Japantown Visioning Project

The Redevelopment Agency (RDA) and the Japanese American community’s 2018 partnership to mitigate the potential impacts of a neighboring development on the stretch of 100 South in between 200 and 300 West known as “Japantown,” shed light on something much bigger – a shared goal to enhance Japantown to become a vibrant gathering place honoring Japanese culture.

This led to the RDA’s funding of a yearlong, visioning process where Japantown leadership, community members, and area stakeholders worked together to identify priorities for improving Japantown’s public right of way.

The community’s overall vision was encapsulated in the Japantown Design Strategy and Guidelines. The Strategy’s main elements are outlined below on this webpage, and the entire document is also available for download here:

PARTICIPANTS + PRIORITIES

Visioning participants included the Japanese Community Preservation Committee, Japanese Church of Christ, and Salt Lake Buddhist Temple. 

Through a series of exercises, the community representatives identified three main things they wanted to prioritize in the design: 

• Improved functionality, such as festival street enhancements; 

• Safety for all who use it; and 

• Placemaking that establishes Japantown as the special place that it is.  

VISION + DESIGN

The group also created the following Vision Statement and Design Guideposts to guide decision-making for the community into the future. This important exercise played a key role in how the final document came together.

STREET CONCEPT + PLACEMAKING

The group selected a preferred street concept that incorporated their main priorities including – but not limited to – festival street enhancements, safety, and placemaking.

An example of how placemaking elements may be incorporated on Japantown Street based on the community vision includes history and storytelling elements, art elements, entryway monuments, and functional placemaking elements.

BEST PRACTICES

In addition to improvements to the public right of way, the community expressed interest in programming Japantown Street with active uses such as food truck events, as well as supporting Japanese American-owned businesses on Japantown Street as seen at other successful Japantowns throughout the United States.  

As such, the Strategy also includes a “Best Practices Report” on the management, programming, and operations structure of other successful Japantowns to get an understanding of how they’re funded, managed, and successful overall. 

PROJECTED COSTS

At the time of the Strategy’s 2021 publishing, the implementation cost was estimated at roughly $7.4 million, plus $160K – $200K ongoing maintenance. These figures have likely increased since then. 

Due to the overall cost of the desired improvements, the design would most likely be implemented in three separate phases, each building on the first and incorporating each type of important element as early as the first phase, and throughout each phase.  

EXTRA CONTENT

In addition to the above elements, the Japantown Design Strategy includes the following:

• Summary of the Overall Process and Outcomes
• Background and History of Japantown Street and the Design Strategy Project
• Community Engagement Process
• Design Approach
• Implementation and Operations Recommendations
• Appendices Including Japantown Historical Photos

RECOGNITION

This project has been recognized by the American Planning Association of Utah, a clip of which can be be seen here.

It has also received attention from The University of Utah Magazine in a feature article detailing the significance of the Street’s history. This article provides a glimpse into the creative process behind the design project. 

Based on the best practices report that looked at other vibrant Japantown areas to get an understanding of how they are achieving success, a key takeaway is the importance of a Japantown management group that oversees the area and coordinates funding and programming.

It has been recommended that the next step taken by the Japanese American community be to decide on an organizational structure to begin seeking funding for Japantown’s improvements identified in the Strategy. It’s anticipated that the community will apply for Salt Lake City, RDA, County, State, and even national funding to support the revitalization of Japantown.

Salt Lake City looks forward to its continued partnership with the Japanese American community and welcomes additional entities to the table to help bring the rest of the community’s vision for Japantown to life!