'Mapping Chinatown' Report Tracks Neighborhood Changes

What makes one Chinatown thrive and another become just an empty symbol of a community? A sweeping report by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund explores three “swiftly changing” Chinatowns in the Northeast: in Boston, Manhattan, and Philadelphia.

Among the report’s key findings is that during the past decade, the percentage of Asian populations decreased in the three Chinatowns. At the same time, the non-Asian populations increased. And, at the same time, the costs of living have skyrocketed.

“New residential construction rates and housing prices are soaring, as is an influx of national chains and non-Asian establishments. Longtime community members have battled against large scale and predatory development projects in each city. Despite these challenges, the symbiotic mix of residential and commercial uses in each Chinatown persists,” found the Fund's report, titled “Mapping Chinatown: Displacement in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia.”

For decades resident and activist groups in Boston’s Chinatown have railed against luxury housing towers, such as the high-rises built in the early 2000s along Washington Street, as well as other large projects that often defied established zoning regulations.

“Chinatowns are more vulnerable to gentrification and displacement than ever,” found the report.

For Boston’s Chinatown in particular, the report found:

• The Asian population decreased over the last decade by over 20%. The same trend occurred in New York’s Chinatown.

  
  

• The number of “professional services” commercial storefronts, however, remained steady in Boston. The report believes this is a sign that “linguistically and culturally accessible” legal, medical, real estate, and business services remain in the area.

  
  

• The Boston neighborhood’s industrial businesses have dropped off severely, and now only a “handful” of industrial food manufacturers remain in the neighborhood.

  
  

• The neighborhood lost a whopping 17% of its restaurants over the past decade. This is in contrast to Manhattan’s Chinatown, which lost 10% and, Philadelphia’s Chinatown, which saw a nearly 40% increase in restaurants.

  
  

• Residents in Boston continue to be served by mostly small businesses — at around 85% — a rate comparable to the other Chinatowns.

  
  

• While all three neighborhoods saw a hike in market-rate housing, Boston’s saw an estimated 2,000 additional units constructed between 2010 and 2020. That amounts to an 84% increase in the overall housing stock in the neighborhood.

  
  

• Rents jumped in all areas, but in Boston, the median rent increased the most, by 55% to $1,812.

  
  

• The homeownership rate in Boston’s Chinatown, however, is only 7%, compared to 35% citywide. This is the lowest rate of all three neighborhoods, which are all below citywide averages.

  
  

• “Given the low homeownership rates in all three Chinatowns, the increase in rent has a direct impact on affordability and on the ability of long-time residents to remain in these neighborhoods, with leases generally one year long and allowing rent increase at renewal. New York is the only one of these three cities that has a substantial number of units subject to some rent control or stabilization, which is reflected in its lower rate of rent increase,” according to the report.

  
  

• An “urgent need for zoning protections” remain for the historic rowhouse district of the neighborhood. “As the City of Boston contemplates a new rezoning for Chinatown, community advocates … are urging the City to zone for a rowhouse district on par with the other protected rowhouses throughout the city.”

Sampan plans to explore the report in depth in future issues.