DIY Asian Urbanism in Seattle

By Amy (Ming-Ya) Chung, Eunice Lo, Janice Chen

Chinatown (also called as International District), is the center of Seattle's Asian American community. Compare to other places in Seattle, Chinatown has embraced Asian cultures in every aspect in the neighborhood. The Asian communities created this space that reflects the life style of their home in Asia.

Our group visited Chinatown in the morning of January 12^th, 2012, on a dry and sunny day. There were not many people during the morning; the S. King Street was quiet and most of the shops were either still preparing to open, or still closed.

As we walked down the street, we saw signs in Chinese/Japanese hanging in front of every stores and merchandise displayed outside of the shop, which is very similar to the signs in the tradition Asian market. Cardboard made by cafe owners placed on the sidewalk against a parking sign pole to attract customers, or a blackboard from the Café stood by itself on the sidewalk, are all the practice that Asian people do in the Asian market. Also, the use of boxes to expand storage space and to display merchandise is functioned to attract the passerby when they see some of the products.

Hing Hay Park, located at the corner of S. King Street and Maynard Avenue S., is a popular gathering place for the community. It also embraced the Asian culture with a beautiful authentic pagoda in the center, and people use this space to held traditional Asian events to celebrate their cultural origins. It is mostly used by old people to gather and chat, exercise, play chess, and etc, with a board in the corner of the park for community communication. Decorations for the season on the leafless trees in the winter make the park a more welcoming place, and catch passerby's attention to this small pocket park.

China town has been DIY-urbanized by the Asian communities with a very distinct character that is hard to see anywhere in Seattle. It is a place where Asian communities adapting American urban spaces and transformed into place embracing all kinds of cultural essences.

View DIY Asian Urbanism in Seattle in a larger map

Pike Place Market

By Ann Dinthongsai & Jun Zhang





View Pike Place Market in a larger map


The Pike Place market in down town Seattle is a rich cultural shopping destination. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Seattle because it offers different cultural, handmade and artisanal foods and gifts, a lot of which are local to Washington. As you walk through the market the smells, sounds, and colors swirl around you in a very active urban environment. Vendors set up their fascinating wares in rows in a long tent that eventually extends outside the tent. Here in the market you will find things you can’t find in your everyday grocery store, and they range from expensive truffles to handmade clothing and crafts.

Aside from the commercial aspect of the market, there are musicians and artists who come to the market to perform. Every few blocks a musician stands, and adds their music to the bustle of the market, setting a moody ambience in the space. They perform to make a living for themselves, freely entertaining the public while subtly asking for donations. Without the musicians the market wouldn’t be the same.

It is people who largely activate the market life, people who come from everywhere to walk through the market and experience the urban culture. The market is predominantly a pedestrian space and is best experienced by busing or biking there. We didn’t see any bike racks walking through the market but we found people chained their bikes onto fences and other objects to secure them.

Another part of the urban environment at the market is that there are privately owned plazas near the market. These plazas put up warning signs to people that trespassing and loitering in the plaza is not allowed. The privately owned plazas are dramatically different from the market, in that they are empty concrete landscapes with geometrically placed planters. These empty hard scape plazas remind us of other aspects of urbanism, and how the private sector largely controls public space.

The Pike Place market is a cultural center of urbanism, where artists, craftsmen, and musicians come together to activate an urban space. The density and nature all these people coming together really define what we think is an urban environment.