Since 2011, Asian Arts Initiative has been an active community stakeholder, leader, and steward for the equitable development of our Chinatown North/Callowhill neighborhood.
From September 2016 - June 2018, Asian Arts Initiative created People:Power:Place, a cultural plan for Chinatown North/Callowhill, engaging 700+ individuals at 20+ community events during a community-led cultural planning process that captured 20+ recommendations for neighborhood improvements from neighbors seeking equitable change in their neighborhood.
Chinatown North/Callowhill has served as home to an ethnically, socio- economically, and educationally diverse community of people, despite its reputation as an underdeveloped industrial area. Cut off from the commercial core of Chinatown and Center City when the Vine Street Expressway was built in the 1980s, the neighborhood also celebrates its vibrant history of community organizing, and defeating proposals for a federal prison, baseball stadium, and casino.
The image on the left is a leaflet shared by AAI Board Member and community activitst, Mary Yee.
