Yu Chiu Kwan had lived in a small rent-controlled apartment at 53 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown for 20 years when he received an eviction notice in 1998. His was one of 17 primarily low-income, monolingual Chinese-American families that faced displacement to make way for City College of San Francisco’s new Chinatown campus.

Dancing lions, twirling dancers, and Chinese operatic arias filled Chinatown’s Waverly Place on a sunny day last April. As part of the first semi-annual Arts in the Alley event, a wide range of cultural performances attracted thousands of local residents and tourists. The event, which was organized by the Chinatown Community Development Center, featured local artists in traditional Chinese dance, drumming, Shaolin Kung Fu, Chinese opera, lion dancing, calligraphy, and paper cutting.

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 Arts in the Alley was the first of a series of cultural events aiming to bring new visitors to the neighborhood and stimulate local businesses. Mary Chang, owner of the Pot Sticker Restaurant located on the historic alleyway said, “the event on April 18 brought in many, many tourists and residents that were able to experience Waverly Place. They were able to do a lot of local dining and shopping at the stores around here.” The event brought new patrons to local businesses. Ms. Chang related that, “a lot of people came that would not have known about different stores.”

Cindy Wu, Community Planning Manager for Chinatown Community Development Center, reflected that “by incorporating more of a cultural frame to our economic development efforts, we will be able to attract more people to the neighborhood.” As San Francisco’s Chinatown serves as a cultural hub for Chinese across the Bay Area, she anticipates that the slate of upcoming cultural events will help increase the neighborhood’s draw for Asian-Americans throughout the Bay Area. Stay tuned—the next cultural event is slated for late summer or early fall.

It will be 2016 before the Central Subway will bustle with passengers traveling from San Francisco's Bayview and Visitacion Valley to the South of Market and Chinatown neighborhoods. Despite the wait, a group of local youth is playing an integral role planning the development of the Chinatown subway station, which will be located at the busy corner of Stockton and Washington. The youth, the majority who live in Chinatown single room occupancy units, participated in two planning meetings held last autumn where they gave their feedback on subway station and surrounding streetscape designs.

Their involvement has been spearheaded by the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), who support youth in leadership empowerment and organizing activities to help them exercise their voice in community affairs. Youth Coordinator Judy Kuang says that in a neighborhood where elderly residents often dominate the public discourse, it is "important to be a part of the process." She continued that the youth, "need to learn what happens behind the scenes."

At the meetings, youth participated in their own break-out planning sessions. Cindy Wu, CCDC's Community Planning Manager, said that the "youth thought a lot more out of the box in terms of open space and aesthetics." Youth weighed in on issues concerning them, like rotating artwork in the subway and shadowing of public space. In one case, the station design shadowed the Gordon J. Lau Elementary School, and youth were so inspired that they built a new model of the station to keep the schoolyard sunny.

Participating youth Henry Pan, a 16-year-old who attends Galileo High School, also learned about social issues that surface through transit planning. In an interview, he explained that the Central Subway would play an important role in reconnecting San Francisco's Chinese residents living in the Visitacion Valley. He noted that many Chinese residents "lost the connection to the Visitacion Valley," after a bus line which connected the neighborhoods was discontinued.

His involvement with CCDC's organizing and planning activities has inspired him to engage in other planning efforts and political campaigns in San Francisco. He plans to participate in future Central Subway outreach activities offered by CCDC. "I am considering a major in architecture," Mr. Pan said, as he looks ahead to college. By the time he graduates, he should be able to ride the subway to Chinatown.