Awesome idea. Hope communities can find a more permanent solution as well.
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'' But in this predominantly Latino neighborhood where parks are scarce...''
No, Just stop,
Instead of reclaiming streets, communities (and all levels of government) should be reclaiming whole areas ( freeways, streets, lots and even homes ) so that public parks can be established. ( preferably with a good quality schools attached ) Less roadways is better and public transportation should be the model.
If politicians are not receptive of this ''solution'', then vote in ones that are.
Simple.
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It is time to know your neighbors again. What a great way to begin the proces.
It is hard for me to relate to this article. I live in a city that goes out of its way to make parks. I can walk to three smaller parks and one huge park that has a lake in the middle. We do not encourage children to play in the streets.
But Seattle has year round rainfall and the grass is always green which makes it a LOT easier to have gorgeous parks that would make Martha Stewart drool.
I used to live in L.A. and all I remember is concrete with some gorgeous beaches.
I grew up on a residential street in Queens some sixty years ago. The street was our playgroud. We gathered there on an impromptu basis for punchball, a variety of baseball called automatics, for running bases and then around 1961 for an upcoming sport, touch football. Our points of reference would be a sewer manhole, a swatch of street tar, a parked car’s rear fender. If a vehicle came, we’d yell “car,” shuffle towards the curb and then resume the game once the car passed. It was a great childhood.
Why not ALL cities? It's time to get kids' faces away from those mobile devices and begin again to interact with other human beings.
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Reclaim?
This type of initiative is not "green? I know from experience in other cities. Gas and time are wasted by drivers going around the closed streets. Traffic blocks up. Car idle. Cars drive through other neighborhoods.
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Daphne, I think you missed the fact that this area of Boyle Heights lacks parks. Parks create the same workarounds that you describe. Are you suggesting we remove parks from every neighborhood in the country to accommodate traffic? This reclamation simply creates temporary parks that this neighborhood desperately needs.
In fact, in the age of Google Maps (something every Angeleno in every demographic lives by), no gas is wasted and no extra pollution accumulated. When I mapped it the other day, I was immediately routed around Fickett Street with no time lost whatsoever and thus no extra pollution. Easy peasy.
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CA and LA in particular are overly dependent on cars. This is pretty evident from our insane traffic. I see moves like this one as ways to reduce auto traffic overall. If more communities restrict access by private vehicles, it will foster reliance on more efficient public transportation. How's that for "green?"
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How does this temporary local street closure differ from permanent street closures in commercial areas? Oh, I know. This tiny effort does not make money for anyone. It is only for neighborhood kids and families and fresh air and fun and community engagement.
Great idea and nice to see. With no parks, what else are they to do? Great way for kids to socialize too. There was a great interview with former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg in this paper not too long ago about keys to his success. He mentioned education, hard work, and really emphasized the ability to get along well with other people.
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While the concern over longtime residents being priced out of the neighborhood is certainly understandable, the concern over the neighborhood being invaded by “hipsters” and others with a different culture who might change the character of the neighborhood struck me as eerily Trump-like (although of course not nearly as damaging). Cities and neighborhoods shift and change dramatically over time, and no particular group should be seen as having ownership of them.
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The concern is not really over being invaded by "hipsters." The concern is over the very real mass compulsory evictions that have been occurring on the East Side of Los Angeles for over two years now. These evictions, not invading hipsters, are the primary driving force behind the changing culture of the neighborhood (and, of the huge spike in the homeless population). The people who support the local businesses and culture are booted out en masse, and replaced by those who can afford triple the rent. This eventually triples the rent on all the remaining businesses. That, combined with the sudden displacement of their patrons forces the local businesses out soon after. This is not happening "over time" -- this is happening Over Night. Literally. The truly sad thing is that the residents who have done the heavy lifting of caring for and improving the neighborhood do not reap the benefits of their hard work. They're harshly kicked to the curb.
By closely observing the tidal wave of "gentrification" heading their way, Boyle Heights residents have wisely learned to work to protect their neighborhood from changing too quickly. The goal is to do exactly what you suggest -- let the neighborhood change over time and not overnight.
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Wait until Amazon invades your city and see if you still feel this way:)
I used to live in the "gay" neighborhood of Seattle until Amazon set up shop and drove up rents so much that I cannot even afford lunch there anymore. I had to move quite a bit north and am now surrounded by young families from other countries who do not speak much English and have hordes of little children. We have nothing in common and they want nothing to do with an older gay man. So, I spend a lot of time commenting on the NYT out of boredom and loneliness.
Agree. I have encountered this kind of left-wing xenophobia before, and it always strikes me as odd coming from progressives. While providing affordable housing and preventing cultural erasure are important, no cultural group has the right to own a neighborhood in perpetuity.
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I live in Berlin (Germany). In the last decades, quite a lot of streets in housing areas here, even in the center of the city, have been converted into "play streets". Cars are still allowed to pass through, but only at walking speed (max. 10km/hour). These streets have been all reconstructed with big flower boxes alternating to the left and right hand of the street and with speed bumpers every 20 m or so, so that it's virtually impossible to drive faster than allowed. Well, children won't play the way directly on the lane as in the LA project, and it will be a bit more costly to prepare a street. However, in return it's a permanent conversion (not only a day per week) and noticeably changes the "Lebensgefühl" of the whole area. I would think it's a model worth to give it a try in other cities, too.
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Aren't they claiming the streets pedestrian uses rather than reclaiming them since they never had them to begin with?
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What a terrific way to reclaim the streets for humans. However, I can't help but notice a more affluent looking adult in the picture. Making these neighborhoods more people friendly also means bringing in more people, people whose pocketbooks have the power to displace entire cultures and communities. How can we stop the freight train of gentrification and allow for liveable, yet socioeconomically mixed communities? And as much as I love my fellow creative types, we/they create the first wave that starts the train rolling. Maybe if we stop using our talents more thoughtfully instead of just making money off the folks who can pay?
-a former and current resident of the 2 hottest gentrifying neighborhoods in America
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Unfortunately the solution to this problem would involve implementing stronger tenant rights paired with zoning that allows for higher density mixed-use housing.
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Kids playing kick the can once seems to serve as much purpose as kids pushing around plastic wobbles, only at a fraction of the cost, which was nothing. I'm sure the design consultants appreciate the contracts though, which really is more who this is for.
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No need to be so cynical John Doe! It's a shame kids can't play in the streets when they want too. There is always some busybody around trying to chase them away. My kids grew up playing in the streets, the last ones here. Everyday it seemed someone wanted them off. Why? They weren't hurting anyone or making too much noise. They always got out of the way of passing cars. At dinnertime they all went home. There always seems to be someone that doesn't like it.
Streets are meant for people, not automobiles. The age of the automobile has come and gone, leaving behind in its wake an (almost) ruined planet. Please--sell your car, buy a bike, and take public transportation.
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Easy to say living in Brooklyn. California is a different, sad, story. In Brooklyn you can get vitrually anywhere without a car. In California - especially Southern - not so much. Even for those of us who would love to ditch our cars the options are seriously limited.
As for playing in the middle of the street - brings back old, fun memories. No plastic wobbles then... but other stuff 'hacked' by kids into all manner of things.
But that was then and this is now.
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I haven't bought a gallon of gas in about 10 years now. But I live in a city with incredible public transportation which makes that possible. I also live in a part of town that is filled with grocery stores, a Home Depot and a Lowes, and a mall.
I used to live in L.A. and they have next to nothing in the way of public transportation. San Francisco was pretty good.
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It is so refreshing to read about and see news that is newsworthy. Lately when I "open" a newspaper I brace myself, cringing and dreading the next article. More of this please! Let's hear about what is being done to problem solve and create a better place to live!
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As is clear from the last picture, especially, there are a boatload of adults supervising. This is a great start for this neighborhood. But I would hope the parents would eventually have the confidence to go about their own business. The best thing about playing in the street when you're a kid is the spontaneity, One group of friends playing jump rope and another playing touch football. And little or no adult supervision because none is needed.
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For 30 years I've felt that all suburban streets should only have one entrance. Of course, they should still connect as they do now, just block off one of the entrances with those bendable traffic strips with little stop signs (the kind emergency vehicles can easily drive over). This would encourage kids to take back their streets: a major reason for the creation of suburbs in the first place.
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What a terrific idea! Happy to hear some of these positive stories lately, like how Detroit has emerged from bankruptcy and the future may start to look up.
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Community can be created through infrastructure. What better form of community, than one that revolves around children, and play. This highlights the sobering fact that up until now, our communities have been designed around something very different--the car.
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When I was a kid we often didn't have a yard to play in so the street became a good substitute. Of course, there is a huge difference between 1970's Montana and 2018 LA but the concept is the same...get to know your neighbors and their kids and your neighborhood is safer. I noticed when I moved to Las Vegas in the mid-oughts and though how weird it was that people drove in their garages and shut their doors and windows and nothing. No over the fence bantor just the occasional drum solo that needed to be shut down at 11:30. We must connect with our fellow humans and I can't think of a better way than plates of taquitos and kids playing.
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My old neighborhood! I applaud most efforts of the Latino activists in Boyle Heights. We have a one-day street closing in our current Mt Washington neighborhood, with music by our neighbors (many professional musicians on our street). There are many social benefits that last all year. Boyle Heights doesn’t have nearly enough green space, so putting some pressure on the city to make more mini-parks would also be a good thing. Most residents would welcome the creation of cul de sacs with play space. It wouldn’t cost a lot and would make Boyle Heights safer in several ways.
I’m not happy about the efforts to drive out the art galleries, a couple of them although not owned by Latinos with a history of showing Latino art and being active in achieving many of the same objectives as activists. An unfortunate case of the revolution eating its young. I wish there were a way of changing activists’ mind about this, but probably there isn’t. These were not chichi Westside Galleries!
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I agree that the focus on art galleries was an unfortunate red herring. Some of that ire got transferred to the artists themselves, which is ironic since most artists are barely scraping by and have difficulty finding affordable housing themselves. Also the underlying implication is that all the artists were "outsiders" and people from Boyle Heights cannot be artists or enjoy art, which is simply not true. In truth, art galleries and artists are not the cause of rent hikes. The real cause is a rapidly increasing population in LA, a lack of housing supply, and massive investment by real estate companies and wealthy foreigners who see LA real estate as a cheap and safe way to park money away from their government's purview. It's hard to organize protests around abstract principles and the global financial market, so I guess the galleries made a concrete target. Of course, now that the galleries are gone, the investors will still come and rents will still go up.
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I believe this was pioneered in Bristol, England, when parents persuaded the police to cordon off certain streets and allow children to play there for specified periods.
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New York City has been creating play streets for over a century. First kids took them over themselves to play stick ball and open the fire hydrants to cool off on hot summer days and tying milk crates to light poles to shoot baskets. Then, the city made play streets official, putting up barriers to allow free play, especially in front of schools that did not have playgrounds nearby. There is still a program for block associations to close streets for volleyball and barbecues though more often, these have evolved into commercial "street fairs" for fund-raising purposes.
There's nothing new under the sun, especially on a hot day in July.
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The temporary transformation of Fickett Street in Boyle Heights began with yellow shades resembling huge kites suspended over the sun-scorched asphalt. Soon, a thoroughfare known for its speeding vehicles and gang activity became something else entirely — a “play street” in which women gathered for Lotería, or Mexican bingo, and kids fashioned seesaws out of giant snap-together plastic shapes in colors inspired by local Mexican-American murals....
[ I simply love this idea and imagery. A playground in a box is a plan that can be implemented everywhere, giving a neighborhood a shared feeling. Wonderful. ]
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