Mapping the Treasures of Little Tokyo, LA

Dancing in a big circle? Show and tell? Drinking cocktails made from the fruit of an old tree? Flower arranging? These may not be the activities that one associates with anti-displacement community organizing, but they play a central role in fight to preserve Little Tokyo, LA, one of three remaining historic Japantowns in the nation. This episode is a conversation with Scott Oshima of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. The JACCC is involved in the campaign to preserve the historic neighborhood. We chatted with them at the 2019 Pacific Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit in LA in June where they taught two breakout sessions and led a field workshop into Little Tokyo with Summit participants. Although this conversation is about a specific neighborhood we go deep on why arts and culture remind community activists what they are fighting for in the first place. They also discuss some of the tactical urbanist and cultural asset mapping strategies they use to gather data and celebrate small wins in the long, hard work of reaching towards a vision several years into the future.

Host: Andrea Orlando  lives, records, and writes from her home in New Jersey. Contact her at andrea.orlando.530@gmail.com