Lao Immigrant Cultural Adaptation in Southwestern Louisiana’s Urban Landscapes

Abstract

In their 30-year history in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Lao immigrants have continually reasserted their
identity through various social, economic, and cultural modes connected to a set of embedded relations or ecologies. A unique set of adapted spatial typologies that reinforced Lao village culture and social networks on multiple scales emerge from the translation of the ecologies. Mappings, diagrams, and photomontages help reveal these settlement patterns and adaptations of space and building types. The paper offers a framework for how contemporary cultural groups can be studied through the lens of architectural and urban design theory. It shows how social groups like immigrants can be catalysts for new resilient landscapes.