Description

The Friendship Archway = Chinatown?

We were hired by the Washington DC Office of Planning to develop a Chinatown Cultural Plan. Our work included research to develop case studies of Asian and Ethnic Enclaves around the U.S. and Canada, local and regional cultural asset mapping. We also designed and implemented participation opportunities of community members to engage in the planning process, working with a team of architects, urban planners, and economic development analysts. Our case studies and cultural asset mapping highlighted traditionally defined and nontraditional forms of culture. Our participation methods created meaningful and important avenues for the community to become engaged and to influence the outcomes, utilizing our methodology of Community Influence Processes and the Pathways to Change framework of the Interaction Institute for Social Change.