Light and the Social Order

In the 1960s, Vancouver’s Chinatown organized against the city’s slum clearance and freeway plans. A freeway would have been a concrete knife cut through the heart of Chinatown, inducing the collapse of its social structure.

Once again, Chinatown is undergoing dramatic physical and social change. The colour and fabric of this historic neighbourhood are fading. Traditional businesses are closing at exponential rates to be replaced by cafes, skateboard shops, upscale restaurants, and art galleries. Signage everywhere promotes new condo developments.

In Light and the Social Order, Louise Francis-Smith sees an elderly population and a way of life passing.