Search Results (22)

This article proposes the term ‘generative artifact’ to define a new method of imagining the future, one derived from artistic and architectural interpretations of non-linear time, material exploration, and relationship building. This contrasts the imagining that happened in the past by European and North American dominant culture, born out of fears of a declining Western hegemony and resulting in socially constructed hierarchies based on race. To investigate this historic and outdated imagining of culture, we trace the history of Chinatown and the ornamented feminine body as a physical example of hypervisibility in the North American city. First, we examine the current discourse on Chinatowns’ Orientalist aesthetics, legitimacy through institutionalized nonspecificity, and architectural/artifactual heritage, which serve as a mirror and moor for the Chinese diaspora today. Here, we find clues on how to navigate and leverage the spectacle of the racial image, the continuous merging of person and thing, and the tropes that the racialized body might find itself answering for. To illustrate the potential of the generative process and through the lenses of Anne Anlin Cheng’s theory of ornamentalism and Legacy Russell’s glitch feminism, this article places Chinatown adjacent to the worldbuilding and artistic practices of seven contemporary artists and architects. This includes Astria Suparak (performance critique), Curry J. Hackett (AI, installation), Shellie Zhang (sculpture), Lan “Florence” Yee (textile), Debra Sparrow (weaving, murals), Thomas Cannell (sculpture), and the author (performance). All are from varied cultural backgrounds who create ‘generative artifacts’ in their creative practices—works that playfully slip between sign/icon, high/low tech, and authentic/invented culture to point towards a path to imagining more expansive futures. Full article

Since the turn of the 21st century, urban studies and planning research has examined the strategic role of artists, arts organizations, and cultural activity as local and regional economic development catalysts. This article shifts the spotlight from the “creative class” and “creative industries” as drivers of a “creative city” to study the role of art, culture, and creative practices in community-led, place-based efforts to stabilize neighborhoods and advance more hopeful, healthy, and equitable urban futures. It explores Boston’s Chinatown, where community-based art activism has a long history of addressing critical issues such as reclaiming land taken by interstate highway and urban renewal projects, as well as combating gentrification and displacement through site activation. The case study focuses on Residence Lab, a community-based arts residency program initiated by the Pao Arts Center and the Asian Community Development Corporation that brought together multimedia artists with residents to collectively preserve Boston’s Chinatown through creative and artistic activation of underutilized sites in the neighborhood from 2019 to 2022. We examine a selection of ResLab projects, which give form and meaning to the struggles and aspirations of being at home in Chinatown and embody the art activism of partner organizations and program participants, along with the ResLab’s impacts on participating residents and artists. The concluding discussion considers ResLab’s contributions and implications for the shifting ways in which urban, political, and artistic cultures have intersected and impacted one another in Chinatown along with the relationship between collective action and the preservation and transformation of culture in the urban frame. Full article

The world is facing a state of “global boiling,” causing damage to various sectors. Developing pedestrian systems is a key to mitigating it, especially in tropical and humid cities where the climate discourages walking and increases the need for shaded walkways. Recent research shows a lack of data and in-depth studies on the built environment promoting walkability in such climates, creating a research gap this study aims to fill. Using Singapore as a case study, four locations—Marina Bay, Orchard Road, Boat Quay, and Chinatown—were surveyed and analyzed through visual decoding and questionnaires. Results show that natural light is the most frequently observed and important element in pedestrian pathway design in tropical and humid areas. Trees and sidewalks are also important in creating a walk-friendly environment. Green spaces significantly influence the desire to walk, though no clear positive outcomes were found. Additionally, “Other Emotions” negatively affect the decision to walk, suggesting these should be avoided in future pedestrian pathway designs to encourage walking. Full article

This paper investigates religious encounters between Chinese and Senegalese Muslims in the relatively new Chinatown of Dakar. Chinese Muslims from Kaifeng City, Henan Province first arrived in Senegal in the 1990s following the Henan provincial state-owned construction company. They started a wholesale business mainly of clothing and shoes and brought their relatives and family members to Dakar. However, scholars studying the Chinese community in Dakar have largely ignored their Muslim identity and its significance. Moving beyond the conventional focus on tensions between Muslim and Chinese identities in the study of overseas Chinese Muslims, this paper turns to religious encounters in everyday life. Based on field research and interviews both in Dakar and Henan, this paper argues that for these Chinese Muslim businesspersons in Dakar, Islam as a shared religious identity sometimes provides opportunities to connect with their fellow Muslims in a foreign country. However, differences in religious practices can also lead to misconceptions between them and other Senegalese Muslims. This paper thus contributes to Islamic studies and the study of global China, particularly in relation to overseas Chinese Muslims, China–Africa encounters, and global Chinatowns. Full article

Visitor motivation and experience are essential concepts for both tourism researchers and practitioners. However, there is a structural difference between motivation and experience. How visitor motivation and experience interact and influence visitor satisfaction remains unknown. This study addressed these topics by investigating visitors to Kobe Chinatown, an imitation tourist spot in East Japan. The study collected the answers from 210 online and onsite participants via a structured questionnaire (April–November 2024). The outcomes showed that one motivation factor (interpersonal seeking) was significantly associated with two experience factors (cognitive: β = 0.279, p = 0.003 and affective: β = 0.660, p = 0.000); however, the prior literature review of research on imitation destinations suggested that two other motivation factors (personal escaping and personal seeking) would also be present in the association. In addition, this study also identified that both experience factors significantly predicted visitor satisfaction (cognitive: β = 0.482, p = 0.000 and affective: β = 0.340, p = 0.005) while motivation did not. The issue with the conceptualization of motivation and the essentiality of experience was discussed based on these observations. Implications for sustaining and promoting imitation destinations were also generated. Full article

Background: The influence of health literacy on PAD outcomes remains poorly understood, particularly in minoritized communities. The objective of this study is to examine the understanding of PAD within San Francisco’s Chinese-speaking population while discerning preferences regarding learning methods. Materials and Methods: An anonymous 14-question survey in Mandarin and English was conducted in two San Francisco Chinatown health fairs. Results: About one-third of the respondents (29/91) reported prior knowledge about PAD and that arthritis was the leading symptom related to PAD (32/65). Half of respondents (44/88) preferred consulting a family doctor for foot wounds, followed by a podiatrist (27/88) and a general surgeon (19/88). The top three methods to receive health information were radio, television and newspaper. Those who were 65 years old and above (OR 0.124, 95% CI [0.021–0.0728]) and participants who were proficient in English (OR 0.078; 95% CI [0.012–0.52]) less preferred using radio to receive health information. Male gender preferred newspapers to receive health information (p = 0.003, OR 5.26; 95% CI [1.76–15.69]). Discussion: Our findings may suggest a community-specific campaign to increase the awareness of PAD given that age, education level, gender and English proficiency may influence the media of choice to receive health information. Conclusions: The two cohorts that were surveyed had similar and suboptimal understanding of PAD, and a community-specific strategy is needed to address such inequity, which may improve awareness of PAD and health outcomes. Full article

Smart Heritage, a concept closely linked to Smart Cities and Smart Tourism, is an emerging field focused on enhancing heritage identity, visitor experience, and cultural sustainability. While initial frameworks have been developed, there is a gap in applying Smart Heritage at the precinct level, especially in large-scale heritage sites. This study addresses this gap by examining how open-access data can be utilised in a real-world case study of Chinatown Melbourne, a key urban heritage precinct. Data sources include archival maps, open-access databases, and 3D models provided by the local city council, covering resources such as on-street parking, pedestrian activity, microclimate, and dwelling functionalities. This study employed a structured methodology that transitions from global best practices to local applications, linking these data resources to Smart Heritage applications and identifying opportunities for improving urban management, heritage curation, and the tourism experience within the case study precinct. The findings offer practical insights for researchers and policymakers, demonstrating how data can support the development of culturally sustainable and technologically integrated heritage precincts. Future research should explore additional data types and case studies to further advance the field of Smart Heritage. Full article

With the rapid development of information technology, the problem of curve matching has appeared in many application domains, including sequence analysis, signals processing, speech recognition, etc. Many similarity measures have been studied for matching curves based on Euclidean distance, which shows fragility in portraying the morphological information of curve data. In this paper, we propose a novel weighted composite curve dissimilarity metric (WCDM). First, the WCDM measures the dissimilarity based on the higher-order semantic difference between curve shapes and location difference. These two differences are calculated using the curvature difference and Euclidean distance between the curves, respectively. Second, a new dynamic weighting function is defined by employing the relationship between the trends of the curves. This function aims at adjusting the contributions of the curvature difference and the Euclidean distance to compose the dissimilarity measure WCDM. Finally, to ascertain the rationality of the WCDM, its metric properties are studied and proved theoretically. Comparison experiments on clustering and classification tasks are carried out on curve sets transformed from UCR time series datasets, and an application analysis of the WCDM is conducted on spectral data. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the WCDM. Specifically, clustering and classification based on the WCDM are superior to those based on ED, DTW, Hausdorff, Fréchet, and LCSS on at least 8 out of 14 datasets across all evaluation indices. In particular, the Purity and ARI on the Beetlefly dataset are improved by more than 7.5%, while accuracy on the Beef, Chinatown, and OliveOil datasets increases by 13.32%, 10.08%, and 12.83%, respectively. Full article

This research explores the profound impact of digital media on the lives of Chinese immigrants in Ikebukuro Chinatown. It illustrates how the Internet and digital platforms have transformed their economic, social, and identity landscapes. Employing qualitative methods such as surveys and interviews, this study underscores the pivotal role of social media in creating expansive networks. These networks facilitate ethnic entrepreneurship and enhance cultural visibility, contributing to the deterritorialization of traditional community confines. This empowerment enables the Chinese diaspora in Ikebukuro to cultivate a rich, interconnected social tapestry that extends beyond geographic limitations. The findings underscore the central role of digital media mediatization processes in redefining immigrant experiences. Additionally, they promote deeper, more dynamic integration within the host society’s multicultural environment. This transformative shift emphasizes the emergence of a more fluid, networked form of community and identity among immigrants. It challenges conventional enclave models and offers new perspectives on diaspora engagement in the digital age. Full article

This study employs a multidisciplinary methodology across natural and social sciences to examine relationships between biodiversity loss at sea and urban consumption with a focus on sea cucumber and dried seafood markets in New York City (NYC). The study identified 34 dried seafood retailers across three NYC Chinatown boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Samples of sea cucumber were collected with Chinese-language labels indicating the commodity was from South America, a region of conservation concern. Comparison samples were taken from sea cucumbers labeled from Mexico and Japan. A mitochondrial DNA barcoding method was used to examine the taxonomic origin of 103 samples. Sequence data were successfully obtained from 74 of the samples, 8 of which were classified as brown sea cucumber (Isostichopus fuscus), an endangered species for which harvest is banned in several locations. Semi-structured interviews with dried seafood retailers and consumers (n = 64), moreover, revealed associations between consuming sea cucumber and enhancing human health and limited knowledge of product origins. Collectively, the findings reveal socio-ecological dynamics wherein endangered species on the market coupled with geographic market labeling practices and varying degrees of retailer and consumer knowledge negatively bear on marine biodiversity. Furthermore, given that brown sea cucumbers are abundant on the market, there is a need for developing genetic markers that can trace geographic origin to determine if species were legally harvested. These results indicate that more robust market labeling, training, genetic research, and public outreach are required to advance One Health in urban seafood markets. Full article

In the introduction to her influential work on Asian American cultural studies and feminist materialist critique, Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural Politics, Lisa Lowe shatters the contradictions manifested in Asian immigration, wherein Asians’ entry into the United States marked them either as marginalized from “within” the national political sphere or as linguistically, culturally, and racially “outside” of the national polity For Asian immigrants, the debate of being simultaneously needed and excluded is no more evidenced historically than using Chinese labor during the California Gold Rush in the mid-nineteenth century. Their migratory relocation was hardly met with ease and public enthusiasm, however. Evoking anxiety in their Anglo counterparts, the Chinese were characterized as foreign noncitizens: barbaric, alien, and dangerous, the quintessential “yellow peril” threatening to displace white European immigrants such as the Irish. The irrational fear of the “Oriental” from the Far East led to a succession of immigration exclusion laws passed by Congress that denied the Chinese from entering the U.S. and their rights to naturalization in 1882. Passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act suspended the entry of Chinese laborers into the U.S. based on their nationality for ten years. This paper argues that the possibility of agency for Chinese workers existed throughout the exclusionary period. Specifically, this site of agency resides with Chinese women and is expressed through a literary mode. For instance, Lin Yutang’s Chinatown Family (1948) captures this moment of immigrant agency in the post-exclusion era. Lin, a pioneering Chinese writer and inventor who wrote texts such as My Country and My People (1935), The Importance of Living (1937), and Moment in Peking (1939), often utilized his narratives to bridge the clash between the East and West. Identifying what I see as the inadequacy of probing one of the earliest Chinese American texts from a rigid literary mode, I move to reconsider the novel as a legal counternarrative to the three exclusionary laws: the Page Law of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the Cable Act of 1922. To direct my critical reorientation of Lin’s novel away from, though not necessarily against, literary castings of this early immigrant tale, I take the narrative as a strategic literary re-imagination that structures itself around these three legislative pieces to critique restrictive practices enacted upon the Chinese. The novel showcases how Chinese immigrants maneuvered and manipulated the legal system in their favor during assimilation. In this context, critical reappraisal is needed in scrutinizing how the Exclusion Act generated a wave of domestic-based diasporic relocation of Chinese workers from California to New York. Due to acute anti-Chinese sentiments on the West Coast, resetting Chinese workers in the northeast in search of a new Gold Mountain led to a unique phenomenon. This dispersal elevated Chinese women as valuable social capitals who transformed metropoles like New York City and redefined their views as nationalist subjects of the “about-to-be” in industrial capitalist modernity. Through a legal framework, then, Lin’s portrayal of the Fong clan suggests the emergence of a gendered Sino-immigrant agency, one that enabled the Chinese woman/mother to situate herself as the locus of the traditional patriarchal Chinese entrepreneurial family and the forefront of the northeast industrial capitalist scene. Full article

Many studies acknowledge the significance of assessment frameworks for urban heritage sites in preserving their identities. Due to the pandemic and its impact on heritage sites and visitors, the spatial features and identities of many heritage sites have undergone inevitable shifts, challenging the current assessment frameworks. As numerous urban heritage sites are being revitalised post COVID-19, this study aims to explore how heritage-assessment frameworks can be adapted during the pandemic to sustainably capture the identity of urban heritage sites, particularly from a spatial perspective. Methodologically, the study first examines existing urban-heritage-assessment frameworks, including typologies, embedded spatial attributes, and analysis methods, through a literature review. The research adopts the methodology framework for collecting and assessing evidence to demonstrate the cultural significance outlined in the ‘Guidance on identifying place and object of state-level social value in Victoria’ under Criterion G by the Heritage Council of Victoria. Chinatown, Melbourne, serves as the case study to address the research questions, utilising qualitative data from archival review and field observation. The results highlight the shortcomings of current heritage assessments, particularly in urban contexts, emphasising the overlooked importance of spatial attributes for understanding urban identity. This is exemplified by the exacerbated identity crisis in Chinatown, Melbourne, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the study recommends future heritage assessments incorporate spatial attributes with a thematic approach tailored to diverse cultural-heritage backgrounds in the post-pandemic era. The study acknowledges the sample size and encourages future studies to test the framework with case studies of varied backgrounds. Full article

Background: The adaptation of retrograde tibial-pedal access for peripheral angiogram and intervention is limited by the lack of operator experience and concern for small distal vessel injury. This study evaluates the safety of the retrograde tibial-pedal access for peripheral angiogram and intervention in patients with two vessel infra-popliteal artery chronic total occlusions, where the access point is the sole remaining non-occluded infra-popliteal artery. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 5687 consecutive patients who underwent peripheral angiograms by retrograde tibial-pedal access via the single remaining non-occluded infra-popliteal artery was performed. Patients who had retrograde tibial-pedal access at the sole remaining infra-popliteal artery confirmed by angiography were included. Clinical and ultrasound data of the accessed infra-popliteal vessel up to 6 months were collected. Results: The cohort consisted of 314 patients (152 males; mean age 77.9 years). At 6 months, access vessel complications occurred in 15 patients (4.8%). Access vessel occlusion occurred in 9 out of 314 patients (2.9%), arteriovenous fistula in 4 (1.3%), with spontaneous resolution in 2, pseudoaneurysm requiring thrombin injection in 2 (0.6%) and non-cardiovascular death in 1 (0.3%). No uncontrolled bleeding, procedure-related hospitalizations or limb amputations occurred. Conclusions: Routine primary retrograde tibial-pedal access for lower extremity peripheral artery diagnostic angiography and intervention in patients with single infra-popliteal artery runoff can be safety performed in an outpatient setting with infrequent and manageable complications. Full article

Melbourne’s Chinatown is the oldest in Australia. A large amount of research on this unique ethnic enclave has been conducted to elucidate its formation history, heritage significance, cultural influence and architectural features. However, the discussion of the precinct’s spatial characteristics remains mostly marginalised. As a heritage precinct in the centre of an urban grid form, the precinct offers a unique spatial experience to its visitors. To better fathom the street layout of the area, three objectives are addressed in this study, including understanding: (1) the precinct’s street network in the grid system, (2) the visibility relationship within the precinct and (3) the relationship between buildings and streets. A joint methodology framework is established to fulfil the research objectives by incorporating space syntax methods and field observation. The findings facilitate policymakers and planners in understanding the precinct’s unique street layout and making relevant preservation decisions. Further studies are encouraged to scrutinise other spatial and urban characteristics of the precinct and test the proposed methodology. Full article

YouTube has become an increasingly popular source of tourism information. The purpose of this study is to explore the network structures of YouTube videos about Incheon’s Chinatown in South Korea and investigate the potential factors that can predict the viewing of these videos. The analysis of 104 videos about Incheon Chinatown revealed that the engagement factors assessed by the number of comments and likes, and the running time of content, were significant predictors of viewing. However, network structure factors did not predict viewing. These findings make valuable contributions to sustainable tourism research and provide practical guidance for tourism management. Full article