A Washington D.C. task force recently unveiled proposals to revitalize the city’s Chinatown neighborhood.
According to The Washingtonian, the Washington Capitals and the Wizards, two of D.C.’s major sports teams, will stay put in the area. The Gallery Place Chinatown Taskforce is examining other ways to improve the area.
The task force pitched a series of proposals called “8 Big Ideas” during a presentation at the M.L.K Library on Saturday, WTOP reports. One of the main ideas is to turn a portion of 8th Street into a large walkway. Other plans would add more green space to the area and convert office buildings into residential apartments.
“This is a very big transformation of the neighborhood over time, these are not going to be short wins, these are going to be long term opportunities,” Uwe Brandes, a scholar-practitioner in urban design and sustainable urban development at Georgetown University, told WTOP.
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Creating walkways and greenspaces does not revitalize Chinatown. Bringing back Chinese people, Chinese-owned businesses, Chinese groceries, and Chinese-based services is the only way to revitalize any Chinatown. Will the converted residential building be rent-controlled and reserved for Chinese tenants? How will they protect DC’s Chinatown from further gentrification? They need to reverse the gentrification and other causes that pushed out the Chinese people to begin with and create enticements for them to return.