Calgary's Chinatown, similar to all Chinatowns in North America, are facing similar issues of gentrification versus disrepair. Chinatown has always been attractive to new immigrants because it was affordable and close to downtown, allowing residents to be close in proximity to employment. However, newer immigrants and children of immigrants are moving to suburbia in pursuit of bigger homes with more square footage, which explains the overwhelming senior population.
I'm in support of the Chinatown development as it replaces a parking lot, but I think Chinatown residents' concerns are genuine and should be taken seriously. The current location of Calgary's Chinatown is actually the third location as the previous locations were considered valuable and the Chinese were forced out. There was also the real threat of the current Chinatown being completely destroyed for a new highway in the 70's, so it's important to understand that Chinatown residents' fears are real and strongly rooted in a history of displacement in Calgary.
These seniors deserve affordable housing and are allowed to voice their concerns with redevelopment as it threatens their livelihoods and the destruction of their culture. People like Terry Wong aren't helping either as he seems to think this is an issue about parking, when he could probably better defend their voices if he better understood their issues. Anyways, I hope this development can move forward as it does seem to actually embrace Chinatown motifs and has the potential to be a destination to all Calgarians. But there will always be the risk that it will lead to Chinatown being ripe for development and inaccessible by the people who inhabited it.
calgaryherald.com
