Chinatown Master Plan 2020 covers a broad spectrum of future development and community needs

The Chinatown Master Plan Committee released Master Plan 2020 with two recent launch events, involving more than a hundred participants from the community, local officials, and other interested stakeholders.

Chinatown Master Plan 2020 is a 91-page report, with English and Chinese language versions, that includes data snapshots, updated community development priorities, and identification of four "opportunity areas" where development could support community health and stability.

Drafted out of a year-and-a-half planning process involving residents, small business owners, community organizations, and planners, the plan calls for a thousand more units of affordable housing, zero pedestrian fatalities, 27 percent green canopy coverage, and creation of a Chinatown historic and cultural district.

The plan was published by the Chinatown Master Plan Committee with support from the Chinatown Community Land Trust and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) project provided funding support for a Health Lens Analysis, which led to a broader planning process and report.

Emerging from the coronavirus pandemic requires a stronger commitment to racial and economic equity, said organizers, with a particular effort to help the community's small businesses and service sector workforce survive. Many of Chinatown's businesses suffered a major Covid-19 related slowdown as early as January, when the virus was on the upswing in China.

"It is important that we help the community small businesses survive to keep Chinatown as a neighborhood for immigrant, working class families," said District 2 Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn.

Noting that the Asian population is a decreasing percentage of the community, the plan calls for both affordable housing production and preservation with a priority on low-income families. The post-coronavirus recession poses new challenges, and organizers emphasized that they do not want a repeat of the 2008 recession.

Housing chief Sheila Dillon pledged to continue working in partnership with the community to ensure Chinatown's future and thanked leaders for their untiring advocacy.

Chinatown has a history of neighborhood planning, dating back to the first Chinatown Community Plan of 1990, which was published by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in partnership with community leaders.

The Chinatown Master Plan Committee decided to publish Master Plan 2020 in order to run parallel to and supplement the City of Boston's PLAN: Downtown process with greater detail about Chinatown's needs and priorities. For instance, the plan calls for a Row House Protection Area and other zoning reforms to protect Chinatown against speculation-driven displacement. PLAN: Downtown will culminate in zoning amendments for the entire downtown area, including Chinatown.

The committee hopes that the City of Boston will acknowledge Chinatown Master Plan 2020 as the general plan for Chinatown, in the same way that the Chinatown Community Plan of 1990 was recognized as the neighborhood plan in the Boston zoning code. The plan focuses on four topics explored by PLAN: Downtown and recommends strategies for Chinatown.  Community residents and organizations will be holding followup discussions on each of these topics with relevant City departments.

HOUSING

1. Preserve existing subsidized housing

2. Advance current proposals for affordable housing on Parcel 12, Tai Tung Village Parking Lot, and 50 Herald Street.

3. Prioritize public properties such as Parcel R-1, Parcel A, and 152 Arlington Street

4. Seek opportunities for privately owned properties to be redeveloped for affordable housing

5. Enact policies and zoning amendments that support the housing strategies.

PUBLIC REALM

1. Collaborate to make privately owned public spaces open and accessible to Chinatown residents

2. Seek opportunities to ensure community control and access to public spaces

3. Continue advocacy to connect Chinatown to the Greenway

4. Create green pathways through Chinatown, especially on pedestrian thoroughfares

5. Improve walkability and connectivity between distinct areas of Chinatown

6. Seek opportunities and partnerships to increase permeable surfaces and neighborhood tree canopy coverage

7. Build community involvement in programming and urban design for existing public spaces

MOBILITY

1. Collaborate to make privately owned public spaces open and accessible to Chinatown residents

2. Seek opportunities to ensure community control and access to public spaces

3. Continue advocacy to connect Chinatown to the Greenway

4. Create green pathways through Chinatown, especially on pedestrian thoroughfares

5. Improve walkability and connectivity between distinct areas of Chinatown

6. Seek opportunities and partnerships to increase permeable surfaces and neighborhood tree canopy coverage

7. Build community involvement in programming and urban design for existing public spaces

HISTORIC & CULTURAL PRESERVATION

1. Move quickly on opportunities to preserve historic row houses as affordable housing

2. Build support around public art and placemaking projects that celebrate Chinatown's history

3. Explore changes to the Chinatown Zoning Code to create a Row House Overlay Sub-District

4. Explore pros and cons of Historic Cultural District and Historic District options

5. Continue community-wide discussion about possible guidelines for development within the district

6. Explore programs or policies that stabilize small businesses and nonprofits that serve Chinatown

Chinatown Master Plan 2020 is a 91-page report, with English and Chinese language versions, that includes data snapshots, updated community development priorities, and identification of four "opportunity areas" where development could support community health and stability.

Drafted out of a year-and-a-half planning process involving residents, small business owners, community organizations, and planners, the plan calls for a thousand more units of affordable housing, zero pedestrian fatalities, 27 percent green canopy coverage, and creation of a Chinatown historic and cultural district.

The plan was published by the Chinatown Master Plan Committee with support from the Chinatown Community Land Trust and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) project provided funding support for a Health Lens Analysis, which led to a broader planning process and report.

Emerging from the coronavirus pandemic requires a stronger commitment to racial and economic equity, said organizers, with a particular effort to help the community's small businesses and service sector workforce survive. Many of Chinatown's businesses suffered a major Covid-19 related slowdown as early as January, when the virus was on the upswing in China.

"It is important that we help the community small businesses survive to keep Chinatown as a neighborhood for immigrant, working class families," said District 2 Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn.

Noting that the Asian population is a decreasing percentage of the community, the plan calls for both affordable housing production and preservation with a priority on low-income families. The post-coronavirus recession poses new challenges, and organizers emphasized that they do not want a repeat of the 2008 recession.

Housing chief Sheila Dillon pledged to continue working in partnership with the community to ensure Chinatown's future and thanked leaders for their untiring advocacy.

Chinatown has a history of neighborhood planning, dating back to the first Chinatown Community Plan of 1990, which was published by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in partnership with community leaders.

The Chinatown Master Plan Committee decided to publish Master Plan 2020 in order to run parallel to and supplement the City of Boston's PLAN: Downtown process with greater detail about Chinatown's needs and priorities. For instance, the plan calls for a Row House Protection Area and other zoning reforms to protect Chinatown against speculation-driven displacement. PLAN: Downtown will culminate in zoning amendments for the entire downtown area, including Chinatown.

The committee hopes that the City of Boston will acknowledge Chinatown Master Plan 2020 as the general plan for Chinatown, in the same way that the Chinatown Community Plan of 1990 was recognized as the neighborhood plan in the Boston zoning code. The plan focuses on four topics explored by PLAN: Downtown and recommends strategies for Chinatown.  Community residents and organizations will be holding followup discussions on each of these topics with relevant City departments.

HOUSING

1. Preserve existing subsidized housing

2. Advance current proposals for affordable housing on Parcel 12, Tai Tung Village Parking Lot, and 50 Herald Street.

3. Prioritize public properties such as Parcel R-1, Parcel A, and 152 Arlington Street

4. Seek opportunities for privately owned properties to be redeveloped for affordable housing

5. Enact policies and zoning amendments that support the housing strategies.

PUBLIC REALM

1. Collaborate to make privately owned public spaces open and accessible to Chinatown residents

2. Seek opportunities to ensure community control and access to public spaces

3. Continue advocacy to connect Chinatown to the Greenway

4. Create green pathways through Chinatown, especially on pedestrian thoroughfares

5. Improve walkability and connectivity between distinct areas of Chinatown

6. Seek opportunities and partnerships to increase permeable surfaces and neighborhood tree canopy coverage

7. Build community involvement in programming and urban design for existing public spaces

MOBILITY

1. Collaborate to make privately owned public spaces open and accessible to Chinatown residents

2. Seek opportunities to ensure community control and access to public spaces

3. Continue advocacy to connect Chinatown to the Greenway

4. Create green pathways through Chinatown, especially on pedestrian thoroughfares

5. Improve walkability and connectivity between distinct areas of Chinatown

6. Seek opportunities and partnerships to increase permeable surfaces and neighborhood tree canopy coverage

7. Build community involvement in programming and urban design for existing public spaces

HISTORIC & CULTURAL PRESERVATION

1. Move quickly on opportunities to preserve historic row houses as affordable housing

2. Build support around public art and placemaking projects that celebrate Chinatown's history

3. Explore changes to the Chinatown Zoning Code to create a Row House Overlay Sub-District

4. Explore pros and cons of Historic Cultural District and Historic District options

5. Continue community-wide discussion about possible guidelines for development within the district

6. Explore programs or policies that stabilize small businesses and nonprofits that serve Chinatown