Chinatown: the written by brian j. godfrey

Chinatown The article written by Brian J. Godfrey about San Francisco’s Chinatown concentrates on several topics. In focusing on ethnicity, race, and gender, the article analyzes how the Chinese community has faced massive pressures resulting from the planned downtown expansion. Through the groups struggle, the community has used ritualized strategies effectively to oppose to the spatial threats within the town. For instance, the article brings to light how influx of Asian investment compared to the poverty and notable crowding contrast. It is through these ritualized practices through the formed protest movement that controversy has been generated. This article brings to light how the efforts of relocating Chinatown after the 1906 earthquake proved impossible (Brian 338). Thus through he help of Chinese merchants and china government, white architects were hired rebuild the town.
The empirical analysis of the article shows how the Chinatown has been faced by threats as a result of its desirable location. This has resulted to the town being a natural target for both urban development and land speculations (Yung 12). Additionally, little political influence has been exercised within the town for years. What has contributed to this situation is the limited number of people living in the community many of whom have low socioeconomic ability (Brian 340). Although as evident in the article the total population has increased from 4. 703 to 3. 7, the financial and economic disability of the residents is evident. However, the situation seems to have changed from what the situation was in the 19th century. This is because presently there are several community as opposed to the 19th century where San Francisco’s Chinatown had 25, 833 Chinese residents (Brian 339).
The article concludes by highlighting how the city’s BART (bay Area Rapid Transit) has made it easy for Chinese Americans to move to their neighborhoods. Through this, immigrants do not anymore use Chinatown as a gateway. In fact, the article argues that Chinese arriving in the town with ample financial resources for investment are not in need of the services provided at the “ gateway” thus move straight to the suburbs or homeownership in affluent western San Francisco (Brian 341).
In my opinion, despite the many years Chinatown has been in existence, it has been discriminated against larger society in several ways. In addition, Chinatown has also been segregated. The urban redevelopments projects that have been engineered in the past few years have caused spatial and social threat to the town. Through it is slowly becoming less segregated, the town seems more insulated from the environment that surrounds it. The new generations of Chinese Americans living within the surrounding area have helped in the employment of various Chinese and American symbolic practices that are ritualized (Bowen and Bowen 23). From my perspective, what the future has in store for Chinatown is very uncertain. I believe that developments of whatever kind are quite significant and may be a representation of a turning point for in the history of San Francisco’s Chinatown. The success so far achieved and the collective sense of solidarity and aim through their involvement in ritualized activities, I consider the group at the very least much better situation to handle any new challenges that might come in its advancement to the new century.
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Work Cited
Bowen, W. Robert and Bowen, Y. Brenda. San Franciscos Chinatown. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2008. Print.
Brian J. Godfrey. Chinatown.
Yung, Judy. San Franciscos Chinatown. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. Print.