Over the past 40 years, a string of urban renewal programs have focused on Chinatown's 15 square city blocks of open-air markets and antique buildings.

Those programs have pumped millions of dollars into razings and renovations and spurred four mayors and countless residents and merchants to offer solutions for long-standing blight.

The latest effort to revitalize Chinatown, and chip away at its reputation for drugs, prostitution and sleazy bars, comes as art galleries are moving in and crime is decreasing. But residents and business owners say they still grapple with persistent problems — drug use, homelessness and parking among them.

And they worry that Mayor Mufi Hannemann's brand of revitalization will set off rent inflation, potentially bringing in corporate chains at the cost of small shops.

"I can see where there might be some mom-and-pop stores going out if the government gets involved," said James "Jimmy" Hashimoto, a retiree who lives at Kekaulike Courtyards on Maunakea Street. "It's good for the city to maintain Chinatown."

CITY-PLANNED SUMMIT

More than 300 people are expected to crowd into the Hawai'i Theatre today to talk about the future of Chinatown as part of a city-planned summit convened to solicit input from the community and hopefully spark a resurgence of pride in the historic district, which encompasses about 36 acres and is home to a little more than 3,000 people.

He also said the city wants to "maintain the characteristics" of the neighborhood.

But some residents and merchants say the city appears too interested in looking at big-picture issues and not attentive enough to smaller, quality-of-life concerns.

In March, Arts at Marks Garage on Nu'uanu Avenue conducted a community survey of 350 residents, businesses and visitors in anticipation of the city's summit.

The biggest concerns about Chinatown among those polled weren't whether new businesses were coming in, but small-scale issues like dangerous crosswalks, lack of parking and drug dealing. Sixty percent of residents said they did not feel safe in the neighborhood.

"To me, re-envisioning Chinatown is really looking at the big picture," said Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau, community facilitator at Arts at Mark, adding that the city should be simultaneously paying attention to big- and small-scale concerns.

"If you start by taking baby steps, it can be achieved."

A HISTORY OF CHANGE

In the 1960s, then-Mayor Neal Blaisdell formed a task force to study options for revitalizing Chinatown. The committee paved the way for Chinatown's designation as a historic district in 1973, which helped set off a series of revitalization projects aimed at cleaning up the neighborhood and clearing out criminals.

In the 1970s and '80s, under Mayor Frank Fasi, a city-backed project to raze and rebuild parts of Chinatown was challenged by many, with residents and merchants staging protests and marching on Honolulu Hale. The city's original plans were scaled down, but still included millions of federal and city dollars to tear down rickety structures.

Fasi and his successor, Mayor Jeremy Harris, together spent more than $200 million on Chinatown through the late 1990s, building underground parking, high-rise housing and walking malls for produce vendors, widening streets and installing new lighting.

Hannemann took up the Chinatown torch as soon as he took office, but warned merchants and residents that the city wouldn't throw money at the neighborhood and likely wouldn't be financing any large projects given the city's tight budget.

Instead, funding will have to come from public-private partnerships, the federal government and grants. The city has also said it will not lead the revitalization, but act as a facilitator to bring residents, business owners and entrepreneurs together.

"We don't have the staff to take the lead role," said Alenka Remec, the city's small-business advocate overseeing the Chinatown summit. "And we don't want this to be us, you, we, they. We want everyone to realize that they have a stake in this. Revitalization is not redevelopment. We're not planning to replace what exists."

Remec said the city has worked to make small changes in Chinatown over the past two years to attract business owners and deter crime.

A city maintenance team has stepped up work in Chinatown, power-washing sidewalks and taking out rubbish. On River Street, a project to improve street lighting was just completed. Also, three municipal garages in Chinatown are being revamped.

KEEPING ITS CHARACTER

Most days, Hashimoto sits outside his apartment at Kekaulike Courtyards to watch the bustle of Chinatown's open-air markets and listen to their din, replete with bartering, arguing and ordering in different languages.

The retiree, who has lived in Chinatown for nine years, often spots tourists excitedly pointing at fruits and vegetables — Japanese cucumber, Chinese cabbage and Korean melon — displayed in boxes on the ground or outside storefronts. He sees residents haggling with vendors over prices. Some find a deal, others walk off in a huff.

On a recent weekday, Hashimoto surveyed remnants of the morning rush through Chinatown. A few meandering visitors strolled by Kekaulike Mall, as street merchants prepared to close up for the afternoon. A light wind carried the scents of castaway produce left in the sun to rot.

"I see everything. People coming out of shops. The diverse ethnic groups," Hashimoto said, smiling widely and looking out at the street mall.

Hashimoto, along with several other residents and business owners, said he doesn't want Chinatown to become known for upscale shops and expensive restaurants, though they're happy to see a few have moved into the arts district on Nu'uanu Avenue.

They also say there is reason to be optimistic about Chinatown's future.

DRUGS, PROSTITUTION

New businesses are bringing more customers to the district. The number of bars and sex shops in the neighborhood has dropped in recent years. And major crimes, though still a significant concern, appear to be decreasing. In 2004, the latest year for which police statistics are available, robbery, burglary and auto theft were all down in Chinatown from 2003.

"Years ago to now, it's really decreased as far as the overall crime rate," said Maj. Randy Macadangdang, who oversees police in Chinatown and will be at today's summit. "But we are addressing the same concerns — that being the selling of drugs and prostitution. We continue to devote resources to those problems."

Outside the River of Life Mission on Pauahi Street last week, homeless people waited for a free shower and a hot lunch. Wafts of kalua pig and cabbage escaped from the mission's kitchen onto the sidewalk, where Jeff McClure stood with a backpack at his feet.

The 48-year-old was evicted this month from his downtown apartment because he wasn't able to pay a higher rent. During the day, he stays in Chinatown for a meal and a shower. At night, he sleeps at the Institute for Human Service's shelter in Iwilei.

RIVER OF LIFE MISSION

McClure said the city's push to revitalize Chinatown is long overdue. He pointed at the sidewalk, soot-black and oily with dirt and food droppings, and said the focus of the campaign needs to be on cleaning up public spaces and buildings.

"It's awful," he said. "Why aren't they washing it down?"

The River of Life Mission started in Chinatown in 1987, serving food out of a van on Pauahi Street. The church expanded into its current quarters at the intersection with Maunakea Street in the 1990s, kicking out a peep show and a bar.

These days, the mission serves 15,000 meals a month to the homeless and poor — breakfast, lunch and dinner — up from 13,000 meals a year ago.

Several times, merchants and residents have tried to push the mission out of Chinatown, saying its draws homeless people from elsewhere into the neighborhood. But the mission has stuck with it, arguing it has made the community safer and is serving a growing need.

Shervelle Gardner, operations director at the mission, hopes the city will remember that the homeless and poor residents she serves live in Chinatown, too.

"We live in paradise, but there's a price to live in paradise," she said.

The city's revitalization project excites Gifford Chang, a member of the Chinatown Merchants Association. He said the city is on the "right track," especially with their insistence that city money not provide major funding for renewal projects.

He doesn't see officials making moves to change Chinatown's character.

"I think the mom-and-pop stores are doing fine," he said, with a laugh.

For Nancy Bannick, who fought against the city's Chinatown redevelopment project in the 1960s and co-wrote "A Close Call: Saving Honolulu's Chinatown," Hannemann's revitalization offers both opportunities and challenges.

"What's the future? Is it going to be too gentrified or not?" she said, adding that it should be a city priority to save Chinatown's historical buildings. "It's certainly a historic place. It's full of activity. I think people would like to see it thrive."