My objective for week #5 was to learn about Chinatown's citizens.
How Civically Active is Chinatown?
DC is the political heart of the world. That culture clearly affects resident civic and political engagement throughout the city. According to the the Corporation for National and Community Service for 2018, 39.8% of residents volunteer, which ranks #7 among all U.S. states.
Chinatown residents are among the most engaged. In my previous post on "Community," I discussed organizations like the 1882 Foundation, that host educational events about the history of Chinese American and DC's Chinatown. Long-time Chinatown residents have been forced to become more engaged to combat gentrification and pursue solutions to rising rents.
DC's Board of Elections has made voting easy. All community members can vote as official "DC residents" after residing in the city for only 30 days prior to an election. 17-year-olds can vote in primary elections.
How is DC's Response Team?
I've personally had great experience using DC's 311 non-emergency request portal. It seems others have as well, given the thousands of requests made for bulk trash collection, parking enforcement, and various other needs. DC's Office of Unified Communications (OUC) has also developed a 311 mobile app to submit and track these requests.
