Boston neighborhood considers 'Little Saigon' designation

BOSTON (AP) — Boston is considering designating a section of a neighborhood as the “Little Saigon Cultural District" for its significant Vietnamese community.

The proposal calls for the Field's Corner section in the city's Dorchester neighborhood to be given the designation. A hearing was held Thursday in Dorchester on the idea.

Supporters say the goal is to recognize the Vietnamese community's role in revitalizing the area.

Boston is home to the state's largest Vietnamese population, with most settling in Dorchester as refugees after the Vietnam War.

Many of the city's more than 9,000 Vietnamese residents live in and around Field's Corner, which became home to the country's first community center for Vietnamese Americans in the 1990s.

But some residents have voiced concern over the years that the idea doesn't represent the diversity of Dorchester.

Supporters stress the proposal would not replace the Field's Corner moniker, but would create an overlay district that will open up the area to state funding to boost tourism, business and the arts.

Boston currently has four such cultural districts: Roxbury, Fenway, Latin Quarter and Boston Literary.