Imagining neighbourhood futures through public space: the case of Vancouver's Chinatown

'Transformation' has recently become one of the key issues for Vancouver's Chinatown. The City of Vancouver's Chinatown Transformation Team was tasked to work with the community on issues related to the neighbourhood in the context of neighbourhood politics
that have been marked by anti-gentrification protests and attempts to reassert the ongoing vitality of its public spaces. I will explore how the right to Chinatown's public spaces is articulated in usage of the space and in storytelling about the neighbourhood and its communities. To do so, I draw upon the literatures exploring public space's political role and tie it into discussions of storytelling, community building and belonging. In extending traditional notions of public space to include its intangible aspects and imaginaries, I argue that 'intangibilities,' including sound, narratives, and feelings of attachment, play an essential part defining (un)belonging in the neighbourhood and shape public imaginaries and visions of possible neighbourhood futures.