Panel 1: Chinatown Is Not a Museum! Issues of Housing, Services and Quality of Life

Chinatown is not a museum, it is a living community! The common perception of urban Chinatowns as historic tourist attractions impacts the priorities and choices that cities and governments make for revitalization and development. Who gets to have a future in the neighbourhood and whose needs are ignored? A traditional place of sanctuary for many marginalized groups, Chinatowns are home to seniors, low-income residents and several others facing linguistic, cultural and other social barriers. The neighbourhood is also facing a challenge of increased populations that have issues with substance abuse and mental health.  How can we center the needs of Chinatown’s housed residents in the future of these neighbourhoods and find ways to foster and grow the intangible cultural heritage of Chinatown that is built on the interactions and relationships of its residents and living communities? This panel reimagines a future for Chinatown centered around quality of life, access to services, needs of residents, both housed and unhoused, equitable development that grows culture & community, and approaches to land ownership and housing that look to retain and grow the residential base of Chinatown.  

Panelists: 

• Sarah Yeung, Philadelphia, Sojourner Consulting 

• Winnie Fong, Los Angeles, LA Chinatown Community Land Trust

• Louisa-May Khoo, Singapore/Vancouver, UBC Centre for South East Asia Research

• May Chiu, Montréal, Chinatown Roundtable 

Moderated by Jessica Chen, Montréal,  JIA Foundation

For more information: https://jiafoundationmtl.org/chinatownreimagined/