Seattle’s Chinatown/International District

19 March 2024

Jeff Hou from the University of Washington gave us a richly informative tour of Seattle’s Chinatown/International District. Far from the current trends of cultural revivalism and ethnic festivalization, it is humbling to learn more about the contested histories of Chinatown/ID as a site of intergroup tension, resistance, and collective action. As someone interested in toponymic politics, I am particularly fascinated by the debates and contentions over the pendulum swing between ‘Chinatown’ and ‘International District,’ a multi-ethnic district that, in fact, also includes Little Saigon and Japantown. The multicultural composition of most early historic districts further highlights how problematic ‘Chinatown’ is as a label. A difficult, but necessary conversation in urban planning.