Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Chinatown
Contents
I. Executive Summary p. 3
II. Background
A. FoundFutures p. 5
B. FoundFutures: Chinatown p. 5
C. Project Timeline p. 6
VI. Conclusions p. 27
VII. Appendices
1: Original proposal draft p. 28
2: Alternative Urban Futures Exhibition-- Artist Statement p. 30
3: Credits and Acknowledgements p. 31
4: McChinatown Websites p. 33
5: Direct participant responses p. 35
6: Alternative Futures ExerciseInstructions and responses from each
group p. 37
Executive Summary
This report presents an overview and analysis of FoundFutures:Chinatown, a futuresoriented community dialogue initiative created by Jake Dunagan and Stuart Candy which
took place in Honolulu in October-November 02007. The project was funded in part by
the Hawaii Arts Alliance and this report is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of
the award.
The centerpiece and culminating event of the project was a community workshop
exploring Chinatowns past, present, and futures. It took place from 12-4pm on Saturday
November 17, 02007 at the Arts at Marks Garage. To set the stage for this workshop
within the community, FoundFutures worked with multiple teams of designers and artists
to create and execute several distributed installations throughout Chinatown (see
Appendix 3 for full project credits and acknowledgments). These included artifacts and
images manifesting aspects of distinct alternative futures. Following the ambient
display of the scenarios on the streets, buildings, and visual environment of Chinatown,
as well as supporting materials on the web, FoundFutures assembled these artifacts and
images and produced a gallery exhibition as part of Alternative Urban Futures at the Arts
at Marks Garage from October 23-November 17.
We are pleased to note that both the workshop, and the FoundFutures community art
intervention which led up to (and helped promote) that event, were very well received
and appear to have succeeded in their goals. From feedback both formal and informal we
gather that participants were indeed challenged to think more carefully, systematically,
and creatively about the possible futures of this fascinating neighborhood. The workshop
participants offered stimulating reactions to our scenarios, and weve learned a great deal
about the area from our interactions with the environment and a wide range of
constituents along the way. These lessons and new knowledge will also inform our
Bright Ideas (Audiowalk of the Futures) project as we develop it further and search for
enabling funding.
Among the most common themes recurring throughout this project, detailed in later
sections, is that the only authentic Chinatown is the one that exists in our personal and
collective imagination. Massive changes have occurred over the course of time, radically
altering the landscape, the built environment, and the demographic composition of the
area. While some wish to retain the cultural and architectural landmarks that they feel
give Chinatown its unique character, others believe that change itself is what Chinatown
is about, and conclude that little need be done to fossilize one particular phase of the
process. These competing attitudes were brought into sharp relief over the course of the
project, especially in the reactions to our street simulations of alternative futures for
Chinatown.
Also, having spent a significant portion of time thinking about, walking around, and
interacting with the urban landscape and streets of Chinatown, we have been struck by
how the common reputation of Chinatown as dirty, dangerous, and unsightly has not
caught up to present reality. While homelessness and public intoxication remain visible,
the streets are remarkably clean, most buildings well-kept, and the atmosphere nonthreatening, day and night. In fact, many people weve talked to lament what they see as
loss of character during the last few years, regarding the heightened police presence and
influx of hipsters as a nuisance, and yearning for the good old days of a grittier, edgier
Chinatown.
It can be safely concluded that the FoundFutures:Chinatown project created substantial
community interest, and some controversy, within Chinatown and beyond. Without
taking a stance on which particular direction to choose, it challenged the community to
address several driving forces affecting the area and to engage in public action to pursue
preferred futures.
The project also garnered several articles in the local press and on the web, including
front-page coverage in the Honolulu Advertiser. This public attention, although
occasionally misinterpreting the intentions of the project, was ultimately beneficial as we
were able to use it to expand the conversation around the deep fears and hopes about the
future dwelling in the community. It is our hope that the FoundFutures:Chinatown effort
will serve as a springboard for an ongoing, in-depth conversation in which the multitude
of voices that make Chinatown the remarkable place it has always been will continue to
be heard. If the response weve had so far is any indication, this is already happening.
Background
FoundFutures
FoundFutures injects futures into the present. It is a multimedia, collaborative project
based on the idea that a wider range of possible futures should be made visible and
thinkable to people in their everyday lives. It aims to provoke thought, conversation, and
action by creating and distributing art, artifacts, images, performances and other media
that embody possible worlds to come.
Truly useful futures work has always been innovative and provocative, challenging its
audience to venture beyond the "crackpot realism" of the present. Yet it should also be as
affective and immersive as possible, engaging the brain, body, and surrounding
environment in a full experience of the scenario at hand. Quality foresight -- including for
instance the myriad reports on major hurricane risks to New Orleans -- is futile unless it
can mobilize timely and appropriate action, at the individual, organizational, and social
levels.
A new breed of design-oriented futurists (and future-oriented designers) is
experimenting with groundbreaking methods to bring futures to life. They don't merely
describe, but actually manifest, alternative possible worlds in your brain, in your body,
and on the streets. Stuart Candy and Jake Dunagan of the Hawaii Research Center for
Futures Studies have teamed with artists, performers, and designers on projects designed
to move alternative futures from the distant realm of the men
FoundFutures: Chinatown
FoundFutures:Chinatown grew out of two important strands of our recent work. The first
was our contribution to the kickoff event for the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Initiative
in August 02006, at which we immersed 500+ participants in alternative experiential
scenarios, set in four different versions of the year 2050. The positive feedback and
success of the Hawaii 2050 event encouraged us to develop these techniques further.
The second was a "Bright Ideas" grant from the Hawaii Arts Alliance to conduct research
towards producing an audio walk of Chinatown set in the future. While seeking
sponsorship for the full-scale audio walk budget, we secured a small grant through the
Hawaii Arts Alliance to run a community futures workshop in Chinatown.
The intention here was twofold. First, to provide residents, business owners and other
stakeholders in the district with a rare opportunity to reflect both systematically and
imaginatively on the possible, probable and preferred futures for the area over a longer
time horizon than they might typically be accustomed to planning. This was to provide
them a richer context for pursuing their preferred futures, and is part of HRCFS
community and education orientation as a state-mandated institution. The second aim
was for us as FoundFutures project directors to learn more about the prevailing attitudes
and ideas (about things including, but not limited to, the future) among Chinatown's
stakeholders. This, we felt, would help us build more informed scenarios cognizant of
and relevant to the real concerns (and blind-spots) of those parties, for our ongoing work
in Chinatown.
Project timeline
October 16-23, 02007: Installation and performance of The Bird Cage scenario.
November 17, 02007: Chinatown Futures Workshop, The Arts at Marks Garage.
McChinatown ~02010
What if Chinatown were taken over by corporate interests?
A Starbucks on a prime corner of Honolulu's most eclectic, gritty, and original
neighborhood proved to be a tipping point -- and a litmus test of allegiances -- in the
ongoing development of Chinatown. Some saw it as a hopeful symbol of the district
finally catching up with a globally connected, 21st century city; others feared the
beginning of the end for independent business and local character. Against the shortlived protests of the grassroots Save Chinatown! coalition, international entrepreneurs
Aloha Land and Water led a new wave of investment in the district.
Week by week, new ventures and ubiquitous chain stores could be found opening their
doors to a throng of customers. Free shuttles for shoppers from Waikiki became a
common sight, and luxury lofts became the rage for a crop of young, urban
professionals. Old time landowners and traditional Chinatown residents leapt at the
opportunities this presented, and vacant lots filled immediately.
Some in the arts community became concerned at the loss of character and uniqueness
that had been a powerful attractor for artists and other "creatives" on the island.
Meanwhile, new zero-tolerance policies against prostitution, drug users, and homeless
persons had their effect -- complaints about these problems are now seldom heard, streets
are clean, and a recycling program has been instituted, receiving high praise among
environmentalists well beyond the neighborhood.
There is talk of re-naming the district, in pursuit of a fresh image, also to reflect the fact
that now less than 5% of residents or business owners are of Chinese background (and
less than 25% of Asian descent generally). This proposal remains controversial though,
and its prospects are uncertain. What is certain is that the Chinatown of today would be
hardly recognizable to someone who knew it a decade ago.
Signs for TGI Friday's (a US bar and restaurant franchise) opening soon on a property at
the southeast corner of Chinatown...
A banner inviting bids for luxury loft apartments, starting at $2.1 million, in one of the
district's most recognizable and well-loved buildings...
That evening, members of a grassroots activist group gathered outside the supposed
future Starbucks, calling on patrons of the area's monthly First Friday art walk to "Save
Chinatown" from what appeared to be a stealthy corporate takeover by investment
consortium Aloha Land and Water (investaloha.com). They distributed paraphernalia
including flyers ("Honolulu's Chinatown: The Next Waikiki?"), postcards, buttons -- and
even fortune cookies (e.g. "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without"), and
they directed concerned parties to savechinatown.org [see appendix 4 for screenshots of
websites].
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In a gesture recalling the French gift in 01886 of the Statue of Liberty to the United
States, in 02026 the Chinese donate a giant "Statue of Harmony" to the people of Hawai'i.
This monument to international friendship (towering over vessels arriving in Honolulu
Harbor, with Chinatown in the background) features Queen Lili'uokalani, the last
Hawaiian monarch, holding aloft a torch with Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen, who
attended school in Hawai'i. They stand upon a huge granite platform bearing the word
"harmony" in Chinese, Hawaiian, and (on the side hidden from view) English.
From 13-15 October, a large framed drawing of this exciting gift was on display at
various locations in and near Chinatown...
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Chinatown has in its history been ravaged by the plague, quarantined, and burned to the
ground. In April 02016, the future rhymes with bygone times as bird flu rears its beadyeyed little head. Our distributed installation played out the scenario in reverse, from the
installation of the memorial 18 months after the outbreak...
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To impromptu messages placed in the streets by ordinary people when the outbreak first
occurred...
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Gallery Exhibition
Elements of our ambient foresight "exstallation" formed part of a gallery exhibition at the
Arts at Marks Garage called Alternative Urban Futures. It opened on Tuesday 23 October
and ran until Saturday 17 November 02007.
Art and culture critic David Goldberg praised the FoundFutures installation in his
November 4, 02007 Honolulu Advertiser review:
FoundFutures samples and repurposes the visual language that colonizes
us today. From recognizable branding strategies to government-style
posters, FoundFutures projects look at current political, ecological and
socioeconomic situations and projects them forward by 10 to 20 years.
"Birdcage," the story of the 2016 H8N2 or "Hang Ten Flu" flu epidemic in
Hawai'i, is the most thoroughly realized. FoundFutures, led by University
of Hawai'i graduate students Jake Dunagan and Stuart Candy, crafted
everything from the government's quarantine zone maps to this-propertyis-condemned posters, to the 9/11-style missing-persons fliers that citizens
would post in the wake of forced quarantines. The finishing touch is a
tourism poster for Maui (unscathed by the flu, how?) which proudly
declares that the island is "Still Paradise."
Typically cinema is the chosen medium for visualizing the future. By
installing elements of their projects in the urban fabric itself,
FoundFutures turns Chinatown into a movie set of sorts, approaching the
level of production design that goes into films like "Children of Men."
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Seongwon Park
Steve Lohse
Amy Brinkler
Leo Campbell
Rich Richardson
Martin Schwab
Sally Taylor
Russell McGuire
Ernie Hunt
Brief Overview
The culminating event of the FoundFutures:Chinatown project was a free, public
workshop exploring Chinatowns past, present, and alternative futures. Having seeded
the district with artifacts and images from the McChinatown, Green Dragon, and Bird
Cage scenarios over the previous six weeks, the workshop built upon the public response
and passions generated by the ideas and the manner of their presentation. It provided an
opportunity for more extended engagement and formal feedback for the scenarios. Over
the course of the afternoon, we guided participants through a series of stages to deepen
their understanding of historical changes that have taken place, to consider current
problems and opportunities, and to find ways to imagine and create preferred futures for
the neighborhood.
Invitations were made directly to residents and stakeholders throughout Chinatown, and
several notices appeared in local newspapers and on the web, but the workshop was not
as demographically representative of the neighborhood as we would have liked. The
conclusions and inferences drawn from workshop should be judged in that context.
However, in our overall assessment, we have tried to incorporate feedback from the
broader constituency in the neighborhood that we have spoken with over the course of the
project, especially Asian and Chinese merchants, local business owners, and long-time
residents.
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Alternative Futures
The core activity of a futures workshop is to have participants do a bit of time
traveling, to live in an alternative future for a short time and then discuss this new
world with their fellow travelers and then with the entire workshop group.
The alternative futures immersion in this case involved people selecting unmarked
envelopes which contained one of three scenarios, about one page long each. The
discussion groups formed around the scenarios selected, and here, as is typically the case
in such workshops, the process resulted in people becoming "invested" in whichever
future they happen to find themselves. This is not to say that they found it an optimal or
even desirable future (none of the three stories elicited enthusiastic, positive responses),
but they were able:
(a) to see how a described scenario, which at first may appear outlandish, could come to
pass given certain conditions,
(b) to develop coping strategies as "residents" within their given future, and
(c) to consider how decisions taken today may help pursue or avoid, respectively, liked or
disliked aspects of the scenario.
This last point highlights the usefulness of scenarios for practically informing present-day
decision-making. For example, it is worth noting that, although there were aspects of the
McChinatown scenario that participants liked (Q.5a) they overall found it undesirable
(Q.4) and yet highly probable (Q.3). A structured futures approach to engaging a
community in political discussion readily generates important policy-relevant insights
such as this. [see Appendix 5 for full exercise instructions and transcribed group
responses].
Transformation and Preferred Futures
In the final section of the workshop, we asked participants to spend an extended period of
time in quiet contemplation of Chinatown in 25 years. Each participant chose a guiding
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metaphor of transformation (caterpillar into butterfly, water into ice or steam, phoenix
rising from the ashes, etc) and imaged flying over the area around them. What has this
place become? What does it look like? Who are the people (if any) inhabiting this area?
Participants then broke into small groups and discussed their visions with each other, and
how their chosen metaphor guided and was appropriate for a transformed Chinatown.
Finally, each person wrote a short note to the future generations of the area that contained
their preferred vision for Chinatown. The manner of delivery of these messages was
explained to the participants and will be the final act of this project.
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Conclusions
The serious contemplation of alternative futures forces individuals and groups to reevaluate their position in the contingent space of possibility. If futures work is to be
effective, it must make critical issues and drivers of change visible and, most importantly,
mobilize decision-makers at all levels to act with foresight.
Foundfutures:Chinatown was intended to raise sensitive issues within the community
through the means of embodied artifacts and ambient simulations of alternative future
Chinatowns in order to provide a compelling platform for community engagement and
formal discussion of preferred futures for the district.
As always in a diverse community, finding a single preferred future is impossible and
responses to our scenarios were mixed. Many people are frightened of the loss of
character by way of corporatization and gentrification, especially the increasing price
squeeze on artists, workers, and long-time residents. There is a strong sentiment of
preservation of culture, language, and the built environment (as it is seen today), but this
is also contrasted by those who see Chinatown as an inherently changing place that is
constantly re-inventing itself and should not be turned into a cultural and architectural
museum. Some have been frustrated with the prevalence of crime and drug abuse on the
streets, while others are now viewing the Police as an overbearing and unnecessary
nuisance.
The multitude diverging visions for Chinatown must be confronted directly and honestly.
The project hoped to catalyze this discussion. The passionate reactions and involvement
weve encountered during the course of the project is evidence to the importance of
Chinatown to Honolulu and Hawaii at large, and to the commitment necessary by
residents and stakeholders to creating the kind of future most in the neighborhood would
welcome.
We have been honored to work so extensively in Chinatown and with the people who
make it the most vibrant and interesting place on the island, and hope that we have made
some small positive contribution to its futures.
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immerse participants in alternative futures, going beyond the abstract to allow them to
understand change at a deep and emotional level. Business leaders, decision-makers,
residents, and others with a stake and responsibility for the futures of the area will be
invited to participate in these innovative workshops designed to explore the social,
environmental, technological, and political trends and forces that will impact the
community, to envision preferred futures within this range of possibility, and to plan their
decisions and actions according to this vision.
It is our goal that the successive stages of the project will stimulate wide participation in
the futures conversation, garner significant media and community attention, and lead a
movement toward greater sense of responsibility and involvement in the creation of
preferred futures. The issues and challenges we face are not going to go away. Artists,
scholars, and leaders of every stripe must find ways to engage people in effective
foresight, to open our eyes to alternative futures. Foresight must be designed into the
fabric of our institutions and our environment; it should be ambient and ubiquitous. This
project seeks to show one way this can be done and encourage others to find new and
better ways.
Proposed Timeline of Major Events:
Stage 1Distribution of artifacts
Series 1: Friday, September 7, 02007 (First Friday)
Series 2: Friday, October 5, 02007 (First Friday)
Stage 2Gallery Show (Images of Alternative Urban Futures)
Opening: October 23, 02007 The ARTS at Marks Garage
Stage 3Futures Workshops
Successive Saturdays in October, November, and December, 02007. Conducted
by the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies at The ARTS at Marks
Garage.
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Mark Guillermo
Installation assistance:
Duk Bu
Brady Fern
Pegge Hopper
Rich Richardson
Melanie Yang
Ryan Yamamoto
JoDee and Ernie Hunt
Roy Venters
Protesters:
Guen Montgomery (lead)
Jason Adams Christina Hoe
Bianca Isaki
Rohan Kalyan
John Maus
Josh Pryor
Lorenzo Rinelli
Matthew Stits
GREEN DRAGON
Designer:
Yumi Vong
Additional scenario development:
Aaron Rosa
Cultural advisors:
Roger Ames
Matthew McDonald
Translations:
Chien-Yuan Chen
Tianyuan Huang
Installation assistance:
Brady Fern
Charles Wong
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Nathan Verrill
Installation assistance:
Oren Schlieman & Fran Butera
Richard Lum, Worldwide Travel
Bram Goots
Tim Braden
Maya van Leemput
Matthew Jensen
Production assistance:
Seong Won Park
Special thanks to
M.P. Lei Shop, providers of leis for "Hang Ten flu" memorial plaque
This project would not have been possible without the support of the following
individuals:
Erik Takeshita
Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau
at The Arts at Mark's Garage
Matthew Jensen
Rich Richardson
Yumi Vong
Sky Kiyabu
Bernard Uy
Ed Korybski
Jake Dunagan
Yumi Vong
Bram Goots
Photography by:
Stuart Candy
Matthew Stits
DIG DEEPER
All our friends from future generations.
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Tax reform
-property taxsame for high rises and non high-rises, unfair
-taxes collected in Chinatown should be used in Chinatown
Transportation and parking
- need 2 hour meters
-easier payment options, lower cost
-MORE parking
-local trolleys, more public transport options
-public bicycles (cf. Amsterdam, Portland)
-urban core car tax (cf. London, New York)
Policing and crime
-too many officers, overbearing, intimidating, harassing
-used as training groundtrain your rookie cops elsewhere
-too much turnover, local community doesnt get to know officers
-we used to worry about the criminals, now we worry about the police
Housing
-encourage residential living
-more options
-incentives for owners to renovate
-mitigate homelessness, better services for homeless
-green and sustainable buildings
Urban space and place (Lifestyle and environment)
-more nightlife, music, arts, food
-more daylifemarkets, food
-better access to the waterfront (cleanest natural port in the U.S.!)
-more outdoor seating, parks
-reduce noise and air pollution
-more visitor friendly
organizing community forum
C. What would you like to preserve for the future in Chinatown? What do you like about
Chinatown?
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Green Dragon: Social entrepreneur-types, green activists. But also, other service-sector
jobs.
1c. Who would visit Chinatown, why would they come, and what would they do?
McChinatown: tourists (similar to Waikiki), tourist-oriented shopping, dining.
The Bird Cage: those from around Oahu who come to utilize the central location and
thriving markets in Chinatown.
Green Dragon: Politically-motivated activists, those coming to the urban core for arts,
entertainment, excitement.
2. What would Chinatowns reputation be, in comparison to the rest of Honolulu, Oahu,
and Hawaii? How would that affect the area?
McChinatown: Disney-fied version of Chinatown geared toward tourists, greatly
diminished cultural and arts scene, cultural fetishism. Urban, but vegas-like scene,
exotic, chic, business, green, hip, globalized, sanitized. Evolving into increased valuation
of historical significance.
The Bird Cage: Chinatowns reputation is restored as it rises from its tragedy, a place of
re-birth. Dynamic, green.
Green Dragon: Increasingly viewed as a green urban center, gains prestige among
international environmental movements. Green Snobbery?
Ambiguous or conflicting views because linked to China and the rising influence of
China.
3. How probable (likely to actually occur) is the future described in your scenario?
McChinatown: very likely, high probability. Many forces pushing toward this future.
The Bird Cage: mixed responsesdiffering opinions. Some thought an avian flu
outbreak was quite possible, but that the heavy-handed response was not. Others, that
both the outbreak and quarantine were certainly possible, but not highly likely.
Green Dragon: Quite probable, considering the perceived desire of China to increase its
sphere of influence and compete with the U.S. in international affairs.
4. How preferable is the future described in your scenario? (That is, how close is it to
your own preferred future?)
McChinatown: not preferable to the group.
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The Bird Cage: The initial tragedy of the hang-ten flu outbreak and quarantine were
not preferable, but the ability to build and re-imagine a new Chinatown and rise from the
ashes was somewhat welcomed.
Green Dragon: Not preferable, because of the potential for rising tensions and global
conflict in the wake of these developments. What is Chinas motivation for going
green?
5. What actions could be taken today:
a. to help make what you liked about the future happen?
McChinatown: Likedfood markets, pedestrian playground, arts. To help this,
recommended a heightened preservation awareness and policies, emphasize the arts as a
defining characteristic.
The Bird Cage: Found that a healthy community is a flexible and resilient one. So, the
same things done to recover quickly from a disaster could be done ahead of time to
mitigate a disaster. So, encouraging and preserving the diversity of Chinatown is
important.
Green Dragon: Likedthe movement toward sustainability and Hawaiis new role as not
just a politico-military strategic location, but an politico-environmental strategic location.
A gateway to a better global environment. To help make this happenpromote socioeconomic diversity and progressive environmental policies, and to welcome green
Chinese investment in Hawaii.
b. to help prevent what you did not like from happening?
McChinatown: Dislikedchain stores, loss of character, touristy-feel. To prevent this,
recommended strong political organization, voice, and action of residents and businessowners to shape Chinatown policies and decision-making; anti-chain store ordinance; arts
grants and incentives; protective regulations to maintain unique and locally-run
businesses.
The Bird Cage: preventative measures for avian flu outbreaks, raising awareness of
public health procedures and recommendations, and informational campaigns for
residents. Prevent government overreactionhave clear policies in place.
Green Dragon: Want to avoid a U.S.-China conflict over Hawaii. To prevent thisopen
a diplomatic dialogue between the States over environmental policies, international
relations, and Taiwan/Tibet/Hawaii issues.
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