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.

Empowering Communities to See Streets as Sites of Recreation: What does it Take?

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 19, 2014 | 25 Comments

“We need to empower people to see their streets as sites of recreation.” It’s somewhat of a city planner mantra. And, it tends to drive me crazy. Part of it has to do with my having been an academic in my previous life, where I spent years observing efforts to “empower” refugees, displaced persons, sex […]

Location, Location, Location: Contested Public Space Means Moving Watts School Could Deny Some Education

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 14, 2014 | 3 Comments

“They say they care about our safety, but they’re putting us in harm’s way!” It is a refrain I’ve heard several times over the last month from students of INSPIRE Research Academy, a state-subsidized continuation school based at YO! Watts that offers 17-24-year-olds a free education and a rare second chance to get their high […]

Kickball to the Rescue!: How Active Programming in Parks Makes Communities Safer

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 6, 2014 | 1 Comment

When I first visited Ted Watkins Park at 103rd and Central shortly after my arrival in L.A. in 2001, I didn’t stay very long. In the mid-1990s, the park had been renamed to honor activist and organizer Ted Watkins following his death in 1993. But instead of mirroring Watkins’ spirit by uplifting the community, the […]

MyFigueroa Achieves Consensus, Auto Group Withdraws Appeal

By Joe Linton | May 2, 2014 | 12 Comments

This week, stakeholders hammered out an agreement that allows the MyFigueroa project to finally move from design to on-the-ground implementation. MyFigueroa will arguably be Los Angeles’ premiere “complete street.” The three project streets will be inclusive: welcoming to pedestrians, transit riders, cyclists, and drivers. This is great news for Los Angeles livability. Figueroa Corridor Business […]

And So It Begins: Crenshaw Sees Major Street Closure and Reconfiguration Starting Friday Night

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 1, 2014 | No Comments

Taking shelter from the hot mid-day sun bearing down on Crenshaw Blvd., I struck up a conversation with a security guard that had worked in the area for a number of years. As we surveyed the evolving stretch of the boulevard sprawled out before us, we talked about the pending Friday night closure of the […]

Plaza 2.0: When People St. Plaza Projects are More Than Just Plaza Projects

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 18, 2014 | 3 Comments

The request that I sign the petition for Leimert Park Village’s People St. plaza application that landed in my inbox the other day made me smile. Of all the places in the city I can think of, 43rd Place is probably the most appropriate place for a plaza project and the most likely to be […]

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