Chinatown in for a change

David Tran vividly recalls taking frequent childhood trips with
his family to Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles. The fourth-year
sociology student, son of Chinese immigrants from Vietnam, said
they often went to get the herbs and foods they could not find
anywhere else in the city. Chinatown was a place that reminded them
of their culture, he added. Even today, Tran often makes the trip
to Chinatown to pick up essentials for his apartment. But now, as
the ethnic enclave is experiencing an artistic revival and grand
proposals are being made to develop downtown, some question the
future of Chinatown’s cultural roots. A number of factors
““ from development of market-rate housing to the entrance of
non-Asian artists ““ may contribute to the displacement of
people who currently call Chinatown home. Others say that a
developing artistic scene and an influx of people from other parts
of the city will strengthen the area’s economic base.

Chinatown culture The sights and smells of the
culturally defined area clearly tell visitors they are in
Chinatown. Small souvenir shops and family-owned restaurants seem
to mingle endlessly down both sides of Broadway. The shops carry
bamboo plants and intricate paper fans, among other knickknacks.
The aroma of ethnic food intoxicates passers-by. Tourists frequent
the area to get a sense of what life is like across the world in
China, said Shirley Hune, a UCLA professor of urban planning. For
those who live in Chinatown, however, the community offers other
essential services. “It is a place where they earn a
living,” Hune said. “It is a place where they have
historically lived together, bonded together, and shared a
language.” According to 2004 U.S. Census information, 6,575
foreign-born Americans live in the area ““ 5,398 of whom are
of Asian descent. Hune acted as a consultant to a 2004 public art
project that aimed to foster dialogue among locals and create a
sense of community. The project was coordinated by L.A. Commons, an
organization that coordinates development with a focus on community
culture, in cooperation with community-based groups and UCLA.
Funding was provided by the UCLA Center for Community Partnerships.
Maintaining cultural qualities while permitting development is a
great challenge to the development of a culturally specific area,
said Karen Mack, the executive director of L.A. Commons. Frank
Gilliam, the associate vice chancellor of the UCLA center, said his
organization focuses on fostering mutually beneficial interactions
between the university and the Los Angeles community. Artists Cindy
Suriyani, Shan Chao and Annie Shaw incorporated themes pertinent to
the local population in their projects. Suriyani, owner of the
Bamboo Lane Revisited gallery, coordinated the production of eight
five-sided outdoor lanterns that hung in Central Plaza until spring
of this year. Each lantern featured images central to the Chinese
culture, including poems hand-written in calligraphy. “I
wanted to locate the true wealth of Chinatown,” she said.
“What gets lost is a lot of the Chinese culture that is
there. That is what I wanted to show.” Seniors and youth from
the local community worked with all the artists on their individual
projects. The interaction between generations, Suriyani said,
helped the youth learn more about their culture and gain a sense of
pride in their community. Other developers also say they have made
efforts to hear the community’s voice and incorporate Asian
American culture in their projects. Chinatown residents had the
opportunity to offer their input and review the architectural plans
for the design of the Chinatown Branch Library, said Carol Dwan,
the senior librarian. The local library, built in 2003, is now the
second-busiest library in the city of Los Angeles and serves as a
hub for the community. Zhong, who declined to give his last name,
was among a group of seniors at the library last Saturday. A
Chinese immigrant, Zhong chose to settle in Chinatown. He comes to
the library often to read Chinese daily newspapers. “We live
comfortable here. We live a good life here,” he said,
speaking through a translator. The construction of Castelar
Apartments ““ a low-income housing complex built in 2002
““ was also done with cultural sensitivity, said Sean Hyatt,
the director of development for AMCAL Housing. “We try to
find people that are a little more local than we are to help us
navigate,” he said. The firm chose to make the exterior of
the building red, a color that represents good luck in the Chinese
culture. In addition, the Streetscape Initiative, a proposal made
by Councilman Ed Reyes, aims to redesign the local crosswalks and
streets based on community input. Potential projects include
incorporating culturally significant images such as dragons into
the crosswalks and widening streets. A community workshop was held
to discuss possible projects last August, and an additional
workshop is planned for early next year, said Michael Fong, a field
representative for Reyes. “There is a lot happening in
Chinatown,” Fong said. “It is an exciting
time.”

Housing projects In addition to low-income
housing, market-rate units are also being built, causing some
concern that Chinatown’s locals could be displaced. The first
phase of construction of the Orsini Apartments, a more expensive
housing complex near the southern edge of Chinatown, was recently
completed. Complexes with more expensive units cater to a
socioeconomic group different from the one that characterizes the
Chinatown community, and may cause current residents to face rising
land values and higher rents, said Larry Lue, the executive
director of the Chinatown Service Center, adding that the influx of
new people can also benefit the community. Benji Chang, a graduate
student in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information
Studies, while working at Castelar Elementary school in Chinatown
for four years, said he noticed that rents were already rising. But
George Yu, the executive director of the Chinatown Business
Improvement District, said the Orsini Apartments comprise the only
market-rate housing complex completed recently in the area, and are
already 97 percent occupied. Future development plans include
mixed-use projects with market-rate units and retail space.

More attraction to Chinatown Recent
developments in the larger downtown area, including the L.A. Live
and Grand Avenue projects, may cause an influx of people into
Chinatown. Some are concerned locals could be displaced if others
choose to live in Chinatown, where housing is relatively cheap.
“Chinatown, which does not have a huge housing stock, is
going to see this inevitable gentrification trend when Grand Avenue
comes in just across the freeway,” Hyatt said. “People
are going to realize that living in Chinatown … is not a bad
prospect.” Despite displacement concerns, however, some
business owners and community members welcome the potential for new
customers. Community leaders agree that efforts to revitalize the
larger downtown area and renewed interest in Chinatown by others in
the city have contributed to a slight economic revival in recent
years. Recognizing the benefits of a larger customer base for local
stores and restaurants, the Chinatown Business Improvement District
is gearing its efforts toward attracting the greater Los Angeles
community, said Chao, former marketing coordinator for the
Chinatown BID and one of the three artists involved in the L.A.
Commons project. The addition of a Chinatown Metro bus stop in 2003
also increased accessibility to the area. This development may
influence the Chinatown community by not only allowing more
visitors, but also allowing locals to travel to other parts of Los
Angeles, Hune said. Some, including Yu, believe the influx of
people into Chinatown will not alter the area’s defining
characteristics, including family-owned shops. “Chinatown …
will retain the flavor of Chinatown for the near and
not-too-distant future,” Yu said.

Artistic revival At the forefront of all the
development in Chinatown are the district’s art galleries.
Some fear the arrival of artists and new art galleries in Chinatown
will detract from its cultural heritage, but others contend that
the artistic community will strengthen the community’s
economic base. Seven new galleries have opened within the last two
years, increasing the total number in the area to over 15, said
gallery owner Daniel Hug. Most galleries feature contemporary fine
art and are located near Chung King Road, making for an unofficial
gallery district. The revival of an art scene in Chinatown
parallels increased investments internationally in the art market,
Hug said. Art galleries in the area also have close networks with
well-known figures in the artistic community, said Leora Lutz,
director of the Bamboo Lane Revisited art gallery, which opened in
2004. But the effects of this artistic revival on the culture of
the area will depend on whether the artists create a new community
or blend in with the existing population, Yu said. Dylan Leicestar,
a photographer, said the lack of a “posh” society was
what first attracted him to Chinatown. But with the influx of an
artistic community in the region, he recognizes that an upscale
society may form. “It is the concern of any socially aware
artist,” he said. However, Lutz believes artists and those
who take part in the artistic circle have an appreciation for
different cultures, and therefore will not detract too much from
the area’s heritage. “Chinatown has enough unique
things that will keep it strong,” Lutz said, while also
noting that locals did not frequent the gallery. There also exists
some stratification between the local population and the artistic
community in Chinatown, said Suriyani. One reason for tension
between the older locals and those in the art scene, Suriyani said,
is that most artists involved in Chinatown art are not Asian, which
creates an ethnic divide and a language barrier. Though the effects
of Chinatown’s artistic boom on the community remain to be
seen, many agree that there are economic benefits to the revival of
the art scene. The Chinatown public art project explored ways in
which artistic and cultural productions could foster economic
development, Gilliam said. Events to celebrate the opening of each
art project brought people to Chinatown who otherwise might not
have come, thus increasing clientele for the various local
businesses, he said. Additionally, according to Hune, the
development of an art scene will diversify the local
community’s economic base, which traditionally rests on the
food and souvenir business. The new art scene, she said, reflects
not only the city’s efforts to encourage artistic development
in the downtown area, but also the maturation of the Asian American
society to acknowledge the production of art as a potential career.
“Many people know Chinatown more in the economic sense of the
restaurants and the curio shops,” Hune said. “That it
is going to be part of this larger artistic cultural endeavor is
relatively new, and I think it is exciting.”