Connie Low
Picken, Cassidy
ENG 100-27
Nov. 21st, 2019
Gentrification of Vancouver’s Chinatown
Gold, Kerry. “Losing Chinatown, Bit by Bit.” The Globe and Mail, Phillip Crawley, 12 Nov. 2017, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/vancouver/vancouvers-chinatown-threatened-by-development-anddemographics/article33351575/.
This source interviews some residents of Chinatown as well as business owners to get their opinion on the importance of preserving culture and keeping Chinatown alive in Vancouver rather than replacing it with larger businesses. It also helps contextualize Chinatown’s economical and cultural value by mentioning the family history of some residents in Chinatown and the new additions to the nearby St. Paul’s Hospital. This article is helpful because it includes many first-hand accounts of why Chinatown is important and who exactly is being affected by the threat of gentrification. It is limited in its use because there is not much else covered in the article, and it is a few years old so not all the information can be reliable.
Li, Eva Xiaoling, and Peter S. Li. “Vancouver Chinatown in Transition.” Journal of Chinese Overseas, vol. 7, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 7–23. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/179325411×565380.
This essay examines the origins and formation of Chinatowns in Canada and provides many statistics that show the importance of Chinatown for Chinese culture. This includes statistics, on Chinese businesses, Chinese-language speakers, social and economic features of residents, and visible Chinese minority groups. The statistics can be helpful for determining how many Chinese-Canadians that are second-gen or later are connected with their culture. However, this only includes language use and the statistics are from 2006 so they do not represent the most current generation of youth.
Lowe, Nat. “Class Struggle in Chinatown: Ethnic Tourism, Planned Gentrification, and Organizing for Tenant Power.” The Mainlander, 16 July 2019, http://themainlander.com/2019/07/16/class-struggle-in-chinatown-ethnic-tourism-planned-gentrification-and-organizing-for-tenant-power/.
The article discusses the different groups and classes attempting to gentrify Vancouver Chinatown and how they are attempting to do so. The article also covers how Chinatown’s residents are working to combat gentrification and grow stronger as a community. It introduces many terms used when discussing gentrification such as: cultural revitalization, ethnic tourism, and slum clearance, which are useful for clear communication in my essay. It also mentions some of the intergenerational benefits of Chinatown which are directly related to my research question. The article is limited in that it does not provide much about the experiences of residents and focuses more on the class struggles intertwined with gentrification as well as points of action rather than the effects.
Madokoro, Laura. “Chinatown and Monster Homes: The Splintered Chinese Diaspora in Vancouver.” Articles Urban History Review, vol. 39, no. 2, 2011, pp. 17–24. EBSCOhost, doi:10.7202/1003459ar.
Madokoro’s essay examines the differences in experience and the cultural diaspora of immigrants from 1885 to 1947 and their families to newer immigrants from Hong Kong in the 1960s – 1980s. The difference of culture between the two groups is their wealth, class, and connections to China and Canada. Madokoro overviews the fight for Strathcona that residents of Chinatown faced and the erasure of that history by new immigrants in the 1960s onward. This is helpful because it shows that gentrification has elements of racism as well as classicism, and that both affect Chinatown’s declining culture. The source is limited though because it does not cover much about current youth.
Naram, Kartik. “No Place Like Home: Racial Capitalism, Gentrification, and the Identity of Chinatown.” Asian American Policy Review, vol. 27, Mar. 2017, pp. 31–48. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=130356742&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Naram’s essay gives context to New York’s Chinatown’s history and how racism and segregation lead to its formation. He discusses the branding and exoticism of Chinatown that is being perpetuated to outsiders in order to drive up market prices and allow businesses and residences to increase their value. Naram also questions the amount of legal protection provided for residents of Chinatown that are facing eviction. This essay provides many topic specific terms and ideas including racial commodification and racial capitalism. The limitations to this essay are the fact that it is about New York’s Chinatown rather than Vancouver. Although there are many similarities and comparing the two Chinatowns is helpful in understanding how gentrification at different stages effects Chinatown, these are still two different communities with different histories. It also lacks information about the experiences of youth and younger generations.