South LA
Streetsblog LA
South L.A. Celebrates Slate-Z’s Promise Zone Designation; Prepares to Roll up Sleeves and Get to Work
If at first you don't succeed in winning the Promise Zone designation from the Obama administration, try, try again.
June 7, 2016
A Year after Breaking Ground at Vermont and Manchester, Major Shopping Center Project Appears to Have Stalled
Last year, on the 23rd anniversary of the 1992 riots, then-councilmember Bernard Parks held a groundbreaking ceremony with developer Eli Sasson and a host of local dignitaries at the site of the proposed Vermont Entertainment Village. The shiny new open-air mall, Parks and others claimed, would anchor positive growth in the South Los Angeles neighborhoods around Vermont and Manchester and transform them into a destination.
June 1, 2016
Metro Awards Contract for Environmental Study and Design of Phase I of Rail-to-River Bike Path
As bike month comes to a close, we have some good news for South L.A. cyclists. At yesterday's Metro Board meeting, a $2 million contract was awarded to Cityworks Design to begin working on plans for a 6.4 mile segment of the Rail-to-River bike path project (segments A-1, A-2, and A-3, above).
May 27, 2016
Four Years in the Making, CicLAvia Southeast Rides Strong
Sadly, a scheduling snafu meant that I was out of town for CicLAvia Southeast this past weekend. Having to settle for watching the photos pop up on social media was not nearly as good as being there in person. But it was still pretty great, believe it or not.
May 16, 2016
CicLAvia XVII Open Thread – Southeast Cities
Yesterday, CicLAvia touched down in Southeast Los Angeles County for the first time. The 10-mile car-free open streets route included the cities of Huntington Park, Lynwood, and South Gate, and the L.A. City community of Watts and the unincorporated L.A. County communities of Florence-Firestone and Walnut Park.
May 16, 2016
Friday Corner of Shame: Burned-Out Structure Knocked Down, Remains Unremediated for a Year
Riddle me this: A dilapidated two-story apartment building in your neighborhood burns so brightly that as many as 70 firefighters from 36 units are dispatched to put down the fire. The structure becomes unstable. It is eventually knocked down so as to prevent it from collapsing on its own.
May 6, 2016
Little-Tokyo-to-Watts Ride Explores Shared History of Japanese- and African-American Angelenos
The unity bike ride - the third annual effort between the East Side Riders Bike Club and the Asian and Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance (APIOPA) to link the communities that lie along the historic Central Avenue corridor by unearthing their shared history - kicked off yesterday's event with a discussion of the origins of Little Tokyo.
May 2, 2016
Re:code L.A. Comes to Boyle Heights Saturday to Talk Updates to Zoning Code
Re:code L.A. is holding a forum in Boyle Heights Saturday (TOMORROW) morning from 9 a.m. to noon to talk with the community about the city's $5 million, five-year effort to update its outdated zoning code.
April 15, 2016
“More than Just Food” Looks at Role of Community Services Unlimited in Advancing Food Justice
"Food is a way in which you can get folks to think critically about their environment," Lawrence De Freitas, a staff member with South Los Angeles-based Community Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU), tells researcher and author Garrett Broad in an interview for Broad's new book, More than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change. [Broad will be hosting a talk at CSU Saturday, details here.]
March 25, 2016
Street Beats Inspires Spontaneous Episodes of Dance, Music, Joy, and Safety on Crenshaw Corner
Last week, the Street Beats team converted the extremely busy and often dangerous intersection of Crenshaw and Florence into a play zone.
February 26, 2016