South LA
Streetsblog LA
Tour de Watts: Join us for an event to celebrate the launch of Streetsblog in South L.A.
Join us from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Watts to celebrate the launch of Streetsblog in South L.A.!
March 7, 2012
Parks: Sometimes They Take a While to Grow on You
SELLING SOUTH PARK ON their new park seems to be a slow process.
March 2, 2012
All Biked Up and Nowhere to Go: Four Boys in Florence-Firestone
FOUR BOYS WITH BIKES between the ages of 9 and 13 stand in a yard along Hooper St. in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood, looking warily at me as I pull up on my bike. Victor, a solid kid with a swipe of grease across his cheek, tightens his grip on a wrench as the others glance nervously at each other. Strangers tend not to show up in people's yards asking questions very often around here, and these kids are clearly not sure what to make of the situation.
March 1, 2012
Metro Diaries: 6 Stops with Daniel the Candy Man
“I GOT ARRESTED once,” Daniel said, cheerfully.
February 28, 2012
Planning for Community Engagement in Urban Planning
“SPEED BUMPS,” volunteered a participant in response to questions about what would improve the overall quality, safety, and walkability of their neighborhood.
February 24, 2012
The Human Cost of Car-Centrism: Carwashes are the New Sweatshops
Unionization at two carwashes represents victory for a handful of workers, but underscores how much more remains to be done to protect workers.
February 22, 2012
A Garden Grows in Florence-Firestone
When he first came to check out the lot at 98th and Pace, Edgar Flores found himself stumbling across the carcasses of animals that had been dumped there. A couple of dead dogs, a bag full of dead roosters, he lamented, “the smell was horrible!”
February 16, 2012
Activist Profile: The East Side Riders — Riding for Love
WHEN I FIRST MET JOHN JONES III, leader of the East Side Riders, he sized up all 5' 2” of me and, instead of shaking my hand, stuck his straight up in the air.
February 14, 2012
Rolling with the Real Rydaz Low Rider Bike Club
The Real Rydaz Low Rider Bike Club are comprised of around 30 riders, and distinguished from other groups by the insane amount of detail that goes into crafting their custom bikes. It's all for a good cause, however. They hope that by riding with pride through the streets of their communities--communities where recreational riding is sometimes rare--they are sending a message about the importance of being healthy to youth and adults alike. It is a real club with dues and a probationary period.
February 10, 2012
A Ride to the Watts Towers: More than a Ride to the Watts Towers
Several years ago, I spent a week photographing a stretch of 37th St. as part of a neighborhood documentation project of the area around USC. Where other photographers had diligently snapped structures and streets, I had cajoled residents into participating in the project and later gave them copies of the photos so they could see the final product. The soul of a neighborhood is its people, I had argued in defending my approach at the time. Without them, the structures are just a shell.
February 7, 2012