FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MAY 28, 2015

Press Contact: Hillary Green, CMAP communications associate (312-386-8619 or hgreen@cmap.illinois.gov)

Chinatown Community Vision Plan charts course for the future

Chinatown residents, business owners, community organizations, and leaders meet to approve first comprehensive plan for historic neighborhood.

Government, business, and civic leaders will meet to approve the Chinatown Community Vision Plan, which builds on Chinatown's celebration of its centennial in 2012 to provide a framework that aligns future decision making with the community's long-term goals.

The plan signing ceremony will be at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, at the Chinese American Service League (2141 S. Tan Ct., Chicago).

The Chinatown Community Vision Plan is the result of two years of work led by the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), 25^th Ward Alderman Daniel Solis, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), in consultation with the City of Chicago.  The planning process was guided by input from more than 1,800 of Chinatown's residents, business owners, workers, and community leaders.

Based on a thorough examination of existing conditions and community opinion, the plan identifies community priorities for the future and provides strategies for implementation in areas such as safety, transportation and circulation, residential community, economic development, education and workforce, parks and public spaces, future development, and long-term capacity building. One of its key strategies is to increase transportation accessibility by improving streets and sidewalks and strengthening connections between "Old Chinatown" and "New Chinatown."   

"I am pleased to join today's approval of the Chinatown Community Vision Plan," said Alderman Solis, Honorary Chair of the plan's Steering Committee. "With the work of community organizations and residents, Chinatown is a thriving and vibrant community that will only continue to become one of the greatest places in our city. I am proud that we have come together and defined a new vision for this outstanding neighborhood through the process and plan."

Changes are underway as Chinatown enters its second century. The state-of-the-art Chinatown Branch of the Chicago Public Library is currently under construction in the center of the community, also home to its new Fieldhouse at Ping Tom Memorial Park. Both are located along Wentworth Avenue, scheduled to be realigned and improved as part of the City's planned Wells-Wentworth Connector that will create a new major corridor between Chinatown and the Loop and set the stage for major new development throughout the area. These enhancements are taking place as the Chinese population in Chicago's Chinatown continues to grow, while the percentage of Chinese residents has been declining in many other Chinatowns across the U.S.

"The Chinatown Community Vision Plan will be the most important document to guide the future development of the community," said CBCAC chairman C.W. Chan. "It will lead to a more sustainable and livable Chinatown, further strengthening its position as an integral and vital part of this great city. The development of the plan has been a productive and gratifying experience for Chinatown, and can be a template for other Asian-American neighborhoods in the region."

The plan's development was supported through the CMAP Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program, which is funded by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Chicago Community Trust.

"The Chinatown Community Vision Plan builds upon the impressive legacy of Chinatown's past accomplishments and its current assets, strengthening the community's capacity for growth and stability in the coming decades," said Stephen Ostrander, CMAP senior planner and project manager. "In addition, by planning for the future, the Chinatown community is helping to make the region a better place to live, work, and visit."

With the approval of the Chinatown Community Vision Plan, the Steering Committee will next move forward with its implementation, working with Chinatown's Alderman Solis and 11^th Ward Alderman Patrick Daley Thompson, community partners, and the City of Chicago, along with assistance from CMAP.