Tyee Story on ‘Ethnoburbs’ Nominated for National Award

We know journalist Christopher Cheung is great. Regular Tyee readers do too.

But we’re still chuffed that he’s nominated for a 2017 Digital Publishing Award for a Tyee article that combined his passions — reporting, photography and neighbourhoods.

Cheung’s article with accompanying photos, “Ethnoburbs: The New Face of Immigrant Cities” beautifully chronicled life inside the growing communities of immigrant-dominated suburbs — so-called “ethnoburbs.”

Newcomers to North America have settled in ethnic enclaves for more than a century — the Chinatowns and Little Italys of cities. But many of those enclaves got swept by gentrification or died out due to changes in migration patterns. As a result, many newcomers are shifting to the suburbs instead, making those communities their own.

In his piece, Cheung dives deep into the burbs of Richmond, B.C., California and outside Auckland, N.Z., looking at how immigration shapes communities today.

One particular interest of Cheung’s is immigrant malls (his story features a girl who grew up in Richmond, B.C.’s Yaohan Centre, where her mother was a barber).

“I spent a lot of time lurking in the food courts of those malls eating stuff,” said Cheung.

“For the longest time, I’ve heard friends talk about Pacific Mall in Markham outside Toronto being similar to Richmond’s malls, and when I visited, I was shocked to see another bustling immigrant community in the middle of suburbia. That’s when I started wondering about the story of how these places came to be.”

Since Cheung wrote the story last summer, he’s still obsessed with ethnoburbs. He recently visited the Chinese ethnoburb of Flushing in Queens, N.Y., where 69 per cent of the population identifies as Asian.

With some Canadians fearing liberal immigration policies and foreign investment in local real estate, Cheung’s investigation raises questions about Canadian identity: Who is Canadian, anyway? What’s the line between integration and assimilation? And what does it mean to be a multicultural nation?

“Through his photos and intimate interviews with newcomers and children of immigrants, young and old, Chris captured the spirit of an important and growing community in the Lower Mainland,” said Tyee editor Robyn Smith.

“We’re thrilled that the Digital Publishing Awards spotted the talent of this young writer and recognized him with this nomination.”

Others nominated in the category include:

Jana Pruden, “Crichton Farm,” The Globe and Mail

Matt Kwong, “Meet Al Hill, the sole resident of the world's largest abandoned building” CBC News

Craig Silverman, “Online Scam Artists Are Using Hoaxes About Terrorist Attacks To Make Money,” Buzzfeed Canada

The winner will be announced on June 1 at the awards gala for the Digital Publishing Awards in Toronto.