Little Saigon is the social, economic, and cultural hub of the Vietnamese community in the Puget Sound region. People come from all over to eat food, go shopping, socialize, and take part in cultural events. The neighborhood is home to 85 majority immigrant and refugee-owned small businesses including restaurants, grocery stores, hair salons, jewelry stores, wholesale products, and community services.

In recent years, Little Saigon has experienced concentrated homelessness, drug use and overdoses, illegal street vending, and crime. Many of Seattle’s social issues have centralized in Little Saigon, placing additional pressure on a historically underrepresented community dealing with high displacement, limited access to culturally responsive resources, and a lack of investment in essential amenities and infrastructure. 

Friends of Little Sài Gòn (FLS) recognizes that the most long-lasting solutions come from the community and strong partnerships. The Phố Đẹp (Beautiful Neighborhood) initiative is a community-driven effort to address neighborhood safety challenges. Phố Đẹp centers on an approach called place-based problem solving, which builds local partnerships, trust, and community resources to implement place-based solutions and sustain progress over time. This work ties in well with the Little Saigon 2030 Action Plan, which provides a road map for achieving community visions.

Phố Đẹp is made possible by funding from: Amazon, Seattle CARE Department, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle Police Department, Seattle Police Foundation, The Asian American Foundation

Goals

• Build a coalition of community members, business owners, property managers, organizations, institutions, service providers, and local government to collectively improve public safety in Little Saigon.
• Brainstorm neighborhood assets and place-based interventions that could address some of the biggest challenges in Little Saigon.
• Implement a range of interventions that address the root causes and downstream effects of the neighborhood’s biggest challenges.
• Sustain momentum to continue Phố Đẹp implementation and evaluation efforts over the coming years.

Progress

Since the Community Kick-Off Event in February 2025, we and our partners have been working on actions from the Little Saigon Safety Plan. Here are some things we’re doing to improve public safety and wellbeing in Little Saigon:

• Building relationships so we can effectively improve community conditions.

1. 1. 1. We convened a coalition of 15 community members representing residents, small business owners, community-based organizations, and service providers to lead the 100 Day Challenges (a collection of small wins from the Little Saigon Safety Plan).
      2. Coalition members shared 60+ flyers in residential buildings with a QR code to sign up for the FLS newsletter to stay updated about news and events in the neighborhood.
      3. Two staff on our Small Business Support team were certified to conduct Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) security assessments.

• Improving and cleaning up streets, sidewalks, and storefronts.

1. 1. 1. We are working on 9 Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) projects including installing public art, new signage, plexiglass fencing, security film on windows, and cameras, with many more planned for the future.
      2. We are working with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to install more trash and recycling bins in the neighborhood to keep our streets clean.
      3. We are working with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to paint more crosswalks, repair broken infrastructure, plant and trim trees, and maintain safe streets for all.
      4. Seattle City Light added 6 new floodlights around major intersections.

• Improve coordination among social service providers to support people on the streets and get them the help they need.

1. 1. 1. REACH organized a pop-up resource fair in Hoa Mai Park with 15 providers and 80+ attendees.
      2. We Deliver Care launched in mid-March to support with conflict de-escalation. They are in the neighborhood every day from 7am-3:30pm.
      3. The CID Ambassador Program launched in June as another public safety resource in the neighborhood. They are in the CID every day from 2pm-10pm.
      4. Service providers are using case conferencing to keep track of high-impact individuals by name and better serve their needs.

• Coordinate across City departments to support Phố Đẹp.

1. 1. City staff convened an interdepartmental workgroup with representation from 8 departments.
   2. Departments are planning on scheduling community trainings on calling 911, reporting crimes, preventing burglaries, using the Find It, Fix It app, and more.
   3. City staff and the FLS team are looking into getting the Find It, Fix It app translated into more languages.

Resources

• 2025 Phố Đẹp Impact Report (PDF) – This report summarizes progress we made in 2025 and what we are looking towards in 2026. Viet Translation.
• Little Saigon Safety Plan (PDF) – This plan describes the first phase of the Phố Đẹp (Beautiful Neighborhood) initiative and includes the full context of the Phố Đẹp project through February 2025, background information, methodology, and action ideas from the proposed interventions. See the executive summaries or shortened versions below.
• Executive Summaries – These shortened versions of the Little Saigon Safety Plan provide a general overview of Phố Đẹp. 
  • Executive Summary – English
  • Executive Summary – Vietnamese
  • Executive Summary – Simplified Chinese
    
• Appendices – Each of these appendices are referenced in the full Little Saigon Safety Plan. They’re linked here for easy access.
  • Appendix A: Little Saigon Crime Data
  • Appendix B: Little Saigon 2030 Action Plan
  • Appendix C: CPTED Summary Report
  • Appendix D: Service Provider Assets
  • Appendix E: Addressing Places in Seattle Where Overdoses and Crime are Concentrated
  • Appendix F: REACH data
  • Appendix G: Completed Logic Model
• Shared Materials from Community Stakeholder Gatherings

News

“Friends of Little Saigon launches place-based initiative to improve neighborhood safety and livability”, Chetanya Robinson, International Examiner (March 11, 2025)