(Un)Equitable Development in Chinatown
Semester: Spring 2025
Faculty Advisor: DJ Ferman-Leon
Field Site: Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
Field Supervisor: Sophia Wan
Praxis Poster:
PIS_Revised Katelyn Hung - (Un)Equitable Development in Chinatown
Further Context:
As a Cities Major with minors in Economics and Data Science, my coursework has consistently explored the causes and consequences of gentrification that disproportionately impact low-income and racial minority communities. This academic foundation sparked my curiosity about the mechanisms for mitigating and preventing gentrification. For my Praxis course, I was fortunate enough to find a role at the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC), an organization whose affordable housing and economic revitalization initiatives allowed me to explore place-based strategies for resisting displacement in ethnic neighborhoods.
As a Neighborhood Planning Intern, my responsibilities ranged from creating infographics about neighborhood programs to more in-depth analysis projects. In this role, I directly supported PCDC’s community development initiatives by contributing research and spatial analysis that informed ongoing planning efforts. One of my tasks consisted of taking pictures of an affordable housing development being constructed in Chinatown. Through this, I began to understand the extensive timeline and the various actors involved in a single housing development project. I also began conducting demographic and economic research through PolicyMap, a software that maps federal data to reveal the nuanced spatial patterns within a given neighborhood like Chinatown. The data I collected helped inform the permanent affordable housing program (via a Community Land Trust) that PCDC is currently planning. My most extensive task was developing a GIS spatial report that identified all the available parking supply in Chinatown. This project was inspired after I reviewed past PCDC surveys where consumers and business owners emphasized the lack of convenient parking. After a conversation with my supervisor, I found out that PCDC had no internal parking study that was up to date, much less one that mapped out parking supply. The Parking Study was the most exciting project for me because I was able to apply my GIS skills to a professional planning setting.
To identify the wider implications of my role at PCDC, Professor Ferman-Leon assigned me readings to explore the broader context of gentrification through histories of urban redevelopment and racial capitalism. Our conversations were enriching and extended my understanding of how neighborhood-level interventions intersect with larger systems of power, finance, and race. His background in community organizing offered great insight into the challenges and opportunities of equitable development.
Overall, this Praxis course was deeply formative for both my academic growth and professional development. I have gained a thorough understanding of the timeline, processes, and partnerships necessary to make a development project come to life. I also learned how long-term planning efforts must respond to the shifting dynamics of a neighborhood over time. This experience offered insight into the role of planning within nonprofit and social justice sectors, and I’m extremely fortunate for the opportunity to learn in a setting closely aligned with my academic and professional goals.