The economy of Chinatown, New York, is polarized into two circuits of development. This is comparable with patterns found in Third World cities, as well as in New York's recent emergence as a world city. The lower circuit is an avenue of immigrant labor and petty capitalist incorporation into the city. The upper circuit is a route for the reinvestment of transnational surplus and flight capital in finance and property development. Conflicts and negotiations between the two circuits in the context of Chinatown land-use planning provide some instructive experiences for city managers and urban planners.
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