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203486 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.203486 APA (7th edition): Yu, H., & Liu, C. (2025, March). Public interiority and cultural resilience: A case study of Chinatown, LA. Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Annual Conference, Chicago, IL. Chicago Manual of Style: Yu, Huabing, and Chunyao Liu. “Public Interiority and Cultural Resilience: A Case Study of Chinatown, LA.” Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, March 2025. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2025 2025 1 PDF (6 pages) Chinatown (Los Angeles, Calif.) Multiculturalism Public spaces eng Yu, Huabing Liu, Chunyao Date supplied by author. Includes bibliographical references. The cultivation of cultural resilience in communities is considered a key placemaking strategy to preserve historical and local characteristics and accommodate community needs in response to the cultural assimilation caused by rapid urbanization and globalization. This strategy connects the historic urban spaces with users' present daily lives while maintaining the community’s cultural heritage during the long-term changes. However, due to designers’ limited understanding of local communities' everyday conditions and human experiences, challenges arise in incorporating spatial factors that promote cultural resilience when shaping livable community spaces. To address this limitation, this paper draws on the concept of “interiority,” and more specifically, “public interiority,” a concept that is “intrinsic to human experience,” (Perolini, 2012) focuses on everyday conditions, and aims to create an “interior-feeling place” shaped by transient, situational conditions including “psychological conditions, atmospheres, form,” and “programme” (Teston, 2020). By understanding the causes of public interiority and its relationship with cultural features and daily activities in the space, designers will be better equipped to create spaces that align with people’s daily needs, thereby maintaining the cultural resilience of the community. This study proposes the following research questions: How does public interiority, shaped by cultural features and spatial characteristics of the public spaces of the community, change during long-term development? And, how did these changes in turn impact these urban spaces? To answer these questions, this study employs a single case study research (Yin, 2009), focusing on Chinatown in Los Angeles as the unit of analysis. The reason for selecting Chinatown is that it is an exemplary cross-cultural community demonstrating strong cultural resilience. Cross-cultural communities in the U.S. have emerged through waves of immigration and the integration of diverse cultural groups. While many have struggled to maintain their cultural identities in the face of gentrification, cultural assimilation, and economic pressures—especially after World War II—Chinatown in LA has successfully preserved its unique cultural characteristics despite these challenges. This makes it a compelling example of cultural resilience amidst transformation. This study collects data from multiple sources, including Geographic Information System (GIS), historical documents, photos, and field observations. It uses Space Syntax (Bafna, 2003), a spatial graphical analysis theory that examines the configuration and components of space and its impact on social behaviors, to analyze movement paths, sight lines, and gatherings to reveal the dynamic relationship between people and space. By integrating public interiority theory, the research explores motivations and cognitive processes behind these behaviors, oZering a design framework for visualizing and explaining how cultural features, spatial characteristics, and human activities interact in urban spaces. A key contribution of this study lies in its emphasis on the relationship between public interiority and the design elements of interior-feeling spaces, highlighting their significance for urban design. By examining the feedback loop between public interiority and various components of the public spaces in Chinatown, Los Angeles, it connects interiority theories with urban cultural characteristics, engaging both interior and public space designers. The research deepens the understanding of interiority and urban spaces, fostering cross-cultural community development. Ultimately, it underscores the critical role of these elements in promoting cultural resilience, particularly in communities facing rapid urbanization. Text Public Interiority and Cultural Resilience: A Case Study of Chinatown, LA