https://www.scmp.com/rss/526342/feed Elias Girma is an urban planner and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional experience includes urban management and planning in Oakland and San Francisco. He writes about cities, migration, governance, economic development and the relationship between social justice and urban transformation. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Elias Girma Elias Girma I was sitting in my car in Oakland’s Chinatown with Desta, my dog, while my wife visited her Chinese-American doctor. Across the street stood the Shoong Family Chinese Cultural Centre. On the pavements, older shoppers carrying bags of greens paused to greet acquaintances. People threaded between produce displays, fish counters and shopfronts crowded with everyday necessities. There was a rhythm to the morning: deliveries, conversations, the exchange of money and news, the small acts of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373179/pacific-century-chinatowns-us-deserve-more-preservation https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373179/pacific-century-chinatowns-us-deserve-more-preservation Sat, 07 Nov 2026 01:30:07 +0000