Chin, Margaret M. “Housing and Gentrification: The Changing Nature of Chinatown.” Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, Roosevelt House, 4 Feb. 2015.
Margaret M. Chin is a member of the sociology department at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center. Professor Chin’s research interests focus on immigration/immigration policy especially second generation, working poor families, as well as race and ethnicity, specifically Asian Americans. Her recent novel was a co-publication with Min Zhou and Rebecca Kim, called The Transformation of Chinese American Communities: New York vs. Los Angeles. Chin’s overall theme in her work includes urban enclaves, ethnic community developments, and gentrification.
This specific opinion piece is personal to Margaret M. Chin, and it discusses her perspective on gentrification and its everlasting effects on modern day Chinatowns. This opinion piece was posted by the Roosevelt House, an integral part of Hunter College which strives to educate students in public policy and human rights. Not only does Chin discuss about the socioeconomic hardships Chinese Americans have to face today due to gentrification, but also discusses about specific drastic changes such as the garment district.
“Chinatown After September 11th: An Economic Impact Study.” Asian American Federation of New York, 2002.
Established in 1989, the Asian American Federation is a non-profit organization representing a network of community service agencies to raise influence and well-being of the Pan-Asian American community. Along with a highly qualified research team, the Asian American Foundation conducted a report about the economic impacts Chinatown went through after the events of 9/11.
It is a very detailed report and talked about how the events of 9/11 impacted all forms of businesses in Chinatown and gives a brief understanding about how much assistance funds were given to Chinatown to help with redevelopment.
Fish, Eric. “How Gentrification Is Hitting Chinatowns’ Most Vulnerable.” Asia Society, 31 Aug. 2017.
This is a primary source that encompasses an interview done with Asia Blog and Diane Wong, a doctoral candidate at Cornell University researching the effects of gentrification on residents of Chinatowns in New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Through her research she gathered up as much information possible to get a sense about the rapidly changing neighborhood of Chinatown.
In this specific interview Wong discusses predatory landlords and developers and how Chinatown is fighting back towards the symptoms of gentrification. Wong highlights the issues of upscale property developments, displacement of current residents, as well as the impact of 9/11 and how it became a turning point for Chinatown. Wong works closely with the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV), the Chinatown Arts Brigade (CAB), and the Chinatown Tenants Union, all reputable organizations fighting to combat gentrification.
Kwong, Peter, and Samuel Stein. “Preserve and Protect Chinatown.” Roosevelt House: Public Policy Institute at Hunter College.
Peter Kwong is a distinguished Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at CUNY Hunter College. His co-author Samuel Stein is an urban geographer that specializes in labor and housing in NYC. Together they created a primary source, a brief of the impact gentrification in Chinatown and how it related back to the events of 9/11.
I will be utilizing Kwong and Samuel’s general statement on the current situation of Chinatown (whilst being wholly gentrified) and use it to build my argument of how after 9/11 gentrification was inevitable.
Li, Betty Y, et al. “Chinatown Then and Now.” Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a national organization that promotes the civil rights of American Asians. Staff Attorney of AALDEF, Betty Li included with other co-authors collected data on the gradual disappearance of Chinatowns in the East Coast. An area near and dear to the hearts of many Asians the AALDEF revealed data of staggering changes in Chinatown communities. That in each city, local governments drove gentrification in these areas and assisted in the downfall of all Chinatowns. The AALDEF focuses on the impact gentrification has on local businesses, the displacement and changes of the traditional Asian working class, and the change of Chinatowns skylines.
This is a primary source that Li and her co-authors examine all indicators in the areas of Chinatown that clearly show signs of significant gentrification. The AALDEF shows their unfavorable perspective on gentrification through this collection of data and census. Not only does this source discuss the present condition of Chinatown and its undergoing stages of gentrification and displacement, but also the AALDEF compares present day Chinatown to what it was in the past to create the sense of drastic change.
Lin, Jan. Reconstructing Chinatown: ethnic enclave, global change. University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
Jan Lin, is a Ph.D. Professor of urban sociology at Occidental College. He has written three books that emphasizes the power and significance of ethnic communities, Reconstructing Chinatown being one of them. Lin presents a realistic image of New York City’s Chinatown and how it is being rebuilt literally, socially, economically, and politically. Lin uses his expertise in sociological field methods such as globalization and mass media to discuss the pressing issues arising in NYC Chinatown.
Using interviews with residents, firsthand observation, archival research, and U.S. census data, Lin presents an informed picture of Chinatown and on the expanding growth of gentrification. Lin highlights the ways that local, state, and federal governments have encouraged and gained from globalization in Chinatown through urban redevelopment policy. This book gives a strong insight into the general developmental processes that went on in Chinatown, and how the neighborhood is physically and symbolically changing.
“Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.” LMDC Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) was formed following the September 11 attacks, to plan the reconstruction and distribution of assistance funds to Lower Manhattan. The LMDC distributed nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan. This website specifies the amount of money the LMDC distributed to the Chinatown area. This source does not discuss the effects of gentrification but the funds they provided did.
“September 11: Overview of Federal Disaster Assistance to the New York City Area.” United States Government Accountability Office, 31 Oct. 2003.
The United States General Accounting Office is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the United States Congress. This is an official government document addressing the division of funds given to areas of Lower Manhattan after 9/11 in hopes to stimulate redevelopment.
I will use this document to provide evidence on how much money was invested in lower Manhattan, enough to stimulate more urbanization and new developments.
Times, The New York, and Peter Kwong. “Answers About the Gentrification of Chinatown, Part 2.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Sept. 2009.
Peter Kwong was a Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning, as well as Professor of Sociology in CUNY. He was a pioneer in Asian Studies, and Scholar of immigration and an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. He is recognized greatly for his passionate commitment to human rights and social justice. However, as a scholar and activist he is widely known for his work on Chinese Americans and modern day Chinese politics. He is the author of several books specific to the area of Chinatown, and the evolution of Chinese in America. Kwong’s career historically spanned the 1965 immigration act, and the more recent gentrification of Manhattan’s Chinatown.
In this specific segment of the City Room Blog in the New York Times, Kwong answered questions regarding gentrification in Chinatown since the late 1990’s and so on. Kwong discussed about the phenomenon of gentrification and how it has peaked since the 90’s and after the event of 9/11. Kwong stressed the significance of Chinatown being the enclave for Chinese immigrants and how gentrification disrupts it. Through this Q&A I can get a sense of how passionate Kwong was about the changing of the Chinatown community.
Yu, Betty, et al. “Gentrification, the Art Gallery Influx, and Other Pressures on Manhattan’s Chinatown.” Hyperallergic, 8 Oct. 2016.
Betty Yu is a current anti-displacement activist and is the co-founder of the Chinatown Arts Brigade (CAB). The Chinatown Art Brigade (CAB) is a cultural collective of artists, media makers and activists whom create art and media to advance social justice in communities directly impacted by racial, social, or economic inequalities. Betty Yu herself, is a passionate activist with roots in the community of Chinatown. She and the other co-founders of CAB are responsible for numerous projects that fight for the preservation of Chinatown along with its community residents and culture.
The CAB and Betty Yu emphasizes that the influx of art galleries, luxury condos and high-end businesses is what is driving Chinatown faster down the road regarding gentrification. As these art galleries increase, displacement and gentrification increase. Betty Yu details that the current wave of white artists and galleries ‘exotify” and “essentialize” Chinatown making the area more “desirable”, which is a major insult to longtime Chinatown residents like Yu herself. This article creates a larger scope of how an area as culturally rich and authentic like Chinatown can be taken down so easily by individuals and developers with money.
LINKS
www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/?forum-post=professor-margaret-m-chin-housing-gentrification-changing-nature-chinatown.
http://www.aafny.org/doc/ChinatownAfter911.pdf
asiasociety.org/blog/asia/how-gentrification-hitting-chinatowns-most-vulnerable.
http://www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/devdev/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Kwong_Stein_Issue_Brief-Chinatown2-5-15.pdf
http://aaldef.org/Chinatown%20Then%20and%20Now%20AALDEF.pdf
cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/answers-about-the-gentrification-of-chinatown-part-2/.
hyperallergic.com/328216/gentrification-the-art-gallery-influx-and-other-pressures-on-manhattans-chinatown/
http://www.renewnyc.com/ProjectsAndPrograms/chinatown.asp
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