FoundFutures:

Chinatown

Community Futures Initiative

Report submitted to the Hawaii Arts Alliance
3 December 02007
Prepared by: Jake Dunagan & Stuart Candy

Contents
I. Executive Summary p. 3
II. Background
A. FoundFutures p. 5
B. FoundFutures: Chinatown p. 5
C. Project Timeline p. 6

III. Alternative Futures for Chinatown

A. McChinatown p. 7
1. The Scenario
2. Illustrated Narrative of Street Installation
B. Green Dragon p. 11
1. The Scenario
2. Illustrated Narrative of Street Installation
C. The Bird Cage p. 16
1. The Scenario
2. Illustrated Narrative of of Street Installation

IV. Gallery Exhibition p. 22

V. Chinatown Futures Workshop
A. Brief Overview p. 23
B. Narrative and Analysis p. 24
C. Alternative Futures p. 25
D. Transformation and Preferred Futures p. 25

VI. Conclusions p. 27
VII. Appendices
1: Original proposal draft p. 28
2: Alternative Urban Futures Exhibition-- Artist Statement p. 30
3: Credits and Acknowledgements p. 31
4: McChinatown Websites p. 33
5: Direct participant responses p. 35
6: Alternative Futures ExerciseInstructions and responses from each
group p. 37

Executive Summary
This report presents an overview and analysis of FoundFutures:Chinatown, a futuresoriented community dialogue initiative created by Jake Dunagan and Stuart Candy which
took place in Honolulu in October-November 02007. The project was funded in part by
the Hawaii Arts Alliance and this report is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of
the award.
The centerpiece and culminating event of the project was a community workshop
exploring Chinatowns past, present, and futures. It took place from 12-4pm on Saturday
November 17, 02007 at the Arts at Marks Garage. To set the stage for this workshop
within the community, FoundFutures worked with multiple teams of designers and artists
to create and execute several distributed installations throughout Chinatown (see
Appendix 3 for full project credits and acknowledgments). These included artifacts and
images manifesting aspects of distinct alternative futures. Following the ambient
display of the scenarios on the streets, buildings, and visual environment of Chinatown,
as well as supporting materials on the web, FoundFutures assembled these artifacts and
images and produced a gallery exhibition as part of Alternative Urban Futures at the Arts
at Marks Garage from October 23-November 17.
We are pleased to note that both the workshop, and the FoundFutures community art
intervention which led up to (and helped promote) that event, were very well received
and appear to have succeeded in their goals. From feedback both formal and informal we
gather that participants were indeed challenged to think more carefully, systematically,
and creatively about the possible futures of this fascinating neighborhood. The workshop
participants offered stimulating reactions to our scenarios, and weve learned a great deal
about the area from our interactions with the environment and a wide range of
constituents along the way. These lessons and new knowledge will also inform our
Bright Ideas (Audiowalk of the Futures) project as we develop it further and search for
enabling funding.
Among the most common themes recurring throughout this project, detailed in later
sections, is that the only authentic Chinatown is the one that exists in our personal and
collective imagination. Massive changes have occurred over the course of time, radically
altering the landscape, the built environment, and the demographic composition of the
area. While some wish to retain the cultural and architectural landmarks that they feel
give Chinatown its unique character, others believe that change itself is what Chinatown
is about, and conclude that little need be done to fossilize one particular phase of the
process. These competing attitudes were brought into sharp relief over the course of the
project, especially in the reactions to our street simulations of alternative futures for
Chinatown.
Also, having spent a significant portion of time thinking about, walking around, and
interacting with the urban landscape and streets of Chinatown, we have been struck by
how the common reputation of Chinatown as dirty, dangerous, and unsightly has not
caught up to present reality. While homelessness and public intoxication remain visible,

the streets are remarkably clean, most buildings well-kept, and the atmosphere nonthreatening, day and night. In fact, many people weve talked to lament what they see as
loss of character during the last few years, regarding the heightened police presence and
influx of hipsters as a nuisance, and yearning for the good old days of a grittier, edgier
Chinatown.
It can be safely concluded that the FoundFutures:Chinatown project created substantial
community interest, and some controversy, within Chinatown and beyond. Without
taking a stance on which particular direction to choose, it challenged the community to
address several driving forces affecting the area and to engage in public action to pursue
preferred futures.
The project also garnered several articles in the local press and on the web, including
front-page coverage in the Honolulu Advertiser. This public attention, although
occasionally misinterpreting the intentions of the project, was ultimately beneficial as we
were able to use it to expand the conversation around the deep fears and hopes about the
future dwelling in the community. It is our hope that the FoundFutures:Chinatown effort
will serve as a springboard for an ongoing, in-depth conversation in which the multitude
of voices that make Chinatown the remarkable place it has always been will continue to
be heard. If the response weve had so far is any indication, this is already happening.

Background
FoundFutures
FoundFutures injects futures into the present. It is a multimedia, collaborative project
based on the idea that a wider range of possible futures should be made visible and
thinkable to people in their everyday lives. It aims to provoke thought, conversation, and
action by creating and distributing art, artifacts, images, performances and other media
that embody possible worlds to come.
Truly useful futures work has always been innovative and provocative, challenging its
audience to venture beyond the "crackpot realism" of the present. Yet it should also be as
affective and immersive as possible, engaging the brain, body, and surrounding
environment in a full experience of the scenario at hand. Quality foresight -- including for
instance the myriad reports on major hurricane risks to New Orleans -- is futile unless it
can mobilize timely and appropriate action, at the individual, organizational, and social
levels.
A new breed of design-oriented futurists (and future-oriented designers) is
experimenting with groundbreaking methods to bring futures to life. They don't merely
describe, but actually manifest, alternative possible worlds in your brain, in your body,
and on the streets. Stuart Candy and Jake Dunagan of the Hawaii Research Center for
Futures Studies have teamed with artists, performers, and designers on projects designed
to move alternative futures from the distant realm of the men
FoundFutures: Chinatown
FoundFutures:Chinatown grew out of two important strands of our recent work. The first
was our contribution to the kickoff event for the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Initiative
in August 02006, at which we immersed 500+ participants in alternative experiential
scenarios, set in four different versions of the year 2050. The positive feedback and
success of the Hawaii 2050 event encouraged us to develop these techniques further.
The second was a "Bright Ideas" grant from the Hawaii Arts Alliance to conduct research
towards producing an audio walk of Chinatown set in the future. While seeking
sponsorship for the full-scale audio walk budget, we secured a small grant through the
Hawaii Arts Alliance to run a community futures workshop in Chinatown.
The intention here was twofold. First, to provide residents, business owners and other
stakeholders in the district with a rare opportunity to reflect both systematically and
imaginatively on the possible, probable and preferred futures for the area over a longer
time horizon than they might typically be accustomed to planning. This was to provide
them a richer context for pursuing their preferred futures, and is part of HRCFS
community and education orientation as a state-mandated institution. The second aim
was for us as FoundFutures project directors to learn more about the prevailing attitudes
and ideas (about things including, but not limited to, the future) among Chinatown's

stakeholders. This, we felt, would help us build more informed scenarios cognizant of
and relevant to the real concerns (and blind-spots) of those parties, for our ongoing work
in Chinatown.
Project timeline

June 02006: Bright Ideas Award-- A Guided Audiowalk of Chinatowns Futures.

October 02006-February 02007:Initial research phase: audiowalk and Chinatown

histories and locations.

November 02006-June 02007:Project development/discussions with Hawaii Arts

Alliance (Erik Takeshita and Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau). [See appendix 1--draft
proposal].

August 02007:Final proposal and approval for workshop.

September 02007:Scenario development, creative direction of design, art, and

performance collaborators, location scouting, production and printing of futures
artifacts, community outreach.

October 5, 02007 (First Friday): Launch and performance of McChinatown

scenario.

October 13-15, 02007: Installation and performance of Green Dragon scenario.

October 15, 02007: Honolulu Advertiser article, Chinatown Pranks, with a

Purpose. Section A, pg.1.

October 16-23, 02007: Installation and performance of The Bird Cage scenario.

October 23, 02007: Culmination of ambient artifacts display in Chinatown.

October 23, 02007: Opening of FoundFutures gallery exhibition, contribution to

Alternative Urban Futures show at the Arts at Marks Garage. [See appendix 2Artist statement and appendix 3-acknowledgements].

November 15, 02007: Artist Talk at Alternative Urban Futures show.

November 17, 02007: Chinatown Futures Workshop, The Arts at Marks Garage.

Alternative Futures for Chinatown

McChinatown ~02010
What if Chinatown were taken over by corporate interests?
A Starbucks on a prime corner of Honolulu's most eclectic, gritty, and original
neighborhood proved to be a tipping point -- and a litmus test of allegiances -- in the
ongoing development of Chinatown. Some saw it as a hopeful symbol of the district
finally catching up with a globally connected, 21st century city; others feared the
beginning of the end for independent business and local character. Against the shortlived protests of the grassroots Save Chinatown! coalition, international entrepreneurs
Aloha Land and Water led a new wave of investment in the district.
Week by week, new ventures and ubiquitous chain stores could be found opening their
doors to a throng of customers. Free shuttles for shoppers from Waikiki became a
common sight, and luxury lofts became the rage for a crop of young, urban
professionals. Old time landowners and traditional Chinatown residents leapt at the
opportunities this presented, and vacant lots filled immediately.
Some in the arts community became concerned at the loss of character and uniqueness
that had been a powerful attractor for artists and other "creatives" on the island.
Meanwhile, new zero-tolerance policies against prostitution, drug users, and homeless
persons had their effect -- complaints about these problems are now seldom heard, streets
are clean, and a recycling program has been instituted, receiving high praise among
environmentalists well beyond the neighborhood.
There is talk of re-naming the district, in pursuit of a fresh image, also to reflect the fact
that now less than 5% of residents or business owners are of Chinese background (and
less than 25% of Asian descent generally). This proposal remains controversial though,
and its prospects are uncertain. What is certain is that the Chinatown of today would be
hardly recognizable to someone who knew it a decade ago.

Illustrated Narrative: McChinatown

Honolulu's Chinatown is among the city's oldest and most iconic districts. It's a bastion of
small family-owned businesses, where so far no franchise stores or national restaurant
chains have opened.
On Friday 5 October, the following suddenly appeared there:
Large posters announcing a new Starbucks moving into a large corner building that has
been unoccupied for years...

Design: Jesse Arneson

Photo: Jake Dunagan

Signs for TGI Friday's (a US bar and restaurant franchise) opening soon on a property at
the southeast corner of Chinatown...

Design: Ryan Yamamoto

Photo: Matthew Stits

A banner inviting bids for luxury loft apartments, starting at $2.1 million, in one of the
district's most recognizable and well-loved buildings...

Design: Mark Guillermo / Photo: Stuart Candy

Photo: Matthew Stits

That evening, members of a grassroots activist group gathered outside the supposed
future Starbucks, calling on patrons of the area's monthly First Friday art walk to "Save
Chinatown" from what appeared to be a stealthy corporate takeover by investment
consortium Aloha Land and Water (investaloha.com). They distributed paraphernalia
including flyers ("Honolulu's Chinatown: The Next Waikiki?"), postcards, buttons -- and
even fortune cookies (e.g. "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without"), and
they directed concerned parties to savechinatown.org [see appendix 4 for screenshots of
websites].

Postcard design: Mark Guillermo

Photo: Matthew Stits

Honolulu Weekly Back Page, Wednesday 3 October / Photo: Stuart Candy

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Green Dragon ~02026

What might become of Chinatown in a world where China is the predominant
superpower?
The strange dance of U.S-China relations has taken many turns in recent years. Seeking
strategic advantage in renewable energy, for more than a decade the People's Republic of
China has lent its prodigious industrial and diplomatic weight to the international
movement to control carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. This has brought it
increasing into conflict with the U.S, which, leveraging military power to protect its
economic interests, has also become more vocal in supporting independence for Taiwan
and Tibet.
But a whole new level of tension between the U.S. and China is rising over the leak of a
top-secret memo from the office of the Chinese Vice Premier. The memo outlines
negotiations between China and several Hawaiian agitators, notably the radical
"Sovereign Green" coalition -- a rising independence movement that rests its support base
on ecological rather than ethnic affiliation. It also refers to a long-term strategy for
China's role in Hawaiian affairs, including a potentially explosive proposal to back
Hawaiian independence from the U.S. Essentially, according to unnamed sources, the
sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands could be recognized internationally by China and its
allies, in exchange for their becoming a temporary protectorate of the PRC.
Whether an olive branch or a further provocation, China's proposal for an iconic "Statue
of Harmony" in Honolulu Harbor is causing great excitement, especially in Chinatown -which has for some time been a highly fashionable outpost for Chinese cultural products
(from cooking competitions to immersive games). Chinatown has not only retained its
status as a perennially interesting, changing neighborhood, but it is also an important
local node of global power in a geopolitical climate tilted decisively in favor of the socalled "Green Dragon".

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Illustrated Narrative: Green Dragon

Design: Yumi Vong

The second phase of FoundFutures:Chinatown imagines an Earth-friendly China, two

decades hence. Those campaigning Hawai'i to become independent of the U.S. look to
the other side of the Pacific for support, and evidence of their new allegiance begins to
appear in the streets...

Art: Yumi Vong / Photo: Stuart Candy

Photo: Bram Goots

A powerful citizens' coalition behind the renewed Hawaiian sovereignty movement

rallies its supporters around ecological commitments...

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Art: Yumi Vong / Text: Jake Dunagan

The "Sovereign Green Manifesto" reads as follows:

In Hawai'i, sovereignty without sustainability is meaningless,
yet sustainability without sovereignty is impossible.
Sovereign Green fights against the corrupt and
irresponsible governance of the islands and all its peoples.
The United States' illegal occupation, and destructive
military and environmental policies must be stopped.
Sovereign Green advocates independence for Hawai'i
so that current and future generations may live peacefully and happily.
Only with the ability to craft laws and policies
in accordance with the values and conditions of these islands
can we shape a nation that is righteous and responsible.
In reclaiming our sovereignty, we embrace our role as
caretakers of the land and stewards of our own evolution.
We welcome all races, ethnicities, and beliefs.
Stand with us!

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In a gesture recalling the French gift in 01886 of the Statue of Liberty to the United
States, in 02026 the Chinese donate a giant "Statue of Harmony" to the people of Hawai'i.
This monument to international friendship (towering over vessels arriving in Honolulu
Harbor, with Chinatown in the background) features Queen Lili'uokalani, the last
Hawaiian monarch, holding aloft a torch with Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen, who
attended school in Hawai'i. They stand upon a huge granite platform bearing the word
"harmony" in Chinese, Hawaiian, and (on the side hidden from view) English.

"The Statue of Harmony" by Yumi Vong

Concept: Jake Dunagan & Stuart Candy

From 13-15 October, a large framed drawing of this exciting gift was on display at
various locations in and near Chinatown...

photos: Stuart Candy

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Already, souvenirs of the Statue of Harmony can be found in tourist shops...

Photo: Stuart Candy

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The Bird Cage ~02016

What if Chinatown were ground zero of a new influenza epidemic?
Chinatown has long been haunted by tragedy. In 01886 and again in 01900, it was
burned to the ground. When a deadly strain of influenza called H8N2 broke out in April
02016, this tragedy in paradise was global news; but local authorities acted quickly.
Aircraft were grounded and as Honolulu's "Hang Ten Flu" took hold, the National Guard
immediately quarantined Chinatown and systematically raided all residences and
businesses in search of individuals exhibiting symptoms.
The rapid response of authorities, and establishment of military/medical checkpoints
along all highways across the island, meant that the crisis could be confined to O'ahu.
Residents and visitors at risk of infection were relocated to mobile quarantine facilities in
Honolulu or on the North Shore (several cruise liners were requisitioned for this purpose
by the National Agency for Investigative Epidemiology, the newly established, diseaseoriented tactical response branch of FEMA). The ill were then shipped to more secure
facilities on Moloka'i for treatment -- and, in one out of every three cases, burial.
The "Weeping Spring" of 02016 brought tourism and most other aspects of everyday life
on O'ahu to a standstill. The origins of the virus remain controversial -- at first thought to
due to low-quality imported poultry, the outbreak has reportedly been traced to a security
lapse at a university research facility on the island. Investigations are still underway.
During the tragedy, the community of Chinatown was frozen. A high proportion of
residents lost family members, and the cessation of construction, which had occurred at
first from necessity, was extended while residents debated next steps. However, eighteen
months later the citizenry has regrouped and, led by a newly elected, youthful Mayor C.
Ballesteros, a renewed sense of shared purpose and identity is discernible. The
temporary interruption in shipments and motorized traffic had the effect of heightening
awareness of Hawaii's isolation, and increased calls for self-reliance. Many residents
have begun cultivating their own food sources, and plans are afoot to turn a number of
Chinatown streets into public gardens.

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Illustrated Narrative: The Bird Cage

On Tuesday, 16 October 02007, this bronze plaque appeared on the corner of Maunakea
and Pauahi Streets in Chinatown, Honolulu -- testimony to the resilient response of the
community to a hypothetical tragedy that would not occur for another ten years.

Photo: Stuart Candy

Chinatown has in its history been ravaged by the plague, quarantined, and burned to the
ground. In April 02016, the future rhymes with bygone times as bird flu rears its beadyeyed little head. Our distributed installation played out the scenario in reverse, from the
installation of the memorial 18 months after the outbreak...

Photo: Bram Goots

Photo: Stuart Candy

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To the revival of entrepreneurial activity shortly after the epidemic...

Photo: Bram Goots

"Dust to Dust" flyer: Matthew Jensen

Photo: Stuart Candy

Photo: Bram Goots

"Jake Stuart" poster: Matthew Jensen

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Photo: Stuart Candy

"Still Paradise": Matthew Jensen

To official notices posted by the National Agency for Investigative Epidemiology

(N.A.I.E.) as the crisis was brought under control...

"Evacuation" poster: Matthew Jensen / Photo: Stuart Candy

Photo: Bram Goots

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Photo: Stuart Candy

"All Clear" poster: Matthew Jensen / Photo: Stuart Candy

To impromptu messages placed in the streets by ordinary people when the outbreak first
occurred...

"Missing" installation design: Matthew Jensen / Photo: Stuart Candy

Photo: Stuart Candy

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Dig Deeper {date unknown}

What kind of place is Chinatown if the world is transformed?
As futurists we help people consider what alternative futures are available to them at any
given time. This is a way of managing, but not eliminating, uncertainty. One way to do
this is by testing beliefs and drawing out assumptions about how change can happen.
This process is as much an art as it is a science. No one can tell every story -- what we
can do is select a sample to serve as a basis for systematic, creative exploration. The
stories we tell are intended to be neither purely good nor purely bad. There are silver
linings in every cloud; both winners and losers in every scenario.
These generic images of the future can be seen as falling into four categories -- each
representing a different shape of change. McChinatown is an example of a continued
growth scenario with a global, corporate flavor. Green Dragon suggests a disciplined
society, the adopting of certain values and constraints-- Chinese and ecological, in this
case.
The Bird Cage is an instance of a dramatic interruption to business as usual, which we
call a collapse scenario.
Representations of these three themes are many and varied. But there is also a fourth type
of scenario -- transformation. These are stories in which society undergoes a great shift,
not in the direction of a breakdown or collapse, but where there is some fundamental
alteration in underlying conditions -- and understanding -- whether brought about by high
technology, a spiritual awakening, or a breakthrough discovery.
Dig Deeper is the name of our fourth Chinatown future -- transformation. Rather than
revealing it here, we encourage you to look for the signs yourself they are already all
around (and below) you. Seeds of future changes are always contained in the present, if
you know how to look. This is just the beginning of a conversation in which, we hope, all
of us can begin to dig a bit deeper into the futures of Chinatown, Hawaii, and the world.
Happy digging.

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Gallery Exhibition
Elements of our ambient foresight "exstallation" formed part of a gallery exhibition at the
Arts at Marks Garage called Alternative Urban Futures. It opened on Tuesday 23 October
and ran until Saturday 17 November 02007.

Photo: Jake Dunagan

Art and culture critic David Goldberg praised the FoundFutures installation in his
November 4, 02007 Honolulu Advertiser review:
FoundFutures samples and repurposes the visual language that colonizes
us today. From recognizable branding strategies to government-style
posters, FoundFutures projects look at current political, ecological and
socioeconomic situations and projects them forward by 10 to 20 years.
"Birdcage," the story of the 2016 H8N2 or "Hang Ten Flu" flu epidemic in
Hawai'i, is the most thoroughly realized. FoundFutures, led by University
of Hawai'i graduate students Jake Dunagan and Stuart Candy, crafted
everything from the government's quarantine zone maps to this-propertyis-condemned posters, to the 9/11-style missing-persons fliers that citizens
would post in the wake of forced quarantines. The finishing touch is a
tourism poster for Maui (unscathed by the flu, how?) which proudly
declares that the island is "Still Paradise."
Typically cinema is the chosen medium for visualizing the future. By
installing elements of their projects in the urban fabric itself,
FoundFutures turns Chinatown into a movie set of sorts, approaching the
level of production design that goes into films like "Children of Men."

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Chinatown Futures Workshop

Time: Saturday, November 17, 02007, 12p-4p
Location: The Arts at Marks Garage
Facilitators:
Stuart Candy, FoundFutures, and Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies
Jake Dunagan, FoundFutures, and Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies
Guest Speakers:
William Chapman, Professor, UH-Manoa, American Studies, and Director, Graduate
Certificate Program in Historic Preservation
Jim Dator, Professor, UH-Manoa, Political Science and Director, Hawaii Research Center
for Futures Studies
Participants:
Shanah Trevenna
Bronson Shimabukuro
Deva Gatica
Angela Ellenwood
JoDee Hunt

Seongwon Park
Steve Lohse
Amy Brinkler
Leo Campbell
Rich Richardson

Martin Schwab
Sally Taylor
Russell McGuire
Ernie Hunt

Brief Overview
The culminating event of the FoundFutures:Chinatown project was a free, public
workshop exploring Chinatowns past, present, and alternative futures. Having seeded
the district with artifacts and images from the McChinatown, Green Dragon, and Bird
Cage scenarios over the previous six weeks, the workshop built upon the public response
and passions generated by the ideas and the manner of their presentation. It provided an
opportunity for more extended engagement and formal feedback for the scenarios. Over
the course of the afternoon, we guided participants through a series of stages to deepen
their understanding of historical changes that have taken place, to consider current
problems and opportunities, and to find ways to imagine and create preferred futures for
the neighborhood.
Invitations were made directly to residents and stakeholders throughout Chinatown, and
several notices appeared in local newspapers and on the web, but the workshop was not
as demographically representative of the neighborhood as we would have liked. The
conclusions and inferences drawn from workshop should be judged in that context.
However, in our overall assessment, we have tried to incorporate feedback from the
broader constituency in the neighborhood that we have spoken with over the course of the
project, especially Asian and Chinese merchants, local business owners, and long-time
residents.

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Narrative and Analysis

We began with an introduction to the workshop and had participants introduce
themselves and present one word that describes, evokes, or symbolizes Chinatown for
them. Foreshadowing themes that would recur throughout the workshop, the key
metonyms for Chinatown involved its historic buildings, food, people, and especially its
eclecticism [see appendix 5].
In the structure of our workshops, before the futures comes the past. Although futures
workshop implies a focus on tomorrow, in order to look ahead more effectively, one
must understand yesterdayin this case, Chinatowns historical and cultural context, and
the changes that have occurred over the years. Dr. William Chapman, Director of the
Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation at UH-Manoa, presented an historical
overview of the district from pre-contact to the near present, with a focus on changes to
the landscape and the built environment. As could be seen from this review, what we call
Chinatown has undergone massive change, especially in the last 100+ years. It was
striking to note, that before European contact, this deep water harbor was useless to
Native Hawaiians and the area little occupied. But, it has become a particularly saturated
and useful location in modern times. As Chinatown has changed over the years, in each
era there have been claims to preserving its particular authenticity, but this concept is also
constantly evolving. Might a Chinatown of the future, even if unrecognizable to those of
us in the present, still make claims to be the real and true Chinatown?
Next, Jim Dator led the group through a discussion of the Chinatowns present. Most
people think about the future with whatever is occupying our minds today, what Dator
calls the crackpot realism of the present. We have found that alternative futures cannot
be imagined if we do not understand and fully discuss todays problems, as well as what
should be preserved from the present into the future. We began by dividing the plenary
into three groups of four participants. We then asked each group to list things about
todays Chinatown (with no specification as to the dimension of the issue) that they
would like to change, and things they like and would like to preserve.
The responses from the three groups were quite similar [see appendix 5].
The most common complaints about Chinatown were:

Transportation issues (lack of adequate parking, need for alternative public

transportation options).
Policing (have become overzealous and harassing, i.e. jaywalking, training of
rookies in Chinatown is annoying, inability to get to know local officers).
Property and Housing (unfair property tax structure, disincentives for renovations,
lack of residential options, homelessness).
Land use and space (need better access to waterfront, more outdoor seating/green
space).
Lifestyle and quality of life (more nightlife AND more daylife, reduce noise and
air pollution, more visitor friendly).

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The most commonly mentioned aspects of Chinatown to preserve were:

Distinctiveness (it is NOT Waikiki, that Chinatown atmosphere and character,

its edginess and grittiness, Mom and Pop and locally owned businesses, no
chain stores).
Diversity (economic, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, architectural).
Entertainment (great restaurants, clubs, First Friday, the arts, cultural festivals).
Businesses (Maunakea Market, Lei Stands)
Zoning and Boundaries (no encroachment from other area, no new high-rises,
protect historic buildings).
Transportation (keep Hotel St. buses-only)

Alternative Futures
The core activity of a futures workshop is to have participants do a bit of time
traveling, to live in an alternative future for a short time and then discuss this new
world with their fellow travelers and then with the entire workshop group.
The alternative futures immersion in this case involved people selecting unmarked
envelopes which contained one of three scenarios, about one page long each. The
discussion groups formed around the scenarios selected, and here, as is typically the case
in such workshops, the process resulted in people becoming "invested" in whichever
future they happen to find themselves. This is not to say that they found it an optimal or
even desirable future (none of the three stories elicited enthusiastic, positive responses),
but they were able:
(a) to see how a described scenario, which at first may appear outlandish, could come to
pass given certain conditions,
(b) to develop coping strategies as "residents" within their given future, and
(c) to consider how decisions taken today may help pursue or avoid, respectively, liked or
disliked aspects of the scenario.
This last point highlights the usefulness of scenarios for practically informing present-day
decision-making. For example, it is worth noting that, although there were aspects of the
McChinatown scenario that participants liked (Q.5a) they overall found it undesirable
(Q.4) and yet highly probable (Q.3). A structured futures approach to engaging a
community in political discussion readily generates important policy-relevant insights
such as this. [see Appendix 5 for full exercise instructions and transcribed group
responses].
Transformation and Preferred Futures
In the final section of the workshop, we asked participants to spend an extended period of
time in quiet contemplation of Chinatown in 25 years. Each participant chose a guiding

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metaphor of transformation (caterpillar into butterfly, water into ice or steam, phoenix
rising from the ashes, etc) and imaged flying over the area around them. What has this
place become? What does it look like? Who are the people (if any) inhabiting this area?
Participants then broke into small groups and discussed their visions with each other, and
how their chosen metaphor guided and was appropriate for a transformed Chinatown.
Finally, each person wrote a short note to the future generations of the area that contained
their preferred vision for Chinatown. The manner of delivery of these messages was
explained to the participants and will be the final act of this project.

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Conclusions
The serious contemplation of alternative futures forces individuals and groups to reevaluate their position in the contingent space of possibility. If futures work is to be
effective, it must make critical issues and drivers of change visible and, most importantly,
mobilize decision-makers at all levels to act with foresight.
Foundfutures:Chinatown was intended to raise sensitive issues within the community
through the means of embodied artifacts and ambient simulations of alternative future
Chinatowns in order to provide a compelling platform for community engagement and
formal discussion of preferred futures for the district.
As always in a diverse community, finding a single preferred future is impossible and
responses to our scenarios were mixed. Many people are frightened of the loss of
character by way of corporatization and gentrification, especially the increasing price
squeeze on artists, workers, and long-time residents. There is a strong sentiment of
preservation of culture, language, and the built environment (as it is seen today), but this
is also contrasted by those who see Chinatown as an inherently changing place that is
constantly re-inventing itself and should not be turned into a cultural and architectural
museum. Some have been frustrated with the prevalence of crime and drug abuse on the
streets, while others are now viewing the Police as an overbearing and unnecessary
nuisance.
The multitude diverging visions for Chinatown must be confronted directly and honestly.
The project hoped to catalyze this discussion. The passionate reactions and involvement
weve encountered during the course of the project is evidence to the importance of
Chinatown to Honolulu and Hawaii at large, and to the commitment necessary by
residents and stakeholders to creating the kind of future most in the neighborhood would
welcome.
We have been honored to work so extensively in Chinatown and with the people who
make it the most vibrant and interesting place on the island, and hope that we have made
some small positive contribution to its futures.

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Appendix 1: Original proposal draft

July 16, 02007
Art is a future-oriented activity. At its best, it opens up new ways of perceiving the past,
new ways of looking at the world today, and new ways of conceiving possible futures.
The Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies (HRCFS) and The ARTS at Marks
Garage have joined together to initiate a unique series of activities to draw attention to
and deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities the future holds both
near and far.
The project will consist of three progressive stages. Stage 1 will begin with a call for
artists, designers, futurists and members of the Chinatown community to create and
distribute around the neighborhood a series of artifacts from the future. These artifacts
will embody (in varying media, content, dimension, and format) aspects and implications
from a wide range of possible futures for the area and beyond. Posters warning against
thought surveillance in the area, a monument to those lost in the Avian flu epidemic of
2029, or notices of the next ahupuaa council meeting are just some of the kinds of
artifacts that might be seen around town. Building upon the lessons from earlier projects
conducted by the HRCFS, these artifacts will interject possible futures into the taken-forgranted environs of the present. The anachronistic and provocative nature of the artifacts
will shake viewers from habitualized patterns of thought and selective attention which
blind us to the possible and distort our role in creating better futures. Although not to be
announced publicly, the project will launch on Friday September 7 (First Friday), to be
followed by another series of artifacts to be distributed on Friday October 5. The
unexpected appearance of these artifacts are a major factor in their effect and potential
success. This portion of the initiative might be called an experiment in future-shock
therapy.
And any good therapy requires opportunity for feedback and discussion. There will be
several alternative venues for follow-up conversations and action. Each of the artifacts
will lead viewers to a website where they have the opportunity to talk about their
reactions to the pieces and to debate the issues generated with other viewer/participants.
Stage 2 and 3 offer further opportunities for face-to-face interaction and discussion.
Building on the momentum from Stage 1, Stage 2 of the project will bring all of the
previously distributed artifacts (and additional commissioned work) together at the ARTS
at Marks Garage for a gallery show organized around images of alternative urban
futures for Chinatown, Honolulu, and the region. Opening on October 23, 02007, the
show will allow for a condensed and focused appraisal of the themes generated in the
works by media, critics, and the larger community. It will also be the foundation and
launch-pad for Stage 3 of the project.
Following the gallery show, the HRCFS will lead a series of workshops with a wide
cross-section of the Chinatown and surrounding community. These workshops will

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immerse participants in alternative futures, going beyond the abstract to allow them to
understand change at a deep and emotional level. Business leaders, decision-makers,
residents, and others with a stake and responsibility for the futures of the area will be
invited to participate in these innovative workshops designed to explore the social,
environmental, technological, and political trends and forces that will impact the
community, to envision preferred futures within this range of possibility, and to plan their
decisions and actions according to this vision.
It is our goal that the successive stages of the project will stimulate wide participation in
the futures conversation, garner significant media and community attention, and lead a
movement toward greater sense of responsibility and involvement in the creation of
preferred futures. The issues and challenges we face are not going to go away. Artists,
scholars, and leaders of every stripe must find ways to engage people in effective
foresight, to open our eyes to alternative futures. Foresight must be designed into the
fabric of our institutions and our environment; it should be ambient and ubiquitous. This
project seeks to show one way this can be done and encourage others to find new and
better ways.
Proposed Timeline of Major Events:
Stage 1Distribution of artifacts
Series 1: Friday, September 7, 02007 (First Friday)
Series 2: Friday, October 5, 02007 (First Friday)
Stage 2Gallery Show (Images of Alternative Urban Futures)
Opening: October 23, 02007 The ARTS at Marks Garage
Stage 3Futures Workshops
Successive Saturdays in October, November, and December, 02007. Conducted
by the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies at The ARTS at Marks
Garage.

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Appendix 2: Alternative Urban Futures Exhibition-- Artist Statement

FoundFutures injects futures into the present. It is a multimedia, collaborative project
based on the idea that a wider range of possible futures should be made visible and
thinkable to people in their everyday lives. The project was created and is led by two
doctoral candidates in political science at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, who are
also futures researchers at the Hawai'i Research Center for Futures Studies (HRCFS). We
aim to provoke thought, conversation, and action by creating and distributing art,
artifacts, images, performances and other media that embody possible worlds to come.
Making alternative futures tangible is an antidote to the singular, colonized future we are
given by mass media, consumer culture, and an intrinsically shortsighted political system.
We want participants to be directly confronted with long-range choices, to feel just how
different their various futures could be from the present, and from each other. We call
this future-shock therapy. Our aim is not to push people towards particular conclusions,
but simply to invite deeper engagement with the field of possibilities.
This side of the display shows elements from an earlier foray into experiential scenarios,
for "Hawaii 2050", a statewide discussion which launched in August 02006. These pieces
suggest aspects of a high-tech future Hawai'i (artwork by Sky Kiyabu and Steve Kiyabu).
Next, in May 02007, we sent to leaders across the community four postcards from
alternative versions of Hawai'i in 02036, on consecutive days and with no return address
(designed by Yumi Vong).
On the other side of this panel are elements from four immersive futures designed for our
first foray into community and street art FoundFutures : Chinatown. The first future
(McChinatown) was staged for the First Friday art event on October 5. Two others have
been displayed since (Green Dragon and The Bird Cage). One will continue beyond this
show (Dig Deeper). If you are interested in exploring the futures of Chinatown and
Hawaii beyond the urgent, immediate concerns of today, please consider attending our
Chinatown Futures Workshop on 17 November (RSVP to info@foundfutures.com). To
discuss futures thinking, or specific issues raised by this distributed installation, don't
hesitate to contact us.
Stuart Candy & Jake Dunagan, Directors, FoundFutures:Chinatown
22 October 02007

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Appendix 3: Credits and Acknowledgements

FoundFutures:Chinatown
Concept, scenarios and direction by Stuart Candy & Jake Dunagan
McCHINATOWN
Designers:
Jesse Arneson

Mark Guillermo

Installation assistance:
Duk Bu
Brady Fern
Pegge Hopper
Rich Richardson
Melanie Yang

Ryan Yamamoto
JoDee and Ernie Hunt
Roy Venters

Protesters:
Guen Montgomery (lead)
Jason Adams Christina Hoe
Bianca Isaki
Rohan Kalyan
John Maus
Josh Pryor
Lorenzo Rinelli
Matthew Stits

GREEN DRAGON
Designer:
Yumi Vong
Additional scenario development:
Aaron Rosa
Cultural advisors:
Roger Ames

Matthew McDonald

Translations:
Chien-Yuan Chen

Tianyuan Huang

Installation assistance:
Brady Fern
Charles Wong

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THE BIRD CAGE

Designer:
Matthew Jensen
Additional artwork:
The Great Bendango Kristin Dennis

Nathan Verrill

Installation assistance:
Oren Schlieman & Fran Butera
Richard Lum, Worldwide Travel
Bram Goots

Tim Braden
Maya van Leemput
Matthew Jensen

Production assistance:
Seong Won Park
Special thanks to
M.P. Lei Shop, providers of leis for "Hang Ten flu" memorial plaque
This project would not have been possible without the support of the following
individuals:
Erik Takeshita
Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau
at The Arts at Mark's Garage
Matthew Jensen

Rich Richardson

Yumi Vong

Carolyn Borges, Tom Terrific's Printers, Manoa

Jim Dator, Director, Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies
The contribution of the following is also much appreciated:
Steve Kiyabu
Chetan Mangat

Sky Kiyabu
Bernard Uy

Ed Korybski

Jake Dunagan
Yumi Vong

Bram Goots

Photography by:
Stuart Candy
Matthew Stits
DIG DEEPER
All our friends from future generations.

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Appendix 4: Websites (Save Chinatown! and Aloha Land & Water)

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34

Appendix 5: Direct participant responses

A. One word that describes or evokes Chinatown for you:
-food
-walkable
-potpourri
-home
-old buildings
-landowner
-home
-change
-hip
-historical
B. What would you like to change about Chinatown?

Tax reform
-property taxsame for high rises and non high-rises, unfair
-taxes collected in Chinatown should be used in Chinatown
Transportation and parking
- need 2 hour meters
-easier payment options, lower cost
-MORE parking
-local trolleys, more public transport options
-public bicycles (cf. Amsterdam, Portland)
-urban core car tax (cf. London, New York)
Policing and crime
-too many officers, overbearing, intimidating, harassing
-used as training groundtrain your rookie cops elsewhere
-too much turnover, local community doesnt get to know officers
-we used to worry about the criminals, now we worry about the police
Housing
-encourage residential living
-more options
-incentives for owners to renovate
-mitigate homelessness, better services for homeless
-green and sustainable buildings
Urban space and place (Lifestyle and environment)
-more nightlife, music, arts, food
-more daylifemarkets, food
-better access to the waterfront (cleanest natural port in the U.S.!)
-more outdoor seating, parks
-reduce noise and air pollution
-more visitor friendly
organizing community forum

C. What would you like to preserve for the future in Chinatown? What do you like about
Chinatown?

Neighborhood street life, character, atmosphere

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Distinctiveness, it is NOT Waikiki

Edginess, grittiness
Markets
Lei Stands
Great food and restaurants
Current green space, parks
Chinatown Gateway Park, Aala skate park
Building code and height zoning (no new high-rises)
Historic Buildings
Current boundaries (no encroachment from other parts of town)
Non-corporate (local) development
Mixed use zoning
First Fridays, art scene
Chinese new year and cultural events
Cultural, ethnic, and economic diversity
mom and pop stores
Hotel Street as a bus-only way

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Appendix 6: Alternative Futures ExerciseInstructions and responses from each group

Welcome to the futures!
Whatever you may initially feel about the future into which you have been so suddenly
placed, please suspend your disbelief! You have no more control over your being in this
future than you had over when and where you were born. This is your life. Love it,
because you can't leave it.
For the next few minutes, make the best of the future you find yourself in, just as you
obviously do in the present. Don't argue over whether you think it will happen as
described or not, or whether you like it or not. Please just accept it, and try to respond
positively (according to whatever you think is "the best you can do") to the world in
which you find yourself. Don't dwell on the "negative" aspects except to understand
them, and to develop a "positive" response to them. It just doesn't get any better than this!
Your task is to determine, as a group, what kind of place Chinatown would be if the
future were to unfold as described in your scenario. Spend about five minutes on
each of the following five questions.
1a. Who would live in Chinatown (race, age, income, etc)?
McChinatown: younger, wealthy, fashionable, professional, hipster (SoHo-ish). New
York/ Tokyo-style micro-sized apartments, underground (literally)Shanghai Tunnels,
Caves, cave clubs.
The Bird Cage: A post-collapse scenariopeople are getting back on their feet and have
the opportunity to re-build. Chinatown is re-born as a vibrant gathering place, a local hub,
a market center for a large section of Oahu. Have faith in the blossoming dynamic of
human activity. Residents, although the population is much lower than 02007, are
mostly those running and working locally in the markets and their associated services
builders, craftsmen, and farmers, especially.
Ora thriving quarantined black-market-based economy. Deep psychological scars?
Green Dragon: Educated, highly globally aware, mostly euro/white. Young, passionate
residents gravitating toward the emerging green movement in Hawaii and in Chinatown.
1b. Who would work in Chinatown and what kind of jobs would they have (if any)?
McChinatown: service sector jobs servicing high-end residents, retail, food service (fastfood).
The Bird Cage: Farmers, service-sector driven by the large market. Laborers, craftsmen,
and farmers.

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Green Dragon: Social entrepreneur-types, green activists. But also, other service-sector
jobs.
1c. Who would visit Chinatown, why would they come, and what would they do?
McChinatown: tourists (similar to Waikiki), tourist-oriented shopping, dining.
The Bird Cage: those from around Oahu who come to utilize the central location and
thriving markets in Chinatown.
Green Dragon: Politically-motivated activists, those coming to the urban core for arts,
entertainment, excitement.
2. What would Chinatowns reputation be, in comparison to the rest of Honolulu, Oahu,
and Hawaii? How would that affect the area?
McChinatown: Disney-fied version of Chinatown geared toward tourists, greatly
diminished cultural and arts scene, cultural fetishism. Urban, but vegas-like scene,
exotic, chic, business, green, hip, globalized, sanitized. Evolving into increased valuation
of historical significance.
The Bird Cage: Chinatowns reputation is restored as it rises from its tragedy, a place of
re-birth. Dynamic, green.
Green Dragon: Increasingly viewed as a green urban center, gains prestige among
international environmental movements. Green Snobbery?
Ambiguous or conflicting views because linked to China and the rising influence of
China.
3. How probable (likely to actually occur) is the future described in your scenario?
McChinatown: very likely, high probability. Many forces pushing toward this future.
The Bird Cage: mixed responsesdiffering opinions. Some thought an avian flu
outbreak was quite possible, but that the heavy-handed response was not. Others, that
both the outbreak and quarantine were certainly possible, but not highly likely.
Green Dragon: Quite probable, considering the perceived desire of China to increase its
sphere of influence and compete with the U.S. in international affairs.
4. How preferable is the future described in your scenario? (That is, how close is it to
your own preferred future?)
McChinatown: not preferable to the group.

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The Bird Cage: The initial tragedy of the hang-ten flu outbreak and quarantine were
not preferable, but the ability to build and re-imagine a new Chinatown and rise from the
ashes was somewhat welcomed.
Green Dragon: Not preferable, because of the potential for rising tensions and global
conflict in the wake of these developments. What is Chinas motivation for going
green?
5. What actions could be taken today:
a. to help make what you liked about the future happen?
McChinatown: Likedfood markets, pedestrian playground, arts. To help this,
recommended a heightened preservation awareness and policies, emphasize the arts as a
defining characteristic.
The Bird Cage: Found that a healthy community is a flexible and resilient one. So, the
same things done to recover quickly from a disaster could be done ahead of time to
mitigate a disaster. So, encouraging and preserving the diversity of Chinatown is
important.
Green Dragon: Likedthe movement toward sustainability and Hawaiis new role as not
just a politico-military strategic location, but an politico-environmental strategic location.
A gateway to a better global environment. To help make this happenpromote socioeconomic diversity and progressive environmental policies, and to welcome green
Chinese investment in Hawaii.
b. to help prevent what you did not like from happening?
McChinatown: Dislikedchain stores, loss of character, touristy-feel. To prevent this,
recommended strong political organization, voice, and action of residents and businessowners to shape Chinatown policies and decision-making; anti-chain store ordinance; arts
grants and incentives; protective regulations to maintain unique and locally-run
businesses.
The Bird Cage: preventative measures for avian flu outbreaks, raising awareness of
public health procedures and recommendations, and informational campaigns for
residents. Prevent government overreactionhave clear policies in place.
Green Dragon: Want to avoid a U.S.-China conflict over Hawaii. To prevent thisopen
a diplomatic dialogue between the States over environmental policies, international
relations, and Taiwan/Tibet/Hawaii issues.

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