Planetizen Takes a Look at Latino Urbanism

Josh Stephens has written an interesting and intelligent article over at Planetizen entitled, “Out Of The Enclave: Latinos Adapt, And Adapt To, The American City.”Intentionally or not, the article shows that Latino communities existing inside urban areas are way ahead of the rest of the curve when it comes to creating public spaces in the misdesigned urban areas we call home.  In short, while the rest of America was building cities around the car, they were fighting to reclaim public space in communities abandoned by Caucasians that weren’t built with public gatherings in mind.

To wet your appetite, here’s an excerpt from the article.  Now get to reading, there’s going to be a pop quiz on Monday:

Latinos are also prolific gardeners, especially in places where
community gardens are accessible, and they use temporary farmers
markets as community gathering places rather than just venues to buy
produce. And whereas homeowners association guidelines often dictate
what shade of paint a suburban house may wear, Latino neighborhoods are
adorned with murals, hand-painted storefronts, and other
“do-it-yourself design interventions,” according to Rojas.

Though it may look like idle loitering, Latino social life and even
commerce take place on streetcorners, strip-mall parking lots, and
sidewalks, many of which are cramped and narrow yet provide crucial
space in which day laborers find jobs and street vendors sell food and
wares from pushcarts and vans. And because their rates of car ownership
are relatively low, Latinos tend to use sidewalks for the novel purpose
of walking.

“Latinos are going to continue to take advantage of any open space
that’s available,” said Los Angeles City Council Member Ed Reyes. “We
come from a cultural tradition of mercados and central plazas.”

Photo: Planetizen