The Historical Journey of San Francisco Chinatown’s Urban Resilience

Abstract

This thesis examines how and why the ethnic enclave of San Francisco’s (SF) Chinatown persisted to this day, despite continuous forces of urban shrinkage and gentrification in the past decade, that has seen other Chinatowns in the United States gradually disappear. The rich history of SF Chinatown battling a diversity of forces intruding on its survivability, has transformed and acclimatized the neighborhood to have social, political and economic mechanisms to adapt and mutate to an ever-changing ethnic urban landscape. A chronological approach has been applied to highlight major events within SF Chinatown’s history that reveal significant factors and mechanisms that amalgamate in the neighborhood’s current urban resilience. The story begins with colonial expansion that attracted many Chinese laborers to America, where increasing racial hostility forced Chinese immigrants into ethnic enclaves like SF Chinatown in 1850. The development of district Associations created a cohesive and self-sufficient community that protected itself from continued racial hostility. The 1906 earthquake and fire, built a foundation of oriental tourism that solidified Chinatowns permanence, creating a mutually beneficial relationship with the hegemonic white society. Increased urban redevelopment of the financial district during the 1960s, inspired civil rights movements that mobilized and empowered the Chinese American population to renegotiate their rights. The aforementioned historically rooted mechanisms accompanied with new community initiatives, enables SF Chinatown to continuously adapt and mutate to internal and external forces of change, which has and will continue to cement its place in the heart of the city.