Chinatowns across the U.S. are vanishing, but what’s disappearing is more than real estate. In this deeply personal and historically grounded talk, Minjia Yan explores how these vibrant neighborhoods are being diminished by gentrification, cultural tokenism, and neglect. From D.C. to Philadelphia, and her own hometown of Las Vegas, she shows how Chinatowns stand as living testaments to immigrant resilience and why their disappearance matters to all of us.This isn’t just a talk about buildings. It’s about preserving culture, identity, and community for generations to come.About the Speaker:
Minjia Yan is a cultural advocate, community strategist, and storyteller dedicated to preserving immigrant heritage through policy and public engagement. With experience collaborating across civic and nonprofit sectors, she brings a nuanced, intergenerational perspective to conversations on gentrification and preservation. Her work highlights grassroots movements and reframes cultural neighborhoods as dynamic, evolving hubs, not relics of the past. Minjia Yan is the Director of Millennium Commercial Properties, a Las Vegas-based commercial real estate firm. She is currently acting as a project consultant for the 3-mile long Spring Mountain Corridor/Chinatown Redevelopment Plan, a comprehensive redevelopment plan initiated by Clark County.Minjia is passionate about placemaking and community development. She began her career in doing affordable housing projects in downtown Las Vegas. She is a committee member on the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC)’s Southern Nevada Strong Regional Plan and Transportation Resource Advisory Committee and the City of Henderson’s Henderson Strong Comprehensive Plan Stakeholder Group. She was honored by Business Insider as one of the "2020 Rising Stars of Real Estate" and by Commercial Property Executive magazine as one of the "Stars to Watch'' in 2022. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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