A multitude of urban renewal plans for downtown Philadelphia threatened the future of Chinatown in the 1960s. As initially proposed, the Vine Street Expressway restricted growth to the north. Exit ramps would have entailed the demolition of much of Holy Redeemer Church and cut off the neighborhood to the east. Market East construction bordered the neighborhood to the the south and west. These plans boxed Chinatown in on all sides and made any future growth of the community next to impossible.

Demolition continued unabated, destroying many homes and businesses and increasing a feeling of urban blight in the neighborhood. Protests finally led to an agreement with the city that would stop further demolition until Environmental Impact Statements had been completed for all proposed projects and final construction plans approved by community representatives. Even children got involved in the Save Chinatown movement and played a major role in demonstrations and petition drives.

Save Chinatown activists consistently pressured city officials for neighborhood representation in the urban planning process. In 1973 residents attended a City Council hearing on plans for the Vine Street Expressway.