The Politics of Placemaking in Chinatown
This webinar is part of the RAIC 2023 Conference on Architecture, now available to stream!
Topics: Diversity, Equity and Social Justice
Length: 1 hour | What's Included: Video, Quiz, and Certificate of Completion
“The Politics of Placemaking in Chinatown” investigates how Chinatown communities across North America have adopted cultural planning and placemaking strategies in order to protect and revitalize their neighbourhoods in response to several challenges, including gentrification, demographic changes, and anti-Asian racism. Further, the project looks at Chinatowns from both a sociology and architecture point of view and seeks to make the connection between its community and its built environment. On one hand it looks at the past and heritage of Chinese immigrants to Canada, their settlements in Chinatowns and on the other through the occupied and built spaces. By studying Chinatowns, as a by-product of immigration and also unique neighbourhoods of North America, the project to define the history and heritage of the Chinese and Asian-Canadian community through the design and planning of the 'towns' and its architecture.
Learning Objectives:
By the completion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Explain how placemakers conceptualize Chinatown’s identity and translate this into placemaking practice.
- Identity the notions of Chinatown identity that have become dominant within placemaking planning documents.
- Describe how urban development within Chinatown reflected or eroded existing notions of cultural identity.
- Discuss the impact of COVID19 on Chinatown communities, including anti-Asian racism and xenophobia, and how it has affected future placemaking and cultural planning.
Subject Matter Expert:
Dr. Henry Tsang
AAA, OAQ, B.Sc.Arch, M.Arch, Ph.D, LEED GA, WELL AP
Assistant Professor / Principal Architect, Athabasca University RAIC Centre for Architecture / Henry Tsang Architect
Dr. Henry Tsang is a Chinese-Canadian architect and assistant professor in the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University. His design, teaching and research work explores the intersections between sustainability, inclusion, health, and culture in the built environment. More recently, he has been awarded several research grants exploring the theme Placemaking in Chinatown, including the 2022 RAIC Foundation Bursary. Tsang is the principal of Henry Tsang Architect based in Calgary, AB. Cumulating over 15 years of global experience in practice, he has designed a diverse portfolio of community-centric projects, which include the University of Indonesia Health Sciences Campus and the Calgary Japanese Community Centre. He has edited and contributed to several books including the latest edition of the Canadian Handbook of Practice for Architects. Many of his research works have also been published in scholarly journals, including the Journal of Asian Architecture & Building Engineering and Asian Journal of Canadian Studies. He has been invited as guest speaker and design critic by the UNEP, TEDx, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, as well as universities worldwide. Prior to his current position, he also held a professorship at Keimyung University in South Korea and was the Director of the Sustainable Architecture Technology Program at Herzing College. He is the sitting co-chair of the Royal Architectural Institute’s Membership Committee. Dr. Henry Tsang, AAA, OAQ, MRAIC, LEED GA, WELL AP, completed his B.Sc.Arch. and M.Arch. at McGill University, and Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo as a Monbukagakusho Scholar. He is the recipient of the 2015 Educator of the Year Award by the National Association of Career Colleges, 2020 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence and two 2021 Construction Canada Emerging Leader Awards.
Dr. Matt Patterson
Ph.D
Associate Professor, University of Calgary
Dr. Matt Patterson is an urban sociologist whose research examines the relationship between cities and culture. In particular, he is interested in uncovering the ways that place characteristics such as density, demographics, and urban design influence the emergence of distinct cultural practices, products, and institutions. He has pursued this research through studies of museum development, the emergence of arts districts, and the economic and social impacts of iconic architectural projects or "starchitecture". Currently his main focus is on the role of cultural planning and placemaking projects within North American Chinatowns.
Pricing A-La-Carte