OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, our community planning team has visited eight urban Chinatowns across the U.S. and Canada, gathering strategies to sustain economic and cultural vitality. We are now applying these insights to strengthen our own Chinatown’s key corridors—Stockton Street for residents and Grant Avenue for visitors.
A key realization from these trips was the recognition of San Francisco Chinatown as one of the most vital and “complete” Chinatowns. This distinction is rooted in two factors:
- The 1986 Chinatown Master Plan, which emphasized Chinatown as the community’s immigrant gateway with three defined pillars: Cultural Capital, Visitor/Tourist Destination, and Residential Village.
- And Chinatown CDC’s ongoing programs to maintaining and building affordable housing and empowering residents to remain in place and shape their own futures.
For our 47th Annual Gala, we honored incredible individuals who embody the diversity and dedication essential to building and sustaining our residential village: the Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr., the 2024 Iftar Planning Committee, and Hanmin Liu and Jennifer Mei of the Wildflowers Institute. From affordable housing leadership to cultural preservation and global peace, our honorees represent vital aspects of uplifting and supporting our village.
We are excited to return to our organizational heartbeat by renewing our focus on the “Residential Village” pillar—a cornerstone of our community’s identity and strength.
Our village is our heartbeat.
Thank you for your support, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.
Malcolm Yeung
Executive Director