Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Fall 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Photo courtesy of No Arena PHL
Years ago, when I was a graduate student in the University of Pennsylvania’s historic preservation program, I would bike to Philadelphia’s Chinatown whenever I felt homesick. It was the third Chinatown I would get to know, the first being Seattle’s Chinatown where my father worked and the second being Manhattan’s Chinatown where I lived after moving to New York. These neighborhoods inspired me to pursue historic preservation as a career. Today, I am leading the America’s Chinatowns initiative at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a project that aims to mobilize preservation action to help protect the cultural identity of these vital neighborhoods. Last May, I returned to Philadelphia’s Chinatown to stand with local advocates to announce the naming of the neighborhood to the 2023 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list, calling attention to the recurring threats of large-scale development that have impacted the neighborhood, most recently in the form of the proposed 76ers basketball arena.
Chinatowns nationwide have faced similar patterns of displacement from big development efforts that have divided, fenced in, and demolished these neighborhoods. In response, Chinatowns have drawn on traditions of activism, mutual aid, and home-grown innovation to maintain their way of life and protect their neighborhoods. At times, communities have turned to planning and preservation policies, but many of these formal tools fall short of effectively protecting what makes Chinatown, Chinatown.
To understand why and how we can do better, we must understand what exactly we are trying to protect. From communities doing this work, I hear that the priority is in sustaining the Chinatown ecosystem.
This means a great deal beyond the physical buildings and includes preserving the ways of life that animate them. Mom-and-pop businesses, residents, cultural traditions, affordable housing and commercial space, the food economy, schools, space to practice lion dance, and places of worship are some examples of this ecosystem. It also means encouraging newer generations of entrepreneurs who respect the history of the neighborhood and sustaining legacy businesses. Beyond what can be seen at street level, legacy institutions, small property owners, and community-based organizations are supporting the ecosystem in myriad visible and invisible ways. These groups also emphasize community organizing, awareness building, advocacy for equitable resources, and representation in public decision-making where Chinatown populations have historically faced barriers to participation. This ecosystem has kept Chinatowns centers of community life for more than 170 years.
941 Race Street was completed in 1900 and designed by Edwin Gilbert. It has seen many reuses over the last century. | Photo: Michael Bixler
To preserve this ecosystem, many Chinatowns today are concerned with protecting affordability in the wake of gentrification, often accelerated by large-scale development. Keeping property ownership in the community has helped preserve lasting affordability, preventing outside interests who have different visions for these historic enclaves from taking over. Community ownership has been maintained by family associations, legacy property owners, community development corporations, and newer entities like community land trusts (see examples in Boston and Los Angeles).
A recent article in Preservation magazine explores how five different Chinatowns are working to preserve their futures. Some are leaning into Chinatowns’ role as places of connection and shared culture by investing in the creation of community hubs that will be physical homes to cultural exhibits, neighborhood resources, and gathering. Others are investing heavily in placekeeping and placemaking efforts to bring 24/7 activity back to Chinatowns, while attracting newer generations and audiences. Others are establishing legacy business support programs like grants and succession planning.
Some Chinatowns are actively exploring historic designation as a form of protection, although there are concerns that these policies focus too much on physical buildings and offer little benefit when it comes to preserving more vital parts of the ecosystem. These barriers are significant. Only nine Chinatowns out of the dozens we identified are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and more research is needed to understand the potential benefits. Perhaps another option is the cultural districts model. Chicago’s Chinatown, which is known as the only growing historic Chinatown in the country, just became a state-designated cultural district and could serve as a model.
Looking at how other communities of color navigated similar challenges can be insightful for Chinatowns. The Preserving African American Places report offers a compendium of case studies on how communities have inspired neighborhood-based solutions for equitable development to fight displacement and gentrification. One case study highlights the downzoning effort in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1970s and 1980s to preserve affordable units in the shadows of the tech boom that was converting affordable housing to office space, highlighting the ways government, private sector, and community advocates work together to manage change.
Philadelphia’s Chinatown has an incredible history of activism and resilience. There is enormous potential and hunger to mobilize preservation resources and reimagine the tools, tactics, and strategies we can harness collectively to protect dynamic neighborhoods like Chinatowns for future generations.
