing on over fifty oral histories, local newspapers, and planning documents, Zarsadiaz reconstructs how the East Valley’s suburbs—once marketed as enclaves of “country living” infused with western frontier nostalgia—were reshaped by waves of Chinese, Filipino, and Korean immigration from the 1960s onward.
Asian newcomers were often welcomed for their perceived economic contributions but simultaneously viewed as cultural outsiders. Homeowners and developers selectively invoked suburban traditions to exclude or restrict Asian architectural and commercial expressions, while affluent Asian residents sometimes reinforced the exclusionary logic of these communities to preserve their own status.
The book highlights key moments of resistance and adaptation, such as the opposition to the construction of the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights. Local critics framed their objections in terms of zoning regulations and aesthetic concerns rather than racial exclusion, illustrating the subtler mechanisms of discrimination in multicultural suburbia. At the same time, Asian immigrants navigated these constraints by aligning with conservative homeowner groups or leveraging their growing political influence to shape local policies.
Zarsadiaz presents a compelling analysis of how race, class, and suburban identity intersected in late-20th-century Los Angeles. His study challenges the simplistic binary of assimilation versus exclusion, showing how Asian suburbanites occupied a complex position—both marginalized and privileged, restricted yet influential.
Resisting Change in Suburbia is essential reading for those interested in urban history, racial politics, and the evolving landscape of American suburbia. Explore the book here.
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