The Chinatown Stitch
CLIENT
City of Philadelphia
USDOT
A Reconnecting Communities project to bridge a highway and heal historic inequities
The construction of Philadelphia’s Vine Street Expressway nearly 40 years ago displaced Chinatown residents and businesses and cut the neighborhood in two. The Chinatown Stitch explores capping the expressway to create green space and safer crossings to connect the two sides of Chinatown. This project is an important milestone in what has been decades of work by the community to repair the harm of the expressway. The City was part of the USDOT’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and was subsequently awarded with a $159 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Construction Grant.