selected Reporting
Here is a selection of my reporting. If you wish to view my entire body of work, please scroll to the very bottom of this page.
Capturing Instagram’s Backstage from My Downtown Window
The Tyee. Jan. 2, 2018.
My office window overlooks a rooftop where Instagrammers show up regularly to take pics of themselves. I have secretly been taking pictures of them in return. My investigation on the app, narcissism, creativity and its impact on cities.
Growing Up
Chinese Canadian:
A Century of Stories
A five-part series.
The Tyee. July 7, 2017.
How children of Chinese immigrants, in several generations, forge their Canadian identities — a process that can mean drawing from the cultures and traditions of two worlds, and often, too, feeling torn between them.
The Unsung Heroism of Vancouver Specials
Metro. Oct. 26, 2017.
Why does everyone hate this house so much? It turns out, snobbery from the wealthy buried their contribution to the city.
goodbye to the vancouver we know?
Metro. Dec. 28, 2017.
How inequality, segregation and displacement are destroying what made Vancouver special.
What Do We Mean By ‘Affordable Housing?’
The Tyee. Aug. 7, 2017
If we’re to solve housing crises, we need to agree on what defines affordability, and for who.
Why the Struggle of Renters Is Canada’s ‘Ultimate Housing Problem’
The Tyee. May 26, 2017.
Condos, policies that favour homeowners, and leaving the responsibility of housing to the market make Canada a terrible place to rent.
‘Ethnoburbs’: The New Face of Immigrant Cities
The Tyee. Aug. 5, 2017.
Old settlement patterns have reversed, but old problems of adaptation remain.
Take a Video Tour of Vancouver’s ‘Missing Middle’ Housing Projects
The Tyee. March 27, 2017.
Creative thinking, relaxed zoning inspire buildings that add density to neighbourhoods—without adding towers.
Unaffordable Cities, Look to Quality Public Housing in Vienna
The Tyee. May 17, 2017.
There are many creative possibilities when housing is considered a public good.
Chinatown and the Global Fight for the Neighbourhood
Megaphone Magazine. September 2017 cover.
Development targets low-income neighbourhoods, such as ethnic enclaves. How do cities protect residents, businesses, and intangible heritage?
Rebranding the Block
Business in Vancouver. July 19, 2016.
From Fraserhood to Crosstown to Port Town, new Metro Vancouver neighbourhood identities are generating opportunities and controversy as demographics and business focuses change
Disappearing
Main Street
Metro. Oct. 13, 2017.
Photo project highlights gentrifying neighbourhood.
‘Fraserhood’?
Metro. Dec. 28, 2017.
How renaming and rebranding an old neighbourhood can erase its history. Mountainview has a rich working-class immigrant past.
Abandon the single-family house
The Tyee. Oct. 24, 2016.
If you shake off your house addiction, you’ll be happier and healthier, this UBC professor says.
This ain’t your grandparents’ sunday worship
The Tyee. Aug. 17, 2015.
Old god, new tricks? On the ‘Left Coast’, plugged-in (even gluten-free) churches grow while Christianity declines.
Building Better ‘Burbs
The Tyee. Aug. 21, 2017.
Suburbs aren’t going away, but they need to be designed much smarter.
The Might of Migrant Malls
Metro. Oct. 6, 2017.
Migrant malls offer immigrants an easier time transitioning to life in Canada, from overseas goods to the ability to speak in their mother tongue.
Bubble tea invasion!
Metro. Nov. 2, 2017.
After two decades of mom-and-pops serving the Taiwanese treat, East Asian bubble tea chains open up in Vancouver en masse.
In Vancouver’s Port Land Makeover, Industry Takes a Blow
The Tyee. Aug. 3, 2015.
In the scramble for residential land, should industrial areas be sacrificed?
‘Hot and Noisy’: The Communal Power of Mahjong
The Tyee. June 25, 2015.
In Vancouver’s fast shifting Chinatown, an ancient game is open to all.
The Key to a Family-Friendly City? Family-Sized Housing
The Tyee. Nov. 25, 2016.
Fully functioning cities need families too. Here’s how they can attract and keep them.
rooftopping
Metro. Dec. 8, 2017
“Rooftoppers” have been visiting tall buildings for decades, but thanks to Instagram, the hobby of photographing and sharing dreamy and dramatic cityscapes from up-top has taken off.
Urban explorers revel in the dishelved
Metro. Dec. 1, 2017.
“Urbex”enthusiasts venture into abandoned buildings, the underbellies of bridges, storm-drain networks, and high-rise rooftops. They often come away with breathtaking photos (and bragging rights).
Burnaby Boom
The Tyee. Aug. 30, 2016.
As a bedroom suburb grows up, who gets left behind?
Complete Reporting
Click the names of publications below to view all my stories written for them.
The Tyee
Vancouver Courier
Metro
Business in Vancouver
Megaphone Magazine
South China Morning Post
Vancouver Observer