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.

Death and All His Friends Cast Long Shadows When They Make Regular Appearances

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 6, 2013 | 12 Comments

“I went crazy,” Sherika Simms says quietly of the realization that she would be unable to help her brother. Twenty-two-year-old Maurio Proctor, two years her junior but more like her twin – the boy that had followed her everywhere she went as a child and wanted to do everything she did – had been gunned […]

Riders Reclaim Central Ave. for Bikes for a Few Happy Hours

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 5, 2013 | No Comments

For much of the time that I lived in Sevilla, Spain, I lived adjacent to the surprisingly still-formidable walls that once surrounded the old city and were constructed (for the second time) in the 11th century. History was everywhere you looked, often making the connection between past and present seamless. Because so many of the […]

Stories of Place and Space Told through Dance and Theater in Boyle Heights and Watts

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 1, 2013 | No Comments

Starting this weekend, you have the unique opportunity to explore two important neighborhood spaces through theatrical performances. Tonight, the Watts Village Theater Company kicks off “Riot/Rebellion,” a play based on the stories of those that lived through the Watts Riots of 1965. The Riots, which lasted for a nearly week in August, were touched off […]

Gardening Students in South L.A. Use Their Skills to Build Garden Beds for Local Families

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 31, 2013 | 8 Comments

Sandwiched between 110 fwy on the west, the 10 fwy and the Blue Line tracks to the north, and an industrial area to the east, the All Peoples Community Center sits in a densely packed neighborhood in Historic South Central that seems to have been forgotten by the city. You know things can’t be great when […]

A Tour Along Historic Central Ave. is a Good Reminder that People are the Essence of Spaces

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 29, 2013 | 1 Comment

When I saw the older African-American gentleman standing next to the Dunbar (located in Central Avenue’s historic jazz corridor) Sunday morning, holding a mug and observing us as we rode up alongside it, I gave him a big smile and a nod. He returned the gesture with a broad smile. One of the reasons I […]

The Leimert Station, While Welcome, Brings Uncertainty to The World Stage

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 18, 2013 | 4 Comments

I looked at my watch and groaned inwardly. It was now 8:20 p.m. Although my spirit felt educated, nourished, and warmly embraced, my stomach was starting to shout unflattering obscenities and I could no longer ignore the loud complaints of my brain about the pile of work awaiting me at home. I hugged artist, filmmaker, […]

Show More Stories