Edmonton conference asks how to save North America's Chinatowns

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Chinatowns across North America started as gateways for immigrants and turned into thriving hubs for Asian food and culture.

But with rising rents, gentrification, declining resident populations and competition from suburban amenities, the future of many Chinatowns is looking increasingly uncertain.

An international conference coming to Edmonton will ask how to save North America’s Chinatowns.

“Our over-arching question is, ‘Will there be any Chinatowns in the future?” said conference organizer Lan Chan.

“If you look at Chinatowns across North America, they’re either disappearing or they’re being displaced. “Gentrification is happening as well as redevelopment. In certain cases, the redevelopment might not look at the preservation of Chinatown. It’s just whatever the developers would like to build there.”

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

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I hate to keep pointing to L.A. -- a city that has missed many of its challenges in a major way -- one thing that it has gotten right is its designation of ethnic enclaves -- Chinatown, Koreatown (huge swath of central L.A.), Japantown, Little Saigon, etc. The clear zoning designation of a specific area protects the character of that neighbourhood and creates a sense of being, of progress, and of cultural importance. Edmonton should consider doing the same. It creates community pride and a true notion of self-identity.

 

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Conference will look at making Chinatown brighter and busier
A conference set to explore the future of Chinatowns in North America will also focus in on Edmonton's Chinatown’s potential as a tourist destination, as a way to make sure the community remains an important part of the city.

Chinatown Conference organizer Lan Chan-Marples said Edmonton needs to rethink the role of its 105-year-old Chinatown so that it does not dissolve like those in some other North American cities.

“We’re hearing that a number of Chinatowns are disappearing or being displaced. So that worries us,” Chan-Marples said, citing New York City as an example.

“That’s our main focus here now – will there be a Chinatown in the future? And if there is going to be a Chinatown in the future, what would that look like?”

Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

 

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How to keep Chinatown alive: Edmonton conference looks at big-city success stories
Lan Chan-Marples thinks Edmonton’s Chinatown can learn some lessons from Chicago.

More than 100 years ago, before the term “gentrification” existed, residents of the Illinois city’s Chinatown were displaced thanks to rising property values.

The neighbourhood relocated, but after a few decades, an interstate highway roared through and residents lost their only recreational facility.

The community spent the next 50 years trying to recover.

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

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Easy… celebrate the history and create a specialized zone.

 

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Chinatown residents frustrated with 97 Street rail bridge
Residents and business in Chinatown told council Wednesday that removing the bridge across 97 Street would be the biggest economic boost the city could give the area.

Ratan Lawrence, executive director of the Chinatown and Area Business Association, said the bridge — near the former Edmonton Remand Centre — blocks access from downtown.



“The bridge is a barrier. It’s an eyesore,” she said. “Everyone is avoiding coming down to Chinatown using 97 Street. We need to clean that up; it’s a major safety issue.”

Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

Edmonton's Chinatown Business Association calls 97th street bridge a safety hazard
Chinatown is making another plea to the city to remove the old CN rail bridge over 97th Street near 105th Avenue.

The business association told councillors on Wednesday the bridge poses a safety threat to potential visitors, preventing the area from flourishing.

"There's lots of graffiti … there's also syringes and also people use it as a public washroom," said Ratan Lawrence, the executive director of the Chinatown Business Association.

The bridge causes people to avoid the area, she added.

Full Story (CBC Edmonton)

 

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Don't tear it down -- build it up! I don't think the bridge is as much a problem as the immediate undeveloped neighbourhood. Some dilapidated areas can reverse a City's fortune with a little creative thinking -- case in point: the High Line in NYC -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line_(New_York_City)

 

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Quashing Chinatown’s 'tainted reputation:' City to start moving on new action plan
Edmonton has unveiled its long-awaited plan to revitalize Chinatown, but much work remains to repair the neighbourhood’s “tainted reputation,” members of the community warn.

City planners outlined the strategy during an executive committee meeting Tuesday, which aims to rejuvinate the neighbourhood by improving infrastructure and reducing crime through end-poverty strategies.

Michael Lee, with the Chinese Benevolent Association, said during discussions that the area has long been associated with social disorder.

"We would like to have that image turned around,” he said.

Critics have pointed to a lack of security in the inner city neighbourhood, a reputation which has kept some businesses and residents away.

While the city has come up with various plans since the 1970s to help reinvigorate Chinatown, none of them have gotten much traction among locals, Lee said.

“If we don’t have a co-ordinated effort, it will be a plan that sits on the shelf and collects dust,” he said.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...ainted-reputations-fix-strategy-edmonton.html

Plan for Edmonton's Chinatown focused on safety, investment
Edmonton city staff and the local Chinese business community are pushing a plan to help make Chinatown safer while inspiring new investment in the area.

The city executive committee heard details of their plan on Tuesday, including 18 recommended actions.

Several recommendations deal with improving the safety and security of Chinatown, with one recommending a safety audit of the area.

There is also a recommendation for the redevelopment of Mary Burlie Park at 104th Avenue and 97th Street, to create a public space for community activities.

The future of the old CN rail bridge across 97th Street near 105th Avenue is also part of the strategy.

"We want it to be a destination that people will naturally want to go to," said William Lau, a member of the group that developed the strategy.

"In order to have that, we need to attract the businesses; and in order to attract the businesses, we'll need to address perception and realities around safety and security," he said.

"Following that will be the physical changes of facade improvements."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...-strategy-homeless-henderson-mckeen-1.4170215

New Chinatown plan success hinges on Edmonton's answer to homelessness

 

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New tours of Chinatown spread culture, history — and passion
A group of young tour guides are on a mission to get people better acquainted with Edmonton’s Chinatown, as the city grapples with the future of the historic neighbourhood.

Kathryn Lennon is one of the local residents who recently started piloting the free walking tours, which she says were inspired by youth-led tours of historic areas in other cities.

“I was born and raised in Edmonton and I didn’t know much about the neighbourhood beyond, oh, it’s where I go to get haircuts or that’s where I go to get dim sum,” she said.

It was only as an adult that she attended a conference about the history.

“I realized I didn’t know any of this,” she said.

Not only did the Chinese community have a long history in Edmonton’s downtown—many got their start with laundry businesses—but the district was also home to Italian, Ukranian and Indigenous communities, Lennon said.

“It’s only by spending time in the neighbourhood that you start to observe and pay attention,” she said, “It shifts the way you think about the city.”

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...atown-spread-culture-history-and-passion.html