Found some visuals...

I found a few visuals to help me understand the area that the Chen family lives in. Wayson Choy did a lot of research and successfully made the plot seem much more realistic. He mentions a lot of street names and businesses, buildings, or parks. I thought it would be good for me to search for some real life images so I can properly visualize and understand what is happening better.

This is a map (screenshot off of Google Maps) that shows where the main part of Chinatown that Choy deals with in All That Matters is located. In chapter 5, Kiam-Kim mentions that he would sometimes go to MacLean Park with Jung-Sum. Also, in chapter 6 (currently reading) he says he goes there to smoke or drink with Jack and his other friend Jeff. The Chen's family house is located on E Pender Street.

 I looked up houses on E Pender Street and photos such as the one shown below appeared on the screen. This was somewhat how I visualized the houses, but with a larger space between them. In one chapter, Jack swings from a rope tied to Kiam's porch and flies into his own house window across the street. This made me think that the streets were pretty narrow and the houses must be close together.

  

This is another map, with the main areas circled and labeled. Kiam and his family live in northern Chinatown and the children go to school in Strathcona. This helped me understand the actual distance Kiam and Jung have to walk when he says they are walking to school in Strathcona. The Vancouver Wharfs are also labelled. That is where Father, Poh-Poh, and Kiam-Kim were when their ship from China arrived. It is also where they picked up Stepmother when she arrived, too. The railyards are close to Chinatown too, which means it is definitely easy to hear when a train goes by; this was heavily talked about in the first couple chapters.