Recent Streetsblog LA posts about South LA

In an effort to show how transportation, open space, planning and other issues impact the health and character of a community, Streetsblog and The California Endowment teamed to bring Streetsblog’s coverage to a hyper-local level in Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles. Sahra Sulaiman is the Communities Editor for Streetsblog Los Angeles and is leading our coverage efforts in these communities. This page serves as a place to read Sahra’s and all of Streetsblog’s coverage of issues in South L.A. Contact Sahra at sahra[at]streetsblog.org or on twitter: @sahrasulaiman.

Juan Carlos Mercado and Miguel Sanchez stand in a vacant lot at Manchester and Vermont. The former swap meet site saw a groundbreaking three years ago but the mall project, planned by developer Eli Sasson, never materialized. And the buildings behind the youth - occupied by homeless folks from the area - burned down in February. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

South Central Youth Assess Stasis and Change 25 years after the 1992 Unrest

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 6, 2017 | No Comments

J.C. and Miguel are hoping that before-and-after images of several sites that they've identified will tell us something about stasis and change in the 25 years since the acquittal of four white officers in the videotaped beating of Rodney King sent people roiling into the streets back on April 29, 1992.

A visitor alights from an autonomous micro shuttle in front of the Vision Theater. Screenshot from video produced by Karl Baumann and Ben Caldwell.

Leimert Park Envisions Infusing Culture into Autonomous Micro Shuttles

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 4, 2017 | 10 Comments

Autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies are just one more landscape into which community stories can and should be woven. And rather than wait to have to adapt their complex realities to technology that was not made for them or with their needs in mind, artist Ben Caldwell tells me, there is a unique opportunity for communities of color to leave a significant mark.

The $66 million overhaul of Watts' Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station will result in new bus bays, a new plaza, a bike hub, easier transfer between the Blue and Green Lines, a Metro customer service center (including transit court) and better connections to the surrounding community. Source: Metro

Metro Seeks Contract Modifications to Avoid Service Disruptions During $66 Million Overhaul of Rosa Parks Station

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 14, 2017 | 3 Comments

The contract modifications will allow RNL Design to respond to issues that arose with the redesign of the transfer mezzanine between the Blue and the Green Lines. Namely, how to manage construction without closing the station and relying on costly bus-bridging services.

Google maps view of the lots where the South Central Farm once stood.

Today: Plans for Industrial Buildings on Former South Central Farm Lot Go Before PLUM Committee

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 7, 2017 | 1 Comment

At 2:30 p.m. today, after hearing an appeal from Mr. Tezozomoc on behalf of the South Central Farmers, the Planning and Land Use Committee will likely vote to certify the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approve the subdivision of the lot in support of a project proposed for the former home of the South Central Farm.

Ceebo Tha Rapper shoots a video near 65th and Broadway, where 25-year-old Ezell Ford was shot and killed by the police, answering critics that thought his first video called for violence against the police. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Friday Ruminations on Profiling, Policing, and Planning

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 3, 2017 | 8 Comments

Stories highlighting the unique vulnerability of people of color - particularly men of color - in the public space remind planners and advocates that it is really hard for people to "reclaim" their streets and public spaces if trying to do so puts them in peril.

The Rosa Parks station in Watts/Willowbrook, looking southward along the Blue Line. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

As Metro Prepares to Approve New Policing Contract, A Reminder that Criminalization of Poverty at a Discounted Price is No Bargain

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 22, 2017 | 14 Comments

As the board prepares for this decision, it seems like a good time to remind both Metro and our law enforcement agencies that the passengers that have the greatest dependence on Metro are the ones who need safe passage the most. And right now, they're the ones who are least likely to feel like that is what they are getting.

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