In our latest Neighborhood Nibbles session, we gathered to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month by reflecting on the diverse histories, voices, and contributions of AAPI communities to both American culture and the design profession.
We began with a look at the origins and purpose of AAPI Month—founded to honor the labor, struggles, and creativity of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans from the 1800s to today. Through this lens, we explored the layered stories of Chinatowns across the U.S., from San Francisco’s tourism-driven redesign after the 1906 earthquake, to Philadelphia’s community resistance to displacement, and Providence’s largely forgotten enclave on Empire Street.
We also spotlighted contemporary AAPI designers whose work is rooted in heritage and identity. Architects and creatives like Michael K. Chen, Arati Rao, Jing Liu, and Meejin Yoon shared how their cultural backgrounds inform their design philosophies—shaping work that is inclusive, expressive, and deeply personal.
