The City of Vancouver (Downtown Eastside Revitalization Program) and community stakeholders identified the Community Cultural Development Study for Vancouver Chinatown as an opportunity to look at cultural development as a key revitalization strategy. It explores current and future roles, gaps/needs and relationships of community organizations, individuals and groups engaged in presenting and/or creating arts/culture/heritage in a distinct neighbourhood with historic significance.
Recognizing the potential impact of the City’s Plan and the fact that Chinatown is a neighbourhood next door to the Downtown Eastside, the Chinatown Society Heritage Buildings Association (CSHBA) commissioned this study to engage community organizations, including the CSHBA and
its members, in the opportunities identified in the Plan and to further explore the potential for Chinatown’s arts and cultural stakeholders to contribute to neighbourhood and sector development. The study was an outreach opportunity to recognize that many arts and cultural groups working in Chinatown did not have the capacity to participate in larger City planning efforts and was not significantly involved in any of the previous plans.
