I chose the Saigon Houston Plaza which is one of the many shopping centers within Houston and one of the major centers in Houston's Little Saigon. It is a space for families, friends, and the Vietnamese community to congregate in and is the setting for many important holidays and celebrations. This post places the space within the context of Little Saigon.
Houston’s Little Saigon begins on the west side of the Sam Houston Tollway and to its east is Houston’s Chinatown. The plaza as well as many shopping centers are near the edge of the neighborhood of Alief. The plaza sits along Bellaire Boulevard which is a mile away from the true edge of the neighborhood, the Westpark Tollway. Little Saigon, running down the strip of Bellaire Boulevard, ends when the street intersects with State Highway Six, another edge of Alief.
Having defined the area that Little Saigon occupies we can see that the Saigon Houston Plaza is one of the first major nodes once you pass the highway, however, it was not the first major node of the community. It actually lies east of the Hong Kong City Mall, the center of Little Saigon. Its position allows itself to be more accessible to the community as the tollway directly exits onto the boulevard and it is the first node seen, making the Hong Kong City Mall less accessible. It must be noted that even though Little Saigon is within the Alief neighborhood, there is not a major Vietnamese population within the area. Therefore access from the tollway and neighboring feeder roads make the eastern end of Little Saigon more accessible.
Diving into the plaza itself, we see that its channel of driveways in, out, and around the plaza makes moving relatively easy, even for Houston’s terrible drivers. The space is extroverted as it is easy to navigate onto the outside roads and its semi-circular nature creates directionality. Its openness and variety of activities allow itself to be a place of congregation allowing those both foreign and familiar with the area to not only enter but also stay. The storefronts also offer plenty of outdoor seating, however, many store policies may only allow customers to occupy the space.
Its publicness allows for anyone to enter, however, the culture of the plaza also keeps certain groups out. One of those groups being the homeless, a prevalent community in the area. Around the boulevard it is not uncommon to see abandoned shopping carts, trash, and people begging for money. Store policies are one way to prevent homeless people from coming into the plaza but also the cars along boulevard act as another barrier. There are very little crosswalks along the boulevard making crossing the road very dangerous and difficult. This makes the space only for those who can afford to occupy the space.
Located near the edge of the neighborhood of Alief, the Saigon Houston Plaza is a part of Little Saigon which runs along the Bellaire Boulevard. The plaza’s eastward placement close to the highway allows for easy access and it’s various driveways makes it convenient for drivers to navigate and occupy the space. The culture of the space also creates an accepting environment for those who have the means to occupy the space, all others are not welcomed.