996336

research-article2021
HPPXXX10.1177/1524839921996336HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICERubin et al. / IMMIGRATION STRESS AND GENTRIFICATION

Research Article

Arts, Culture, and Creativity as a Strategy for

Countering the Negative Social Impacts of
Immigration Stress and Gentrification
Carolyn Leung Rubin, EdD1
Virginia Rall Chomitz, PhD1
Cynthia Woo, MA2
Giles Li, MPA2
Susan Koch-Weser, ScD1
Peter Levine, PhD3

Background. This article looks at the role that arts, culture,

and creativity play in promoting social cohesion and com-
munity well-being. It presents research on the role that a
community arts center plays in an ethnic enclave that is
under stress of immigration and gentrification. Method.
An academic–community research partnership conducted
this research. A mixed-methods approach was used.
Twenty-four interviews were conducted with stakeholders
(including community leaders, neighborhood residents,
and business owners). Surveys (n = 102) were done of com-
munity members and those who participate in the Center
activities. Results. Interviewees and survey respondents
point to the importance of the ethnic enclave as a close-
knot community that helps to foster a sense of belonging,
security, and cultural identity. Arts, culture, and creativity
plays a role in maintaining this sense of social cohesion,
despite the threat of gentrification. Engagement in the arts
and creative practice are important for buffering the stress
of immigration. Discussion. The center has an important
role as a critical cultural, civic, and creative space for the
neighborhood and the broader community who sees the
ethnic enclave as their cultural home.
Keywords: arts; public health; creative arts; arts in
public health; placemaking; immigration;
stress; gentrification; Chinatown; commu-
nity arts; Asian; community-based partici-
patory research; partnerships/coalitions;
qualitative research
Health Promotion Practice
May 2021 Vol. 22, Suppl 1 131S­–140S
DOI: 10.1177/1524839921996336https://doi.org/
Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions
© 2021 Society for Public Health Education
>>
The Case for an Arts Center in
Boston Chinatown
Boston Chinatown, the historical enclave for the
Chinese American community and symbolic home for
Asian Americans across the region, has been under-
going rapid neighborhood change. Between 2010 and
2018 race and median income distribution changed
significantly (Table 1). Though overall median area
income for the overall neighborhood rose, poverty rate
for Asian and Asian American households is some of
1
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
2
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Boston, MA, USA
3
Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University, Medord, MA, USA
Authors’ Note: We want to thank all the community field research-
ers who were instrumental in this project: Joyce Chen, Yang He, Ju
Ying Hung, and Kaiyan Jew, We also want to appreciate the research
assistance provided by Mia Colby, Roshan Patel and Amanda
Yung. The authors would like to thank the funders for this research.
Funding for this research was provided by ArtPlace America
(NCPF-2016-17896), the National Endowment for the Arts (Grant
number 17-3800-7009), and the Office of Vice-Provost for Research
at Tufts University. Address correspondence to Carolyn Leung
Rubin, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine,
Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston,
MA 02111, USA; e-mail: heangrubin@gmail.com.
Supplement Note: This article is part of the Health Promotion
Practice supplement, “Arts in Public Health.” The supplement
includes exciting projects, strategies, frameworks, practices, and
places that advance health through the arts. The Society for Public
Health Education is grateful to the University of Florida Center for
the Arts in Medicine and Art Place America for providing support
for the issue. The entire supplement issue is available open access
at https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/hppa/22/1_suppl.

131S
 Table 1
Demographic Change in Chinatown
Demographic
Resident race (%)
  Asian and Asian American
 White
Resident median household income ($)
  Asian and Asian American
 White
Market rate and high-end luxury apartments
  Number of units
Source. Chinatown Master Plan (2018).
the highest in the city (Chinatown Master Plan, 2018).
The Chinatown Master Plan, a community planning
document developed by stakeholders across the neigh-
borhood every 10 years wrote, “While poverty itself is
incredibly stressful on a household and associated with
worse health outcomes, the spatial proximity of poverty
with extreme wealth within the same neighborhood can
be an added source of psychological stress (Patel et al.,
2018)” (Chinatown Master Plan, 2018, p. 9).
Chinatown is significant because it creates a sense of
place. Tunney Lee (n.d.), Chinatown leader and commu-
nity historian, described the origins of Chinatown in The
Chinatown Atlas (https://www.chinatownatlas.org/):
A community base was established with the services
and sense of home needed by those who worked
hard and lived lonely lives except for Sundays.
Because of the Exclusion Act, they were men with-
out their families. There were stores selling grocer-
ies and supplies; restaurants serving familiar food;
barbers to cut and trim the queues; village associa-
tions where letters from home could be picked up
and kinsmen to talk to. (para. 12)
The Chinatown Master Plan notes that Chinatown
renter households have resided in their units for a
longer period of time than their Boston counterparts.
This suggests that Chinatown households have deeper
roots in their neighborhood than other average renter
households (Chinatown Master Plan, 2018). This was
reaffirmed in a report developed by the Displacement
Research Action Network at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in partnership with the Chinese Progressive
132S  HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE / May 2021
2000 2018
57 45
29 42
19,171 17,997
42,710 113,678
561 2,602
Association that states the following: (1) 50% of respond-
ents expressed concern about their children’s sense of
identity if they have to leave Chinatown, (2) 90% say
living in Chinatown keeps them connected to their
community, (3) over 60% of respondents reported that
experience with eviction affected their health, mainly
in terms of increased stress and anxiety (Displacement
Research and Action Network, 2019).
Changing demographics, the sense of loss of place and
identity, the evictions of long-time residents, the threat of
eviction, and the changing physical landscape of Boston
Chinatown exacerbate stress and community trauma.
Injury to this community started in the 1950s, during which
highway expansion tore the community in half, followed
by institutional expansion by Tufts University and Medical
Center in the 1970s and 1980s in which Chinatown lost
almost a third of its land (Chen, 2014; Liu, 2021).
Local community-based agencies have helped Chin-
atown thrive despite these challenges (Chen, 2014).
In 2016 the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
(BCNC), one of the largest social service agencies in
the neighborhood founded in 1969 that uses a family-
services model in its approach (Kumpfer et al., 2002,
2008; Lester et  al., 2013), conceived the idea estab-
lishing a community center where arts, culture, and
creativity could address these challenges in the neigh-
borhood.
The Pao Arts Center built on BCNC’s deep roots in the
community and decades of work with Asian families and
children. BCNC partnered with Bunker Hill Community
College (BHCC) and the Asian Community Development
Corporation (ACDC), which had led the community
struggle to reclaim a parcel of land, Parcel 24, which
was seized by eminent domain for highway expansion.
Today, the Pao sits on Parcel 24 in a mixed-used building
with 95 units of affordable housing developed by ACDC
and offers classes and programs with BHCC.
The former Director of BCNC described the genesis
of the Pao in the following way at a recent symposium
(Levine et al., 2020) highlighting this research:
The reason it was an important piece for the organ-
ization is the belief that arts is what makes us
human. All animals have to protect themselves
against the elements; only humans have developed
architecture. All animals need to stay warm; only
humans have developed fashion. All animals eat to
stay alive, only humans have developed cuisine. All
animals need to communicate; only humans have
developed literature. Art is what makes the human
experience what it is. When a community is
deprived, either unintentionally or systemically, the
opportunity to practice art and culture, then com-
munities are deprived the opportunity to be fully
human. There is a stereotype in this country that
arts are only for the elites. That’s because our society
has tricked our society into thinking only elites are
fully human. The development of Pao was a reaf-
firmation that the people of Chinatown have a place,
have humanity, have lives that deserved to be hon-
ored and valued. And this goes for all communities
that have been marginalized.
>>
Arts Promotes Community Well-
Being
Previous research suggests that the arts enhance civic
life, an important ingredient in successful and resil-
ient communities. The arts can bring various interests
together, help create understanding across difference,
and help create a stronger sense of community iden-
tity (Delconte, 2013; Jones, 1988; Kay & Watt, 2000; S.
S. Lowe, 2000; Matarasso, 1996, 1997, 1998; Newman
et al., 2003; Williams, 1997). Community arts help cre-
ate contexts where individuals can build a strong sense
of connection to others and develop their own ability to
act (Carrington, 2010; Delconte, 2013). These centers can
create unique public spaces where both the individual
and the collective grow and thrive (Carr & Sevron, 2008;
Delconte, 2013; Grodach, 2011).
In an exploration of the role that the arts played in civic
and social participation in Western Australia, McHenry
(2011) found that the arts provided opportunities for
social interaction, built a sense of place and community
identity, created context for the understanding of differ-
ences, and built resilience to inequality. The arts can also
help residents grow and see value in their own communi-
ties (Delconte, 2013; Markusen & Gadwa, 2010).
Rubin et al. / IMMIGRATION STRESS AND GENTRIFICATION  133S
Arts centers provide a space to help individuals real-
ize new skills and capacities, including the ability to
create and make (Delconte, 2013; Grodach, 2011). They
also might focus on assisting local artists, a particular
town or county, or a specific ethnic group (Delconte,
2013; Grodach, 2011; Kay, 2000; Loukaitou-Sideris &
Grodach, 2004; Matarasso, 2007; Newman et al., 2003).
Finally, community-based arts centers create opportuni-
ties for participation, which has been linked to positive
individual outcomes such as better health and improved
well-being (Bush & Baum, 2001; Torjman, 2004).
Pao offers an example of “creative placemaking.”
Creative placemaking emphasizes artistic and cultural
diversity, activates cross-sector partnering, and stra-
tegically attends to revitalizing local economies and
social and environmental capital via arts and culture
(Markusen & Gadwa, 2010). Through placemaking, peo-
ple shape the public realm to maximize shared value.
Placemaking uses arts and culture to capitalize on assets
in local communities and promote public health and
improve community well-being.
>>
The Opening of Pao Arts Center in
2017
Pao’s mission is “to celebrate and strengthen the Asian
Pacific Islander (API) community of Chinatown and
Greater Boston through access to culturally relevant art,
education, and creative programs” to support the social
well-being, economic success, and education of their con-
stituents. Signature programs of Pao include Experience
Chinatown, an artists-in-residency-program, space for
courses for BHCC, placemaking programs, some done in
collaboration with ACDC. The Center offers free space
for Chinese elders to maintain cultural practices such as
tai chi, fitness classes, and dance classes. Table 2 lists
activities that participants in this study attended during
the research period.
BCNC recognizes the impact of gentrification in
Chinatown and believes arts, creativity, and culture can
mitigate the effects and promote the health, vitality, and
emotional wellness of the neighborhood. With that in
mind, the former Director of BCNC approached Tufts
University Department of Public Health and Community
Medicine (Rubin et al., 2014) to help them explore the
following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Chinatown has been a cohesive commu-
nity that has offered social and health benefits to
Asian American and Asian immigrant residents; in
 Table 2
Activities Attended in the Pao Arts Center in the Past Year
Answer
Gallery exhibition
Cultural classes, workshops, performances (cooking,
brushpainting, Chinese opera)
Children/family workshop
Music performance
Spoken word/literary performance
Theater performance
Film
Community partner events
BCNC non-Pao Arts Center Event
Bunker Hill Community College class, program, event
(Bunker Hill Community College)
Note. N = 78. BCNC = Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center.
Chinatown community cohesion has generated social
capital and cultural resources.
Hypothesis 2: In the face of luxury development and
displacement, the arts has the potential to strengthen
community connections and promote health and
well-being and may mitigate some of the social dam-
age done by gentrification.
>>
Method
This article describes a community-engaged research
project about Pao conducted from the Center’s incep-
tion in 2017 through March 2018. Pao engaged an inter-
disciplinary team at Tufts University with faculty and
students from public health, education, urban planning,
civic studies, and dance.
Community-engaged research is a strategy that involves
the community as partners (Israel et al., 1998; Minkler,
2005), involved in the development of the research ques-
tions, the collection and analysis of data, and the dis-
semination of results by bringing lived experience and
expertise about the community. The research team was
composed of staff from Pao, faculty and students from
Tufts University, and bilingual/bicultural field research-
ers. Pao staff participated in all research team meetings,
contributed to the discussion of the conception and
implementation of the research design, provided impor-
tant feedback about relevancy and wording of research
questions to ensure that they were asked in a culturally
relevant way and tailored to the population, and played
a critical role in the dissemination of the research.
134S  HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE / May 2021
% n
42.31 33
26.92 21
15.38 12
28.21 22
12.82 10
3.85 3
14.10 11
28.21 22
23.08 18
3.85 3
Bilingual/bicultural community field researchers
(students, residents, and community workers), collected
data in Chinese. No displaced residents were included
because of the difficulty of accessing them.
Using mixed methods (Creswell & Creswell, 2017),
Phase 1 explored the landscape of need for commu-
nity-based arts. We sampled key stakeholders across
Chinatown using purposeful and convenience sampling.
Two university investigators conducted stakeholder
interviews with community leaders who worked for
art and culture, community development, educational,
and health care institutions. The community field
researchers interviewed residents and business own-
ers. Interview questions explored role and connection
to Chinatown, community identity, social cohesion,
awareness and appreciation of the arts, artistic identify,
and relation to health. We conducted 24 interviews (12
with key stakeholders and 12 with community residents,
including long-time residents, new immigrants, youth,
Pao users, and businesses). Interviews were coded using
deductive and inductive strategies by an investigator
trained in qualitative research methods (Saldaña, 2015).
For Phase 2, the team developed a quantitative survey
about respondents’ relationship to Chinatown, percep-
tion of changes in the neighborhood, participation in
artistic, cultural, and creativity events, role of creativity
and culture in one’s life, and participation in Pao events.
Questions around neighborhood cohesion, health, and
flourishing were modified and added from existing
instruments. Arts, culture, and creativity were described
in ways that the Chinese community could identify with.
 Links to online surveys were sent to email lists of Pao
audience community and clients of BCNC and ACDC liv-
ing in Chinatown and/or of Chinese/Asian heritage, and
recent immigrants. A total of 102 community members
responded to the survey. Only valid results were con-
sidered for each question. Descriptive and frequencies
analysis were performed. Table 3 lists demographics of
respondents.
All interview protocols and survey instruments were
approved by the Tufts University Institutional Review
Board. Study documents were translated into Chinese
and back-translated into English for verification.
>>
Results
Chinatown as a Gateway for New Immigrants
Chinatown is often described as a “gateway” or
“hub” by many stakeholders. One interviewee described
it as the “heart of the mainly working class community,
connected by Orange and Red lines [of the subway sys-
tem] to Quincy and Malden.” For this extended com-
munity, Chinatown can serve as a place of employment,
of consumption of goods, and to get services. Proximity
is important for many of the elders, noting that some of
these residents, because of language barriers, have trou-
ble navigating the public transportation system. Many
Chinese immigrant families move out of Chinatown in
search for more space for their multigenerational fami-
lies. Yet many still come back for their core services
(Table 4). Many people come back to Chinatown in order
to be “connected to their roots” and because they feel
that they will be “treated well” there.
Some respondents noted the feeling of “mutual
support in Chinatown” and described Chinatown as
a cohesive community. Community members reported
feeling “warm” about Chinatown, being able to find
friends there who are “from my hometown in China,”
and having access to institutions and programs that
served their family. They reported a sense of belonging.
One resident described a specific incident of strangers
helping her: “One time when I was going to have din-
ner, I fell down again and a person came to help me
up. I felt I could get help at any time in Chinatown.”
Another echoed this statement, “When I was new here,
people helped me to find school for my kids.” One
resident said, “It is easy for us to communicate so that
I can have many friends here. I like the environment
in Chinatown. I feel warm.” This resident went on
to talk about how Chinatown acts as a buffer against
the stresses of immigration: “Because I do not know
English, without Chinatown, I do not know how to con-
tinue to live in this county.” Even those who do not live
Rubin et al. / IMMIGRATION STRESS AND GENTRIFICATION  135S
in the neighborhood can feel this way. One community
leader noted that “It’s nice to walk down the street and
probably every block, I’ll meet somebody that I know.”
The sense of mutual support is also palpable in the
neighborhood. One interviewee described a group of
elderly Chinese who act as a sort of “neighborhood
watch” in the area and try to take care of the latch-key
kids after school. Another pointed to the Chinese moms
as “the backbone of this community.”
Social Cohesion in Chinatown
Development and displacement has caused disrup-
tion to the Chinatown ecosystem. One interviewee,
who spent a lot of time in Chinatown while growing up
after her family immigrated from China, appreciated the
neighborhood as a place where she found “comfort” and
felt like she “fit in.” Another leader described the effects
of development and displacement as a form of “trauma.”
All this exacerbates the stress that many immigrant fami-
lies are already under. One resident said,
Life in Chinatown is very different from life before.
Now there are so many new buildings and apart-
ments and the rent is so expensive. Chinatown does
not have many affordable apartments for low-
income families. We felt heavy burden by the rent.
Although the rent is expensive, we have no choice
to not stay in Chinatown.
Despite the forces of development and displacement
survey respondents do find a sense of social cohesion
in their neighborhood (Table 5). Almost 40% (39.7%)
of Chinatown residents agreed or strongly agreed that
their neighborhood was close-knit (Table 6). This is not
surprising given the changing demographics of the neigh-
borhood. Chinatown residents may feel a sense of belong-
ing because of the history of the neighborhood, but they
may not feel connected to the newer, primarily White
residents who have moved in over the past decade.
Arts, Culture, and Creativity Promote Social
Cohesion and Well-Being
Art can have health impacts, as reflected by a
respondent: “Can we be truly human if we don’t have the
arts? I would say that’s what makes human living inter-
esting.” Another interviewee observed that engagement
in art helps one to “expand your mind” and “see a differ-
ent perspective.” One interviewee was emphatic about
the role of arts: “There is no Chinatown without the arts
and culture.”
 Table 3
Survey Participant Demographics

Demographic variables % n

Heritage (n = 77)
  American Indian or Alaska Native 0 0
  East Asian 77.92 60
  South-East Asian 6.49 5
  Black or African American 1.30 1
 White 10.39 8
 Other 3.90 3
Are you Hispanic or Latino?
 Yes 1.28 1
 No 98.72 77
Gender (n = 78)
 Male 23.08 18
 Female 69.23 54
 Nonbinary 5.13 4
  Prefer not to answer 2.56 2
Age (n = 78), years
 10–19 3 3
 20–29 17 17
 30–39 20 20
 40–49 15 15
 50–59 10 10
 60–69 12 12
 70–79 1 1
Time in the United States (n = 77), years
  <2 2.60 2
 2–6 9.09 7
  >6 37.66 29
  I was born in the United States 50.56 39
Education (n = 77)
  No formal education 0 0
  Grade school 2.60 2
  High school or equivalent 24.68 19
  Junior or community college 5.19 4
  Vocational, business, or trade school 1.30 1
  College or university 41.56 32
  Graduate or professional school 24.68 19
Knowledge of Pao Arts Center (n = 78)
  Have you ever heard about Pao Arts Center? (n = 78)
  Yes 89.74 70
  No 10.26 8
  Have you ever been to an event at Pao Arts Center? (n = 72)
  Yes 77.78 56
  No 22.22 16

136S  HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE / May 2021

 Table 4
What Is Your Relationship to Boston Chinatown? Please Select All That Apply

Relationship to Chinatown % n

I live in Chinatown 25.49 26

I come to Chinatown to work or for my job 23.53 24
I come to Chinatown to visit friends/relatives 16.67 17
I come to Chinatown for services (school, healthcare, daycare, grooming) 25.49 26
I come to Chinatown for shopping (restaurants, food clothes, goods) 60.78 62
I come to Chinatown for arts and culture (parade, library, performances) 47.0 48
I never rarely come to Chinatown 0.9 1

Note. N = 81.

Table 5
Reasons People Attend Artistic, Cultural, or Creativity Events

Answer % n

To have a fun time 81.16 66

Express your own creativity, ideas, identity 29.63 24
Be moved/inspired 43.21 35
Introduce arts and culture to children or family 29.63 24
To reconnect with your cultural heritage and identity 44.44 36
Explore new cultural traditions 48.15 39
Discover unfamiliar presenter 28.40 23
See work of specific presenter 34.57 28
To participate in discussions about the community 19.75 16
To get energized about community activism 30.86 25
To connect and learn from others 58.02 47

Note. N = 81.

Table 6
Social Cohesion

Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly

Question n (%) n (%) n (%) disagree, n (%) Total

People in my neighborhood are willing to 11 (14.10) 53 (67.95) 14 (17.95) 0 (0.00) 78

help each other
People in the neighborhood can be trusted 10 (12.82) 58 (74.36) 9 (11.54) 1 (1.28) 78
I am proud to live in my neighborhood 18 (23.08) 49 (62.82) 10 (12.82) 1 (1.28) 78
I feel like I belong in my neighborhood 13 (16.67) 48 (61.54) 16 (20.51) 1 (1.28) 78
I feel that my home is well located to meet 22 (28.21) 47 (60.26) 7 (8.97) 2 (2.56) 78
my everyday needs
My neighborhood is close-knit 7 (8.97) 24 (30.77) 43 (55.13) 4 (5.13) 78
I am worried about being forced to move 6 (7.69) 12 (15.38) 42 (53.85) 18 (23.08) 78
from my home

Rubin et al. / IMMIGRATION STRESS AND GENTRIFICATION  137S

 Table 7
Creativity and Culture Are Very Important to:

Strongly Agree

Question % n Total n for question

Your own happiness 51.90 41 79

Your own health and wellness 50.00 39 78
Your own self-expression 49.35 38 77
Your own cultural identities and heritages 47.44 37 78
Making connections to your family 37.18 29 78
Making connections to your community 47.44 37 78
Learning and academics 38.46 30 78
Bringing diverse people together 53.95 41 76
Encouraging people to care for their community 51.95 40 77
Advocating for the Boston Chinatown community 48.72 38 78
Other (please specify) 32.00 8 25

Art can have a deeper impact on one’s well-being.
Because of the lack of or static representation of Asian
Americans, one stakeholder noted the power of seeing
images through art that reflect her experiences. The arts
helped her feel valued and confident enabling her to
share with others who she is and process her experi-
ences as a Chinese/Asian American. Table 5 highlights
the reasons community members attend arts, culture,
and creativity events.
For immigrant families who are often working and
focused on survival, art gives them time to reflect and
to connect to oneself and others. Art can help improve
one’s emotional well-being. In the words of one Chinese
resident, she reflected on the role of arts commenting,
“I felt happy. My children were happy too.” Another
resident said,
Art and culture can be good for people’s health. It
will reduce stress. After I attended it, I felt relaxed
because we share stories in activities and having
someone help me out if I have something that I did
not understand.
One business owner added, “The events bring happi-
ness to Chinatown and build the connection in Chinese
community.” Table 7 provides further support that com-
munity members believe arts, culture, and creativity
contribute to health and well-being.
Arts can build bridges across communities. One
interviewee remembered a time in which she observed
a mother sharing with her daughter a piece of art that
reflected the mom’s memory of her home country. The
essence of the conversation was that “they’re actually
talking about their depression, but through pictures
and art.” One respondent described the power of art as
a “universal language” because sometimes immigrants
cannot express their feelings in either Chinese or English.
Interviewees specifically cited the Pao as a place that
can bring families together and help people explore their
roots. The Chinese immigrant parents we talked to want
their children to be connected to art and culture, particu-
larly traditional forms of Chinese culture.
In addition to the impact on the individual, commu-
nity art holds the potential to impact the overall well-
being of the neighborhood because “arts and culture
helps make where you live livable and worth investing
into. One community leader said art helps to anchor the
neighborhood and “reassert” its identity by “activat[ing]
a space and make it a place for preservation.” One inter-
viewee described,
When [our youth] learn the history of the space and
what people have done to fight for that space, they
walk around the neighborhood with a sense of pride.
So instead of feeling ashamed of growing up in
Chinatown, you walk around with pride about your
neighborhood. You want to start to connect to other
community members. . . . When you know history,
you start internalizing that and you start wanting to
contribute to that story.

138S  HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE / May 2021

>>
Discussion
BCNC embarked on a place-based experiment to dem-
onstrate the importance of arts, culture, and creativity in
preserving, uplifting, and empowering residents and sup-
porters of Boston’s Chinatown. This research reaffirms
the role of Chinatown as a cultural hub and demonstrates
the critical role Pao plays in the maintenance and build-
ing of this thriving ecosystem by bringing arts, culture,
and creativity into the center of community life in a way
that supports the health, well-being, and vitality of this
immigrant community. Art serves an important function
of bringing people together and can serve an important
function to heal from community trauma caused by the
process of immigration in which stories and language are
lost and trauma caused by urban renewal, institutional
expansion, and luxury development and displacement.
Pao provides opportunities for community to have
ownership of its history and exercise self-determina-
tion in the type of stories that it amplifies. Pao serves
as a focal point that resists the cultural amnesia that
often occurs in neighborhoods and builds connections
across generations across time and space. Pao serves as
an adaptable, flexible, community-based space that is
responsive to community needs and serves a multitude
of audiences across race, ethnicity, age and gender, in an
immigrant community working to maintain its history,
heritage, and dignity.
Art, culture, and creativity have the potential to
promote social cohesion and community well-being in
immigrant neighborhoods like Chinatown for not only
its residents but also those who were displaced but
still want their children to have a strong sense of Asian
America identity, and furthermore others in Boston who
want to learn more about the significance of this neigh-
borhood. Through arts, culture, and creativity, Pao has
emerged as a critical civic and cultural space owned by,
created for, and based in the community. Pao amplifies
stories that need to be heard not just because they are
Chinatown stories. These are stories about the forgotten
history of immigrant communities who have contributed
to the building and vibrancy of this nation.
>>
Future Implications
As we consider how to end systemic racism, help
communities heal from the devastating effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic, racial violence, and anti-Asian
sentiment, Pao has the potential to play a critical role
moving forward. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People
of Color)–led community arts centers, such as Pao, chal-
lenge the traditional arts sector to be more community
based, accessible and responsive. Since the on-set of
Rubin et al. / IMMIGRATION STRESS AND GENTRIFICATION  139S
the pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans
have been on the rise (Gover et al., 2020). Almost 3,795
incidents of racial harassment have been documented
nationally (Jeung et al., 2021). There is added urgency
for Asian immigrant communities to have safe spaces to
tell and process their stories. During the pandemic, Pao
pivoted to offer on-line programming and continue to
makes arts, culture, and creativity resources accessible
to keep people connected to Chinatown.
If art is what makes us human, places such as Pao
have even added urgency postpandemic, to address the
long-term impact that the stress, social isolation, and
emotional trauma has had on communities. Pao exem-
plifies how to be a physical and virtual space for innova-
tion, where the healing power of arts can be incubated
and tested, and evidence of the critical role of arts, cul-
ture, and creativity to maintaining the vibrancy of cities
and the path to recovery and resilience postpandemic.
ORCID iD
Carolyn Leung Rubin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3179-4707
References
Bush, R., & Baum, F. (2001). Health, inequities, community and
social capital In R. Eckersley, J. Dixon, & B. Douglas (Eds.), The
social origins of health and wellbeing (pp. 198–204). Cambridge
University Press
Carr, J. H., & Servon, L. J. (2008). Vernacular culture and urban
economic development: Thinking outside the (big) box. Journal of
the American Planning Association, 75(1),28–40. https://doi.
org/10.1080/01944360802539226
Carrington, A. (2010). Exploring arts organizations as a catalyst for
community development [Master’s thesis, University of Kentucky].
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/24
Chen, T. C. (2014). Remaking Boston’s Chinatown: Race, space, and
urban development, 1943-1994. https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0DJ5D1M
Chinatown 2020 Master Plan. (2018, December). Chinatown 2020
Master Plan: A health lens analysis. https://research.gsd.harvard.
edu/healthy/files/2019/06/FINAL-CHINATOWN-2020-MASTER-
PLAN-A-HEALTH-LENS-ANALYSIS.pdf
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative,
quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.
Delconte, J. D. (2013). Impacts of arts centers on communities.
https://thescholarship.ecu.edu/handle/10342/4329
Displacement Research and Action Network. (2019). Forced from
home: A human rights assessment of evictions and displacement
in Boston’s Chinatown. https://static1.squarespace.com/static
/56340b91e4b017e2546998c0/t/5c7811640852290f39220
7ca/1551372655581/CPA+report+final+2019.pdf
Gover, A. R., Harper, S. B., & Langton, L. (2020). Anti-Asian hate
crime during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the reproduction
of inequality. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(4),647–667.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09545-1
Grodach, C. (2011). Art spaces in community and economic devel-
opment: Connections to neighborhoods, artists, and the cultural
economy. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 31(1),74–
85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X10391668
Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review
of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to
improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19,173–202.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.19.1.173
Jeung, R., Yellow Horse, A., Popovic, T., & Lim, R. (2021). Stop AAPI
Hate National Report. https://secureservercdn.net/104.238.69.231/
a1w.90d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210312-
Stop-AAPI-Hate-National-Report-.pdf
Jones, B. (1988). The community artist as community development
catalyst: An evaluation of a pilot project. Journal of the Community
Development Society, 19(1),37–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575
338809490014
Kay, A. (2000). Art and community development: The role the arts
have in regenerating communities. Community Development
Journal, 35(4),414–424. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/35.4.414
Kay, A., & Watt, G. (2000). The role of the arts in regeneration.
Edinburgh, Scottish Executive Central Research.
Kumpfer, K. L., Alvarado, R., Smith, P., & Bellamy, N. (2002).
Cultural sensitivity and adaptation in family-based prevention
interventions. Prevention Science, 3(3),241–246. https://doi.org/
10.1023/a:1019902902119
Kumpfer, K. L., Pinyuchon, M., Teixeira de Melo, A., & Whiteside,
H. O. (2008). Cultural adaptation process for international dissemina-
tion of the strengthening families program. Evaluation & the Health
Professions, 31(2),226–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278708315
926
Lee, T. (n.d.). Chinatown atlas. https://www.chinatownatlas.org/
Lester, P., Stein, J. A., Saltzman, W., Woodward, K., MacDermid, S. W.,
Milburn, N., Mogil, C., & Beardslee, W. (2013). Psychological health of
military children: Longitudinal evaluation of a family-centered preven-
tion program to enhance family resilience. Military Medicine,
178(8),838–845. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-12-00502
Levine, P., Woo, C., & Li, G. (2020, October 7). Finding belonging
amidst neighborhood development: A case for the arts in
Boston’s Chinatown [Paper Presentation]. 6th Annual Asian
Health Symposium: A Virtual Event.
Liu, M. (2021). Forever struggle: Activism, identity, and survival
in Boston’s Chinatown, 1880–2018. University of Massachusetts
Press.
140S  HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE / May 2021
Loukaitou-Sideris, A., & Grodach, C. (2004). Displaying and cele-
brating the “other”: A study of the mission, scope, and roles of
ethnic museums in Los Angeles. The Public Historian, 26(4),49–71.
https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2004.26.4.49
Lowe, S. S. (2000). Creating community: Art for community devel-
opment. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 29(3),357–386.
https://doi.org/10.1177/089124100129023945
Markusen, A., & Gadwa, A. (2010). Creative Placemaking (p. 60).
National Endowment for the Arts. https://www.arts.gov/sites/
default/files/CreativePlacemaking-Paper.pdf
Matarasso, F. (1996). Northern lights: The social impact of the
Feisean (Gaelic festivals). Comedia.
Matarasso, F. (1997). Use or ornament?: The social impact of par-
ticipation in the arts. Comedia.
Matarasso, F. (1998). Poverty and oysters: The social impact of local
arts development in Portsmouth. Comedia.
Matarasso, F. (2007). Common ground: Cultural action as a route
to community development. Community Development Journal,
42(4),449–458. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsm046
McHenry, J. A. (2011). Rural empowerment through the arts: The
role of the arts in civic and social participation in the Mid West
region of Western Australia. Journal of Rural Studies, 27(3),245–
253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2011.03.001
Minkler, M. (2005). Community-based research partnerships:
Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Urban Health, 82(Suppl
2), ii3–ii12. https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti034
Newman, T., Curtis, K., & Stephens, J. (2003). Do community-based
arts projects result in social gains? A review of the literature.
Community Development Journal, 38(4), 310–322.
Rubin, C. L., Allukian, N., Wang, X., Ghosh, S., Huang, C.-C., Wang,
J., Brugge, D., Wong, J. B., Mark, S., Dong, S., Koch-Weser, S.,
Parsons, S. K., Leslie, L. K., & Freund, K. M. (2014). “We make the
path by walking it”: Building an academic community partnership
with Boston Chinatown. Progress in Community Health
Partnerships, 8(3),353–363. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2014.0046
Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers
(3rd ed.). Sage.
Torjman, S. (2004). Culture and recreation: Links to well-being.
Ottawa: Caledon Institute of Social Policy.
Williams, D. (1997). How the arts measure up: Australian research
into social impact. Comedia.