Placemaking with the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon

This September, placemaking artist Roshani Thakore and Mapping Action Collective member Sachi Arakawa led “82nd + Beyond,” a walking tour highlighting the creative placemaking projects that have taken place in the Jade District over the past four years. Sachi and Roshani created a walking map of the Jade District highlighting important places to the community, as well as documenting the work Roshani has done bringing placemaking to the neighborhood through artist projects. Maps are available in English, Chinese, and Vietnamese.

The project was supported by the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), Oregon’s leading advocates for Asian and Pacific Islander communities, especially recent immigrant and refugee populations. APANO is headquartered in Portland’s Jade District, a Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative (NPI) area designated by the City of Portland in 2011. The Jade District has now been adopted by APANO, which focuses on community development work in the neighborhood around Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street. The mapping projects tells community stories of migration, displacement, and gentrification in the Jade, helping us see how the larger history of economic change has shaped the neighborhoods and the community’s daily lives.

In its fourth year, APANO’s Creative Placemaking Project Grants provide opportunities for people who are connected to East Portland–including those who do not traditionally identify as artists–to use art as a tool to foster a sense of place and cultivate social justice. Placemaking projects seek to challenge gentrification and advocate for the rejuvenation of public spaces for all income groups, using the Jade-Midway Districts Art Plan as a guiding vision. Along with the walking map were stories from community members about how they view their neighborhood, and their experiences living in and navigating the area.