By AUDREY KANG
There is nothing more heartbreaking than the loss of ties to one’s sense of belonging and culture as a result of the displacement of an individual and group. The Japanese American community knows the effect of this throughout their history in the United States up close and personally.
To get to where Little Tokyo is today, thousands of Japanese immigrants came to California in the late 1800s seeking jobs and opportunities, implementing their traditional ties in their assimilation of the Downtown area. By the early 1900s Japanese American businesses were established and flourishing in the area named Little Tokyo.
When Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt in the midst of WWII, which effectively placed over 100,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps, the City of Los Angeles seized control of Little Tokyo. The return of the Japanese American community to Little Tokyo was not easy, as the landscape that once represented their culture was now changed to reflect a new group of migrants that settled into the area.
Then in the ’70s large Japanese corporations shook hands with the City of Los Angeles to redevelop and commercialize Little Tokyo without the community’s interests in mind. Organizations such as the Little Tokyo People’s Rights Organization would rise up to protest against these large development projects, which displaced residents and small businesses and create cultural centers for the community.
This resolve led by the previous generations of Japanese Americans has brought us to the present, one of the three remaining Japantowns in the United States representative of the decades-old fight to preserve the Japanese American immigrant experience.
However, Little Tokyo is still in danger to this day, with the acknowledgement that it is one of America’s most endangered historic places. Rising costs in the area have displaced businesses and residents. The newly ignited interest in the Downtown area by large corporations threatens the very fabric of the community, and most recently through the 4th & Central Cold Storage Project.
This project aims to redevelop an existing historic cold storage unit for a modernized luxury space for retail business and residential areas, but ultimately does not coincide with Little Tokyo’s vision for sustainability in the long run.
For many of us, walking through the Japanese Village Plaza immerses us in culture through architecture reflective of traditional Japanese styles. The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and Japanese American National Museum serve as a reminder of historical ties to the modern day and the streets filled with Japanese American owned small businesses tell a story.
However, looking out at the skyline, high-rise buildings and modern architecture obstruct the view, and all of a sudden we are back to the commercial, modernized world.
Continuum Partners, the original developers of the project, claims that architecture will be representative of the surrounding buildings and revitalize the neighborhood, yet all 10 of the buildings being built are between two to 30 stories and described to incorporate references to warehouses and lofts, industrial sheds, and contemporary infill.
Little Tokyo will soon be further caged in a modern “acropolis” surrounded by tall, domineering buildings with no reference to the historical nature of the area as a result. The project also claims to bring forth a much-needed source of housing through a diverse range of housing options starting from extremely low-income households and moderate-income households.
Housing in Little Tokyo is already expensive and sparse, displacing many residents who are senior citizens and simply cannot afford the average prices in Little Tokyo. While more affordable housing is needed in Little Tokyo, the lack of specificity about the housing rates and target income groups can make one skeptical of how affordable housing in a highly commercialized apartment building will be.
The housing prices also beg the question of how expensive prices will be for businesses renting spaces in the buildings. Over the years, Little Tokyo has risen in popularity amongst younger people like myself, and the rent prices along with it. The project’s goal to attract new businesses and residents may create unhealthy competition between existing small businesses in Little Tokyo and new ones.
Little Tokyo houses over 400 small businesses. A portion of them are legacy businesses that were established a long time ago. The mass attraction of people does not always equal preservation, and in the worst case scenario, small businesses with important historical ties to the area will be displaced to instead house corporate businesses.
All of this boils down to corporations continuously choosing gentrification over preservation. The modern architecture and increasing prices for housing and rent for small businesses is reflective of the capitalist venture to prioritize money over the history and values of an area.
Organizations such as the Little Tokyo Community Council and the community as a whole have come together to not only protest the project, but to offer collaboration to take into consideration Little Tokyo’s small businesses and residents as well as the future of a more sustainable Little Tokyo. However, without Continuum’s agreement to work together, Little Tokyo is no longer in the hands of its community but in the interests of a corporation.
The goals that Continuum created for the project do not align with the best interests of the community and area, and may bring more harm than good.
Little Tokyo has constantly been a source of inspiration for me, as someone who comes from another highly gentrified area, Koreatown. The community’s cohesiveness and collaboration to aid their small businesses is precisely why businesses don’t come and leave every month when a new trend appears.
Little Tokyo is so much more than just a fun place to visit once in a while. The business owners and the community leaders I’ve met continue to carry on the same fight to protect its history. Its roots run deep, and in the midst of endangered or extinct historical towns in Los Angeles, it acts as a beacon of hope to me and to others that we are able to restore when corporations sweep in to redevelop. The area tells a tale ingrained into its very sidewalks and streets about resilience and perseverance that future generations will rely on as a source of inspiration and strength.
Therefore, Little Tokyo must not fall susceptible to the demands of outside corporations now, and I believe wholeheartedly in order to continue on this legacy we must leave Little Tokyo in the community’s capable hands.
Opinions expressed in Vox Populi are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.