Connecting the Spaces in-Between | South Los Angeles - 2020

Connecting Spaces in-between South los angeles alleys

A Collaborative

Urban design studio January - may 2020

studio client Albizael Del Valle - Deputy District Director: LA District 8 Lamont Cobb - Capital Projects Aide: LA District 8

Studio advisors/ participants Josh Silver - Lead Planner for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships: DC Office of Planning Oscar Alvarez - Community Organizer: Community Coalition South Los Angeles Robin Mark - Program Manager: Trust for Public Land Laura MacPherson - City Planner: LA City Planning Eva Chang-Person - Planning Assistant: LA City Planning

studio collaborators Cal Poly Pomona Ray Senes - Studio Instructor + Professor Andrew Wilcox - Department Chair + Professor Lauren Bricker, Ph.D - Interim Dean, College Of Environmental Design Jenkins Shannon - Senior Director of Development

swa group - laguna beach Sean O’Malley - Managing Principal Andrew Watkins - Principal Evan Lee - Studio Coordinator + Associate Natasha Harkison - Associate Chris Anderson- Designer Nermeen Aboudawood- Designer

contents BACKGROUND

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Studio Goals/ SWA Partnership

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Sites + Context

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Historic Analysis + Demographics

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CONCEPT DESIGN PROJECTS

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Shaping the Spaces in Between

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Collective Community

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Health Activated

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The Network

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Experiencing South LA through Connection

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The Passageway

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Regen South LA

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Shared Community

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Colden Connection

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APPENDIX

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CONCEPT DESIGN STUDIO INTERVENTIONS

Public Health + Wellness

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Built Environment

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Public Space + Program

Community Partnerships

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Ecology + Green Infrastructure

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Safety + Equity

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Streets, Alleys + Mobility

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FRAMEWORK VISIONING PROCESS

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88th between Menlo + Baring Cross

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76th + Vermont

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Vermont + Manchester

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Colden between Figueroa + Flower

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STUDIO PROCESS

New York City Public Space Initiative

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Community Meeting

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Green Alley: TPL/ LA City Planning

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Venice Alleys: LA City Planning

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MEET THE STUDIO

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Students

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Contributors/ Sponsors

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NEXT STEPS

section one

Background

The Senior Capstone Studio at Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Environmental Design-Department of Landscape Architecture is a unique collaborative model – allowing fourth-year undergraduate students the benefit of working with a professional urban design firm on a project with a client team and a public agency. The urban design studio’s overall goals and objectives are to develop a vision that explores creative, contextual, and resilient design strategies that will simultaneously integrate equitable public space, an established layered architectural framework, and the management of complex ecological systems within an urban environment. The resulting design initiatives develop applicable, grounded solutions, ultimately revealing a multitude of diverse analysis and placemaking ideas where ecology and equitable public life could coexist.

01 studio goals + swa 02 sites + context 03 historic analysis + demographics

Studio Goals The Connecting Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles Capstone Studio’s goals and objectives were to reveal, amend and add value to a vital interwoven urban system of public spaces which allow for servicing as well as various aspects of urban life to occur, flow and function. Within this comprehensive system, alleys exist as a finer grained, layered spatial framework – a intricate thread that provides connections to all the spaces in-between that are worthy of urban mobility, ecological process, human interaction, and equitable use. These spaces in South Los Angeles were indeed functional and spontaneously used for a diverse range of activities. However, at present, these spaces are largely underutilized, inaccessible, and under-acknowledged. Cities across the United States, such as Los Angeles, are realizing the multi-layered potential for these spaces to operate as more than a single-function access for vehicle use. The urban initiative of spaces in-between

challenged students, first and foremost, to deeply understand the points of view of the user - to develop an understanding, through research, site analysis, interviews and personal interaction with the clients, community members and leaders, and ultimately generate empathy followed by equity as a driving force for their design analysis and interventions. During this complex design process, students utilized the subject study to demonstrate and communicate a mastery of the professional curriculum in the Cal Poly Pomona’s landscape architecture program. The urban design intervention involved the execution of advanced site research and analysis, the development of a project position, framework and argument, the envisioning of design strategies that respond to contextual issues, a physical design/planning proposal, and the communication of a virtual/public presentation and review of the comprehensive final design.

SWA partnership For the eight annual year, the Laguna Beach Office of SWA Group assisted in collaborating with the Cal Poly Pomona Department of Landscape Architecture to assist in a urban design studio with the 4th year students. This collaboration allows the students to activity communicate and participate with a professional design firm. On a weekly basis, designers from SWA open up their office or travel to the University studio to allow the students to present their latest ideas. During the semester, a series of design charrettes and presentations hosted in the SWA office introduce major themes and elements of the urban design process.

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Students are encouraged to think critically and support their design ideas. SWA’s designers are intented to challenge the students understanding of their own projects, leading to a reiterative process that leads to more engaging and meaningful design solutions.

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Background

Sites + context There are “900 linear miles of alleys in Los Angeles, California which combined would make up about 3 square miles—about half the size of Griffith Park and twice the size of New York's Central Park. Scattered throughout the city in neighborhoods, commercial zones, downtown, and L.A.'s industrial areas, alleys, for the most part, are ignored. South Los Angeles alone contains about 300 linear miles of alleys, or approximately 30% of all the alleys in the city of Los Angeles” . Many alleys in South Los Angeles, however, are “currently misused as unsanctioned dumping grounds for trash, and are in a degraded state with the second highest flood complaint density in the city due to the aging stormwater infrastructure and lack of permeable surfaces”. These spaces appear left-over, but in reality are not isolated urban pieces. They are rather a vital interwoven tissue that allows for servicing as well as aspects of urban life to occur, flow and function. Alleys exist as a finer grained, layered spatial framework – a living system that provides connections to all of the spaces in-between that are worthy of intentioned micro and macro mobility, ecological process, human interaction, and equitable use. These spaces are indeed functional and spontaneously used for a diverse range of activities. However, these spaces in-between are largely underutilized, inaccessible, and not acknowledged.

Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles

District 1:

76th + Vermont

District 2:

Vermont + Manchester

District 3:

88th between Menlo + Baring cross

District 4:

Colden between Figueroa + Flower Santa Monica

South LA

Los Angeles

Long Beach

South LA

studio districts

110 Freeway

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South los angeles, ca: council district 8

S Western Ave

LA 4621L.02: Cal Poly Pomona Capstone Studio investigated a series of four unique alley typologies, woven in-between buildings within the Gramercy Park and Vermont Vista neighborhoods, and demarcated within four 200+ acre adjoining districts within South Los Angeles. The four alley typologies varied in scale and context, as some were edged with residential uses, others mixed-uses and one flanked by an elementary school and various commercial establishments.

Many of these alley spaces are also poorly lit, and dangerously untraversed because of surface degradation. These spaces lack adequate drainage, as well as being visually isolated, perceived by residents as unsafe and have also emerged as places for homeless encampments. Despite these issues, the city of Los Angeles is realizing the multi-layered potential for these spaces to operate as more than a

single-function access for vehicle use, and residents have been historically lobbying for their rehabilitation, improved access, and future potential as assets for the South Los Angeles Community.

Manchester Ave

105 Freeway

F l o re n c e

Ave

background

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110 Free w ay

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M a n c h e s t e r

Ave

F l o w e r S t

Ve r m on t

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Ave

4 C e n t u r y

B l vd

Background

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historic analysis + demographics

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BACKGROUND

section two

concept design projects

Design Intervention Categories: Public Health + Wellness

Ecology + Green Infrastructure

Built Environments

Safety + Equity

Public Space + Program

Streets, Alleys + Mobility

Community Partnerships

01 Shaping the Spaces in Between

Community-driven design opportunities

02 Collective community

Union of architecture + public space

03 Health Activated

Design for food insecurity

04 The network

Connective partnerships for public life

05 Experiencing south la through connection

Alleys as conduits for public programming

06 The passageway

Community mobility + connectivity

07 Regen south La

Education + life-long learning

08 Shared community

Shared multi-purposed urban places

09 Colden Connection

Urban phased institutional infrastructure

88th between Menlo + Baring Cross District 3

Adjacent land uses: •

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Residential

Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles

0’

125’

250’

500’

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Studio Process

Shaping the Spaces In-Between envisions engaging residents with neighborhood-focused program scenarios, within carved out public spaces, to increase eyes on the alley - creating safe connections in South Los Angeles.

Shaping the Spaces In-Between prioritizes visibility into public spaces to foster a sense of ownership and engagement with residents. This strategy promotes safe spaces through an insertion of the ADU (accessory development units) with associated public spaces along the alley. These spaces would be well lit and customized through a series of program/scenarios that are developed through resident input, which can be occupied and used by the residents of each block. Each alley would be a prototype that would, over time connect residents to civic and community amenities and each other, thereby promoting a variety of community connections on a district and neighborhood level.

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

76th + Vermont District 1

Adjacent land uses: • • •

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Institutional and Mixed-use Residential Retail

Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles

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80’

160’

320’

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concept design

Collective Community enhances community life, connection, and access to healthy food through shared spaces and shared responsibility.

Collective Community fosters a sense of personal connection, encourages local pride and resident stewardship, and proposes destinations that enhance the identity of the community of South Los Angeles. Increased gathering spaces will be integrated and connected through clear, wide, well-lit paths for pedestrian travel through the design of woonerfs, as living streets and tree lined passageways, for comfortable walking. The design further promotes healthy living by providing pedestrian access to the fresh food, and opportunities for play and recreation, reinforcing resident’s shared opportunities for healthy activities.

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

Health Activated enriches South Los Angeles communities through a health-driven and sustainable focused design, centering on resident health, education and strengthening families, while building upon existing neighborhood character.

Health Activated’s goal is for residents to have increased access to health-driven amenities within public spaces with more local ownership within the community. The primary strategies are strengthening local, community-based businesses and adopting mixed-use zoning in strictly commercial areas. These initiatives focus on sustainable development, green infrastructure, and mobility to address the urban heat island effect, promote biodiversity, amend food deserts and reconnecting the community to the natural environment. The design also concentrates on implementing life-enriching programs that strengthen the cultural identity of South Los Angeles, such as mural art, block parties, farmers markets and community gardens.

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

Vermont + manchester District 2

Adjacent land uses: • • • •

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Residential and Future Mixed-use Retail Office Senior Housing

Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles

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80’

160’

320’

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concept design

The Network amends and integrates unused, underutilized, and single-purposed spaces into a network of multi-use social spaces in-between buildings that support and enhance community life and local activities in South, Los Angeles.

The Network integrates existing and new public gathering spaces into South Los Angeles’ community framework, and promotes opportunities for amplified networks, while maintaining their value to current resident’s community life. New connections tie existing infrastructure to public spaces and a new community park that can more fully accommodate human-scale, and local community programs in South Los Angeles.

Through utilizing complete streets, narrowing sidewalks at intersections, slowing traffic, and defined lane usage, these spaces will become people places for community mobility. The network also implements physical design that encourages new, mixed-use architecture, shade trees, green infrastructure, permeable hardscape, and local/cultural programming.

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concept design

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concept design

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concept design

Experiencing South LA through Connection creates community ownership through shared public life, night and day activities, seasonal events, and equitable experiences within a network of multi-generational, sustainable, and neighborhood-driven public spaces.

Experiencing South LA through Connection’s design initiatives will encourage resident ownership, a healthy environment, and a life-long learning educational culture within the community of South Los Angeles.

Connected public spaces provide catalysts for neighborhood night and day, seasonal events and activities that are inclusive, equitable, family-oriented, and foster community ownership and pride. Green Infrastructure, Low Impact Development (LID), and Best Management Practices (BMP) - will encourage resident comfort, runoff cleansing/ infiltration, shade, and carbon sequestration, through the addition of more soft, permeable green spaces and canopy trees.

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concept design

The Passageway re-envisions a series of safe, sustainable, and social urban spaces and streets, with alleys designed as a connecting space between integrated key neighborhood places, that respond to the local community’s activities and needs.

The Passageway’s design initiatives will encourage resident ownership, a healthy environment, and social and well as physical connectivity within the community of South Los Angeles. The alley spaces are threads of connection in-between and serve to integrate buildings, are green, sustainable and consider safety and comfort as an important factor to ensure greater wayfinding and mobility within the community of South Los Angeles. A new community park with increasing quantities and types of environmentally beneficial, drought tolerant, and aesthetically pleasing plant material and trees create cooling, shade canopies and softer surfaces for resident’s active and passive use.

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concept design

Colden between Figueroa + Flower District 4

0’

Adjacent land uses: • • •

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Institutional and Retail Elementary School Retail

Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles

60’

120’

240’

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concept design

Regen South LA focuses on creative arts and green Initiatives woven together, creating a common narrative through contextual storytelling, by the welcoming and integration of local children as key users of alley space, adjacent to an elementary school, in South Los Angeles Regen South LA integrates more open, soft, green space into available public spaces at an adjacent school for play, creativity, education and gathering. Public space is carefully inserted and woven into the existing alley context, as multi-use programmed places for residents, families, and children. Intentional green infrastructure, adding low maintenance planting and allee’s of trees for shade, creating staggered and permeable green, fenced edges for security, and strategic night lighting within the community -ensures a safer, walkable, comfortable and more fluid connection between alleys and residential streets, as well as schools and neighborhoods - regenerating public life in South Los Angeles.

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concept design

Shared Community physically and socially connects the residents of South Los Angeles by developing vacant or singleuse spaces as key programmed, multi-purposed shared public places that build local identity, promote healthy lifestyles, and create shared responsibility.

Shared Community creates a layered, key framework of public spaces where residents can come together. The urban design strategically integrates new green spaces with existing adjacent uses, providing a clear physical and visual connection for people - from the elementary school to a farmer’s market, the library to a play park and from residential homes to public open space. The design links active and passive activities with green connections to multi-use spaces unique to South Los Angeles. As a part of this process, local ownership of businesses, access to fresh locally grown produce, green infrastructure applications, waste recycling and community parks - all become shared initiatives, between the community and city, that encourage local community pride.

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concept design

Colden Connection establishes equity as a driving force that can enhance the community of South, Los Angeles through connecting, inter-relating and prioritizing public green space, adjacent mixed-uses, mobility, local arts and culture, education, and people.

Colden Connection promotes social, cultural, and environmental equity evoking the spirit, history, and future health of South Los Angeles. The phased design seeks connectivity and permeability between residential, business uses, schools and parks and creates ease of movement, providing direct access and increased safety, security, and public life.

The design prioritizes integrated green space and permeable surfaces, allowing a local elementary school to be physically and socially integrated with the overall public alley infrastructure framework. The holistic design combines local mural arts and ecology; introducing trees and lowwater plant materials, allowing for water infiltration, trapping pollutants, reducing reflective surfaces, and adding comfort and cooling to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

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concept design

section three

appendix

a urban design interventions b framework visioning process c studio process d meet the studio e next steps

appendix a

urban design interventions

01 Public Health + wellness 02 built environment 03 public space + program 04 community partnerships 05 ecology + green infrastructure 06 safety + equity 07 streets, alleys + mobility

1

public health + Wellness

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interventions

Waste Disposal Initiative

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interventions

2

Built Environments

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interventions

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interventions

3

Public Space + program

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interventions

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interventions

4

Community Partnerships

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interventions

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interventions

5

Ecology + Green infrastructure

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interventions

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interventions

6

Safety + Equity

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interventions

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interventions

7

streets, alleys + mobility

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interventions

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interventions

appendix b

framework visioning process 88th between menlo + baring cross: District 3 76th + vermont: District 1 vermont + manchester: District 2 colden between figueroa + flower: District 4

The formation of a vision, as both written and graphic, addressed specific areas and overall big ideas and standards for the four districts within the project scope in South Los Angeles. The vision acted as an initial road map for future design strategies and for ultimately achieving an overall urban design big idea. Each vision ideally formed a comprehensive approach to socially equitable, culturally valuable, and ecologically resilient urban public spaces.

A framework, as a strategic planning tool with an integrated a design vision, focused the student ideas for the future development of the spaces in-between in South Los Angeles. The urban design frameworks provided direction for student interventions that shaped open space, buildings, and landscape. Student teams developed a clear and concise framework argument that made the case for the necessity of the designs, drawn from the proposed vision. The framework vision, at macro scale, illustrated the direction and future resident aspirations for the city’s physical environment, identifying areas of change and future connections, along with major built, natural, and cultural/historical features. The urban design framework vision was about making equitable connections between South Los Angeles people, places, urban form, ecology, and the built environment. Each framework vision ideally revealed the unique character of a district and the alleys within it. The established urban design frameworks were ultimately user-focused, with maintained or re-established important contextual relationships, and fairly low impacts on the existing site conditions.

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

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Framework

appendix c

studio process

01 nyc public space initiative 02 Community Meeting 03 green alley: tpl/ la City Planning 04 Venice Alleys: La city planning

New York City Public Space Initiative Field trips are an integral part of the Cal Poly Pomona studio design culture and curriculum. The New York City field trip, was an intensive week-long public space investigation, which toured the LA 4621L Capstone Studio through a multitude of diverse urban spaces that were integrated into the framework of one of the most dynamic cities in the world. The city of New York has many examples of connective urban infrastructure; such as the Highline, Greenwich Village and Times Square, as well as numerous parks of all scales; such as Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Washington Square Park, Bryant Park as well as smaller “pocket’ spaces, such as Paley and Greenacre Parks. New York City has led a number of worthy public space initiatives – first sparked in 1961, in part, when Jane Jacobs published her seminal work The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The book was a critique of 1950’s urban planning policy, which it held responsible for the decline of many city neighborhoods in the 212

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United States. Later, in 1980, William H. Whyte’s Street Life Project and the accompanying book - The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, further articulated and launched a mini-revolution in the planning and study of urban public space. While New York City has always been innovative with its urban spaces, the city certainly differs in density, character, ecology, and context from that of Los Angeles. Indeed, the field trip locale and investigation was purposeful; with the intention that the students see, study and translate universal urban design principles revealed in New York City to those to be later envisioned and proposed for the district and alley spaces in-between work in South Los Angeles.

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community meeting Students presented and participated in a targeted community meeting with a local community group: Community Coalition: South Los Angeles. The Community Coalition was founded in 1990 when a group of activists in South Los Angeles came together, “gathered by Congressmember Karen Bass (at that time an emergency-room physician assistant), the group was haunted by the raging health crisis that had enveloped their community. Every day the devastating impacts of the crack-cocaine epidemic had become more distressing – loved ones would go missing, helicopters circled the community at all hours, and residents put up bars on their windows to prevent break-ins”. They believed “the South L.A. residents most affected by the crisis needed to be included and heard in creating real solutions for their community.

It was from this vision that the idea of a communitydriven organization was first born”. For the past 30 years, the Community Coalition has worked to help 214

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transform the social and economic conditions in South Los Angeles that foster addiction, crime, violence, and poverty, by building a community institution that involves thousands in creating, influencing and changing public policy.

The goal of the community meeting was for the students to hear, first-hand from the residents, their perceptions, issues, needs as well as to present their site analysis for the purposes of facilitating a mutual conversation to stimulate and support critical thinking among participants, and to identify resident thoughts on current community issues in relation to the alleys.

These thoughts were ranked as to importance which could lead to more valued approaches in addressing design improvements of the alleys within the South, Los Angeles Community.

The four objectives of the community meeting are as follows (students recorded responses): Identify and clarify resident concerns (who is affected and why?)

Prioritize resident concerns per responses (what is the most/least important issue noted?)

Listen to, communicate, and set resident objectives (relate concerns to objectives) Prioritize resident objectives (identify preliminary options for satisfWying objectives)

Studio Process

1.

2.

3.

4.

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Community Coalition: South Los Angeles office and meeting room.

Students presenting 88th Street initial studies to local resident.

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Studio Process Students present initial studies and strategies.

Local community leader gives students guidance on neighborhood concerns.

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Green Alley

Lead by Robin Mark from Trust for Public Land The South Los Angeles Green Alley Master Plan (the AMP) goal was to redesign alleys in South Los Angeles as greener, safer, and smarter community spaces. The master plan report cited the goals of the study and noted that “while alleys are the central focus of the AMP, they are considered within their surrounding context of streets. Thus the AMP [proposes] green alleys as part of a larger network, working in concert with the streets, sidewalks, and other elements of the urban environment, to provide maximum benefit to environmental and community health”. The Avalon North Alley, which not only improved and made possible safe walking and biking routes for the community, is also a noteworthy example of implemented green infrastructure in South Los Angeles. The North Avalon Alley Project, that was completed in 2016, “diverts and treats storm drain flow from a total of a 2.48-acre watershed into interlocking pavers that allows stormwater to flow into 218

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an underground infiltration trench. Overflow from these trenches [then] flows to dry well systems where it infiltrates into the ground. The average yearly capture rate is 0.74 million gallons/year which is treated and infiltrated into the ground”. The Capstone Studio toured the alley, mapped, photographed and sketched the alley and context. The field study identified a local, built case-study precedent on a successful and noteworthy green infrastructure initiative within the South Los Angeles context.

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Studio Process

Venice Alleys

Lead by Laura MacPherson and Eva Chang-Person from LA City Planning The Los Angeles City/Local Coastal Commission Program in Venice California, toured the students of several types of alleys, pedestrian walk paths, malls and “sidewalk streets” in Venice and addressed how maintaining public access impacted the regulation/ development of alleys, walk streets and other walk paths. The “sidewalk streets” were a unique humanscaled typology and were the scale of a single sidewalk. Vehicle access to houses long these smallscale streets were through a wider, accessible alley.

These streets, like the rest of Venice, were developed

by Abbot Kinney in the early part of the last century as part of an oceanfront resort community. What may have been a quaint concept 100 years ago is now extremely relevant. According to a recent New York Times article, “walkability is now an extremely important factor in a home’s value, and it is hard to get more walkable than living on a sidewalk”.

The Venice Alley Tour for the capstone studio centered on public space use, access, form, and human scale.

The Los Angeles City Urban Design Studio 2019 City Wide Design Guidelines cited “Pedestrian-First Design” as a priority, focusing on “design strategies that create human-scale spaces in response to how people

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actually engage with their surroundings, by prioritizing active street frontages, clear paths of pedestrian travel, legible wayfinding, and enhanced connectivity.

Pedestrian-First Design promotes healthy living, increases economic activity at the street level, enables social interaction, creates equitable and accessible public spaces, and improves public safety by putting eyes and feet on the street.” Also noted was that “design projects [in Venice RE; Alleys had clear goals] to be safe and accessible and contribute to a better public right-of-way for people of all ages, genders, and abilities, especially the most vulnerable children, seniors, and people with disabilities. New projects [were considered] to be designed to contribute to a vibrant and attractive public realm to promote a sense of civic pride [with better] connections within the built environment contributing to a livable and accessible city and a healthier public realm.” The Capstone Studio toured the alley, mapped, photographed, and sketched the alley and context. The field study identified a local, built case-study precedent on a successful and noteworthy human scaled, public space initiative within the Los Angeles context.

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Studio Process

appendix d

meet the studio

Minerva Delcampo

Marco Estrella

Eddy Gonzalez

Naomi Guevara

Throughout my life I grew up in California, Philippines, Japan, and Hawaii. I have always seen San Diego as my home base, but moving to Pomona for upper division study at Cal Poly Pomona has changed my life for the better. I discovered Landscape Architecture by chance when my pursuit for architecture did not materialize. I wanted to continue what I learned from architecture in Community College and apply it to Landscape. It became a blessing in disguise for me as I began to explore different cities and countries thanks to Cal Poly Pomona’s field trip culture.

Being in the Landscape Architecture Program broadened my perspective on how people experience their surroundings. In my spare time, I enjoy sketching, painting, watching animated films, and playing music.

The thought of becoming a landscape architect did not come natural to me, mostly because I had not heard about the profession until after being accepted into Cal Poly Pomona.

However, it was through my college studies that I realized landscapes had the power to create or enhance people’s perceptions and experiences. It was in the field of Landscape Architecture I found my passion. I grew up living with a big family and having low amounts of personal space to experience and reside within. Studying landscape architecture taught me that in making well designed, thoughtful, and well programed spaces, the size of the space was only one consideration. Rather, I discovered the experience created, could become an important strength and I am excited to design experiential landscapes in the future.

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Originally from San Diego, I consider myself an all-around creative and a full-time artist. As such, I have developed as a photographer, painter, graphic designer, and musician. Having grown up in various cities both in California and in Mexico, I found a passion in photography and painting early on as a way to appreciate and record my ever-changing surroundings. Upon moving to Los Angeles, this passion developed further into a love of space and structure. This led me to pursue a career in design, hoping to study both Landscape Architect and Architecture.

Whether it be sketching, painting, carving, photographing, or building Lego sets, I try to always keep my hands at work. When I’m not making art, you can find me camping, surfing or taking my dog, Lupillo, for day trips in the forest or the desert.

My discovery of Landscape Architecture began in high school with my interest in environmental science and design. I always had a fascination for plants and the outdoors and found this would be a career path I wanted to pursue. Within the Cal Poly Pomona Landscape Architecture program, I learned the value of designing for people and the positive impact for the built environment.

With majority of our fieldwork within Los Angeles, I learned the complex layers of history within our region and the stories that can be found within any part of Los Angeles. As my passion for the profession grew, I dived into my main interests, including urban ecology, advocating for underserved communities and sustainable practices. As I continue to grow as a steward of the natural environment, I believe it is important to educate our future generations of the natural processes in our postindustrial world.

meet the studio

Sose Hanneyan

Hwamok Kim (Justin)

Jihoon Kim

Ngoc Lam

I am a proud Armenian. My engagement in Art and Design dates back to the time when my mother enrolled me in an art class at the age of 3. Since then, I knew that my career would be in Design. Throughout my education, I have bounced around different career paths, but unexpectedly landed on Landscape Architectures’ doorstep. Although my undergraduate degree is in Landscape, my first love has always been Architecture. In my formal education at Cal Poly Pomona, I have noticed that both the disciplines of Architecture and Landscape Architecture often seem to work around one another, rather than together. I see tremendous opportunity for these disciplines to work in harmony to produce projects that focus on all aspects of a site and its context.

I am a fourth-year Landscape Architecture student at Cal Poly Pomona. Six years ago, I came to America from South Korea. Even though I joined the Landscape Architecture program with a simple curiosity, I found the joy of learning new things, discovering creative solutions to problems, and illustrating my imagination as visual communication. Through the landscape architecture program at Cal Poly, I found my passion: graphic design, plants, and environmental issues. My goals, when I become an experienced landscape architect, are to be an innovator in design who is aware and champions environmental issues, and to continually explore sustainable and creative ways to connect these issues to place-making and design.

I grew up in a Christian household and lived in South Korea for more than a decade. I then moved to United States of America to study abroad. I transferred to Cal Poly Pomona from Junior College, and I majored in Architecture, however I was incorrectly placed in a different major, which turned out to be Landscape Architecture. This ironically created a turning point in my life, considering that I absolutely knew nothing about Landscape Architecture. Nevertheless, I began to realize and see the true beauty and value of Landscape during my education at Cal Poly.

Ultimately, I discovered that I was truly fond of this major and gave it all my passion. I will be enduring all challenges in the future and I am open to all new opportunities.

I am originally from Vung Tau, Viet Nam. As a child, I had a love for trees, flowers, nature, and design. I put away that love for plants and nature, when I immigrated to America, at the age of 12.

I had to learn a completely new language, adapt to a new culture, and work to help out my family. After high school I tried several different career paths. The love of nature still had a sliver of life in me. Thus, I decided to go back to school and rediscover it.

Currently, I am in the process of acquiring a baccalaureate degree in landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona. My goal is to broaden the idea of Green infrastructure, low impact development, urban agriculture, and small space gardening. Eventually, I would like to get a master’s degree in one of the above disciplines. My other interests are painting, reading, photography, gardening and travelling.

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Sarah Lanners

Luke Morris

Miralben Patel

Francisco Sanchez

Growing up in Long Beach, California allowed me access to parks and open space. The street I was raised on is bordered to the north and south by parks. My first job was a Recreation Leader for the City of Long Beach where I worked at numerous parks all over the city. After graduating High School, I moved to Truckee, CA. high in the Sierras and worlds away from the city I grew up in. It is there I developed my deep appreciation of the natural world. I love being outdoors, breathing fresh air, looking for wildlife, and enjoying plants and trees. I love landscape architecture because I can combine creativity with my love of plants, the environment and with designing spaces for people with people, while focusing my efforts to make landscapes accessible to underserved communities.

I was born in Gujarat, India. I came to the United States at the age of 12 with my family. When it was time to pick a major to pursue in college, I had many things in mind, and that’s when I found out about my mom’s desire of doing Architecture. She studied Architecture in India but couldn’t finish her education due to personal reasons. Therefore, I continued her dream and studied Architecture at community college. As my acceptance came from Cal Poly Pomona, it said I got in Landscape Architecture.

I was disappointed, but my mom encouraged me, and today I couldn’t think of a better major for me. This major taught me how to design for the people’s needs instead of solely a designer’s need. Even a simple, small gesture can transform the life in a neighborhood. Personally, I am interested in projects that shape a neighborhood’s life.

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My childhood in Southern California was spent in our garden and exploring the Cleveland National Forest with my dogs. It was my time alone in nature and the escape from home that formed my love of shady oak groves, seasonal wetlands and the beauty of Southern California natives. At community college I studied ceramics, my introduction to design and the design process.

When I learned of landscape architecture it seemed a perfect melding of my passions. It has been a long and hard journey to reach this point, but I am excited to begin my career as a Landscape Architect. As a Landscape Architect I hope to bring nature to urban settings so that more people have access to the wonderful natural systems and places which were my solace as a child.

I was born and raised in Pomona, California. I attended community college for four years and decided on landscape architecture as my field of study. What intrigued me about landscape architecture was the idea of designing parks. Growing up, parks were very important for me because they were a place for family gatherings and were the place where I felt the happiest. To this day I still carry a love for places that support family gatherings and provide the opportunity for activities. Due to the love of parks, I am interested in landscapes that are designed for healthier living and that help people step away from their everyday stressors to encourage physical activity. Other interests I have are participating in different types of physical activities that include soccer, basketball, running, hiking, and weightlifting. I also enjoy cooking and studying history.

Meet the studio

Yiyun Shen

Nancy Spaulding

Nikola Tong

Ebony Westfield

I am an international student from Zhejiang, China. At an early age, I started to become interested in plants and design because my parents own a flower shop back in my hometown. I had grown up watching them create amazing and unique bouquets for their customers. It has led me into wanting to pursue a career in landscape architecture because the profession has opportunities for both creative design and plant experiences.

Through participating in diverse studio projects at Cal Poly Pomona, I deeply recognize that Landscape Architecture is rich and fascinating. My future goal is to create diverse, healthy, and sustainable places where people can interact with each other and explore the landscape.

Born and raised in Southern California, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to landscape architecture at an early age through my parents. As landscape architects, they have encouraged me to have a natural curiosity for spatial awareness. My earliest memories began in my dad’s office, seeing and participating in coloring the copies of his hand drafted work. This sparked my interest in being involved in a creative field. Through my time in Cal Poly Pomona’s Landscape architecture program, I have formed a better understanding of how diverse the profession is.

I am fascinated by how landscape architecture is continuously developing and is embedded throughout our everyday lives.

My goals lie in continuing to pursue designs that reflect an understanding of human experience, interactions, and connections to the natural and man-made environments.

My journey toward a career in Landscape Architecture began a few years ago when I realized I wanted a new career that could keep me connected to the outdoors. Over the years, I planned and created my own gardens in the homes I have owned, even those I rented. I am delighted that my personal haven is also haven to lizards, bees, butterflies, and birds. I figured that there could be no better job than creating beautiful environments for others (of many species) to find joy in. During my studies, I have come to realize the role of landscape architecture can move beyond improving aesthetics to foster stewardship of natural resources.

I am excited about opportunities to learn, create and grow, and hope to make a difference through this new career path.

A toy was more than an object for me to play with during my childhood. I was always interested in how it was assembled, and its purpose. These questions intrigued me. These early memories and experiences developed into an interest in ar-chitecture, and I further developed this interest as the direction and field of study I chose to explore, in due to my curiosi-ty and passion for design, science, art, and Legos. Upon attending Cal Poly Pomona, I by chance discovered landscape architecture. Landscape sparked my interest because it was about developing outdoor spaces beyond the building foot-print. Landscape architecture also involved problem solving, and dealt with important issues facing our world, such as environmental issues caused by urbanization, and much more. I love the field of Landscape architecture because I could seek and create a sense of place in my work that would connect people together, and create vibrant communities.

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studio Contributors/ NYC Tom Balsley - Managing Principal, swa/balsley Anya Domlesky - Director of Research, swa/balsley Adrian Benepe - Senior Vice President/Dir. of National Programs: Trust for Public Land/NYC Tom Newman - Programs Coordinator: Trust for Public Land/NYC Tiffany Briery - Program Manager/NYC Playgrounds: Trust for Public Land/NYC Phillip Myrick - CEO: Project for Public Spaces/NYC Philip Winn - Vice President: Project for Public Spaces/NYC Elizabeth Emerson - Principal/Co-Founder: EL Studio Olivia Flynn - Urban Designer: Gehl/NYC Mike Lydon - Principal: StreetPlans/NYC-Miami Lisa Tziona Switkin - Senior Principal: James Corner Field Operations/NYC Jessica Cronstein - Urban Designer, Public Space Transportation Planning/NYC Andrew Wiley Schwartz - Consultant/Assistant Commissioner Public Space/NYC May Yu - Vice President, Real Estate + Economic Development - Downtown Brooklyn Partnership

studio sponsors Tom Donnelly - BrightView Erik Nelson - Buzon USA West LLC Chris Curry - Glasir Design Mat McClaugherty -Bison Innovative Products Garritt Visser + David Harper -Belgard, Oldcastle Coast Recreation - Gregg Rogers Trent Walker + Mary Kay Shaefer - David Silverman & Associates

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Meet the STudio

appendix e

next steps

Next Steps The Connecting Spaces In-Between: South Los Angeles Capstone Studio Design Manual will be used by the City of Los Angeles to prioritize and phase in a multitude of design interventions. The design manual will start a local conversation between people, that begins to build a contextual, resilient, safe, and equitable vocabulary of social cohesion, prior to implementing the future re-design of the South Los Angeles alley framework. The design manual also proposes a more comprehensive, equitable and responsible green infrastructure and public space vision, unique to South Los Angeles, where the resident/user has an integral part in both visioning and securing a distinct identity of their urban public spaces in-between buildings.

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Next steps