George Yu - Chinatown Business Improvement District

As President of the Chinatown Business Improvement District George Yu understands the potential of Chinatown as a model of urban redevelopment. Over the last twenty years, he has tirelessly built coalitions between city officials, Chinatown's residents and real-estate developers as well as investors in order to rebuild Chinatown while providing low, and mixed-income housing in the area. The market collapse of the mid-2000's, however, recalibrated the investment that had been proposed in Chinatown and brought many high scale projects - such as loft condominiums and parks - to an end. We talked about the future of the area with George Yu in one of the abandoned sites affected by the market crash.

Business, Tradition & Gentrification

"George Yu speaks to the evolution of family businesses in Chinatown and how each generation handles their original family investments. "

The Future of Chinatown

"Since the start of migration of businesses from Chinatown to the San Gabriel Valley starting in the 70's, the business improvement district has aimed to preserve the legacy of the neighborhood."

Density and Planning

"George Yu describes the impact of location of Chinatown within the Los Angeles community."