Empowering Immigrants’ Environmental Engagement: Intersectional Community Building in Richmond, B.C.

Abstract

My thesis explores the dynamics between ecological challenges, spaces inhabited by immigrants, and cultural identity. Given Canada’s current ambitious immigration policies, the project takes an empathetic stance, drawing from local ecological conditions to support immigrants’ integration in Canada by proposing spatial conditions to foster social integration.

Ethnic Chinese immigration to Canada has been common since the country’s establishment for diverse reasons including labour migration, family reunification, business immigration, and political tensions. Many have relocated to Metro Vancouver in British Columbia (B.C.), especially Richmond, where many cite their ethnic origin as China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. There is a complex amalgamation of issues here. Segregation between immigrants and English-speaking locals is visible through the tension regarding Chinese-only signage in the city. The city is also prone to flooding. The city provides various environmental stewardship programs, yet they often rarely target immigrants. There is a stereotype that immigrants care less about environmental issues, given their priority of economic stability. However, flooding can hinder financial stability. Hence, this thesis asks how architecture can facilitate environmental stewardship initiatives by engaging immigrants in the context of Richmond’s immigrant-dominated demographic.

To address the research question, I analyze existing literature. However, limited materials provide insight into this niche and ever-changing subject encompassing social, political, and ecological considerations. Instead, scholars offer insights into various disaggregated aspects of the topic and highlight the importance of redefining the relationship between ethnic minority groups and environmental movements. Moreover, I explore Richmond’s environmental and anti-racism initiatives, analyzing their successes and shortcomings. The goal is to understand the barriers to implementing community-building or environmental programs for Canada’s immigrants.

This research will materialize in the latter part of the project in the form of a housing cooperative (co-op) design. In response to the critical reading of Richmond’s existing initiatives and policies, I advocate for designing smaller interventions that are well-integrated with daily life in place of massive-scaled projects to address a community’s intersectional issues. Moreover, I aim to address Richmond’s intersectional environmental issues by designing a housing cooperative as a response to B.C.’s housing crisis, a critical issue in the province. The design process will involve site planning, context analysis, program analysis, and photographic analysis. Overall, the design aims to acknowledge the financial benefits of living with environmentalism, and the importance of collective participation to create a sustainable project over the long term.

Ultimately, as a child of immigrants from Hong Kong, this topic is not just a professional interest but a deeply personal one. This research aims to inform forthcoming design projects, enabling diverse immigrant groups to engage in a spectrum of environmental stewardship initiatives.