CHINATOWN — Neighbors will gather to celebrate Chinatown and consider ways to improve its public places and safety at the "Chinatown is Beautiful" event Friday.
The event seeks to build community comradery and boost public infrastructure and community areas, organizers with the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community said. At the event, residents will gather beginning at 3 p.m. at Allen Lee Plaza, 2300 S. Wentworth Ave., to demonstrate the benefit of such public places.
"This placemaking initiative is aimed at improving health, access to public spaces, and to foster a sense of safety and community as it relates to transportation and accessibility of Chinatown," said Debbie Liu, community development coordinator for the coalition.
The event is made possible by the $40,000 seed funding the coalition received from the Healthy Chicago 2.0 program. The money is being used to develop a plan for improving Chinatown's public infrastructure and safety.
The group plans to conduct an audit of its transportation systems, including public transportation options, car traffic and infrastructure conditions, Liu said. Some of the groundwork has been laid out in the 2015 action plan, but now the group is working on a strategy to implement some of its ideas.
"Not only should Chinatown's streets be easy and comfortable for people of all ages to traverse, ideally they should also be pleasant places for them to linger and socialize," the report reads.
Friday's event will feature a dance performance and other interactive activities. It will run from 3-8 p.m. in the public plaza at 2300 S. Wentworth Ave. and is free to the public.
For more information on the event, visit its Facebook page here.
