Photo credit: Wally Gobetz. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED

Project Background 

The Reimagine Japantown Committee (RJC), composed of a group of Japantown community leaders, has partnered with the City to articulate a bold but realistic vision for the future of Japantown, while at the same time recognizing the critical role it has played in San Francisco for over 115 years. 

This vision will have a focus on the Japan Center Malls (JCM), and will engage representatives from the Japanese American, City, local business, development, cultural, historical and residential communities to ensure that Japantown thrives and successfully sustains its cultural and historic identity into the next century. This effort will build on the community planning work to date including the 2009 Japantown Better Neighborhoods Plan (BNP), the 2013 Japantown Cultural Heritage and Economic Sustainability Strategy (JCHESS), and the 2023 Japantown Cultural History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability report (CHHESS) (see Appendix A: Past Community Planning Efforts).

Resources

• 2009 Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan (BNP)

• Japan Center Proforma Analysis

• 2013 Japantown Cultural Heritage and Economic Sustainability Strategy (JCHESS)

• 2019 Japantown Special Area Design Guidelines

• 2023 Japantown Cultural History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability Strategy (CHHESS) Report