Bride 2 : Text Map Making
Site : Canal Street Station
Ha Rim Kim
When I first arrived at Canal Street, I saw Chinatown. As I expected, people on the street were speaking in Chinese and most of the stores were Chinese restaurants, souvenir store, massage shop, and bubble tea shop etc. However, while walking along the canal street, I was surprised to see how the atmosphere changes. SoHo, where I visited directly, looked like a battlefield for big fashion brands. As well as low-priced brands familiar to me such as Zara and Uniqlo, luxury fashion brand shops were filling Soho streets. Then I started to inquire myself, ‘How can that Chinatown small souvenir shop and Soho’s expensive luxury store coexist on the same street?’ ‘That souvenir shop really can afford this high rent fee?’
Canal Street and Bowery New York, NY 10013
Every area surrounding Chinatown has been accelerating Gentrification and I thought Chinatown also might be ongoing this process. Therefore, I chose to focus on the history of Chinatown and what Gentrification will affect present and future. Gentrification is mainly used in the negative sense that rents are rising and aboriginal people are being thrown out as backdrops of old towns flourish. On the other hand, in some regions or countries, it is often used as a word of hope that a neglected city will seek new vitality through development. In this context, New York is the region with the most noticeable contrast in gentrification. As it is the largest commercial city in the world, it has been in the past and the large capital of investors all over the world is still attracting New York. This is the reason why New York is the center of the world’s economic and financial centers, and the region with the greatest disparity in wealth. Then ‘How is Chinatown coping with this circumstance?’ was start of my research, probe and interview for this map-making.
First of all, I went on a field study to observe the conditions of the contrast between light and shade. And then tried to acquire Interviews that dig inside the reality in Chinatown. Remarkably, many residences in Chinatown has been suffering with gentrification that their family businesses are threaten by unaffordable house payment and tax. Relating to this reality, I searched for articles and journals that explains the circumstance more specifically and what the mayor and community are trying to resolve this fast-growing area to maintain its history of Chinatown.
Last but not least, I made a map that shows the similar structure of economics of that area to give big impression to the reader about gentrification. Monopoly, a board game that buy or sell land and build buildings on the ground, reminded me as a reality of inflow of capitalists. The winner of this game is to secure a lot of land and expensive buildings faster than anyone else. When a player gains control of the land and real estate, the other players will be defeated without using the strategy to spend all the money they have to pay the rent. The winner of this game is someone who dominates popular areas such as SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, where rent is high. As soon as the winner of Monopoly is decided, the game board which was lurched is quietly arranged. Just like those neighborhoods that have fallen sharply since they’ve been in trouble with the Gentrification.
From the workshop I had with peers, I felt the importance of capturing the real spot in our own eyes so that we unconsciously get attracted by our interests to start on research deeply on that theme. I was also the one who related with my management major into the theme of a developing area. That way, I was able to advance my knowledge and challenge myself to reach more creative ideas on delivery. From this point onward, I would like to improve myself more on understanding the intricate webs of interests in every environment. Therefore, I could be a great member of society that sympathize with constructing meaningful environment.