Samah Safiullah

Echo Park Lake began as a reservoir in 1868, and received water from a ditch connected to the Los Angeles River (in an area now known as Los Feliz). By 1891, the reservoir was purchased and converted into a lake for public use and enjoyment. Until the 1960s, Echo Park experienced various phases and uses, including being a primary destination for the thriving silent film industry in the 1910s, Hollywood's comedy boom, a home for blacklisted screen writers, a haven for the LGBT population, and a focal point for natural utopists looking to escape from the status quo of California's suburban and capitalist dreams.

In the 1960s, white flight occurred in the neighborhood. Most homeowners at this point were older, wealthy, and White. After a large portion of this generation died off, they left their homes to their family members of a similar demographic. At this point, Echo Park was still a thriving and diverse district, and this population was far more attracted to the suburban lifestyle. Many of these homeowners became slumlords, and let their properties fall apart, then posted cheap rent for whoever wanted to live in homes of poor condition.

After leaving, thousands of working class Latinos moved into the deserted homes, most of whom were displaced by the urban renewal phenomena. By 1971, the supply of cheap housing was running out, and the neighborhood, with lack of investment, became crowded, and multiple families were living in single family homes. The remaining White homeowners displayed tension, hostility and resentment towards Latino homeowners, rather than directing their blame towards the slumlords and landlords who refused to upkeep the neighborhood.

At this point, after the federal Fair Housing Act was passed, the local government and developers had a choice: would they introduce more affordable housing options (including policy) to the area, allowing all residents to remain in healthy and improved conditions; or would private developers invest in land, raising property values and incentivize the redevelopment of downtown L.A. and its surrounding areas?

A UCLA Planning Study helped guide investors on a "path of whiteness" (Fleischer, 2021):

“The rapidly changing ethnic composition of the Silver Lake-Echo Park communities will soon transform Echo Park into a Mexican-American barrio. We strongly urge that … steps be taken to avoid further ghettoization.”

The Los Angeles Times summarized the final decision below:

"Of course Echo Park’s Latino population was well aware of the slander and discrimination it was suffering. And it did its best to push for new affordable housing. But Torgerson reports that push was rejected by politicians and the white homeowners and downtown developers who had their ear — citing the pernicious impact new apartments would have on neighborhood “ecology.” Not only did officials scale back or abandon plans for federally funded affordable housing development, they downzoned Echo Park’s numerous high-density corridors to make sure that future affordable housing would be almost impossible to build in perpetuity."

This vision and mentality towards the poor and people of color populations of Echo Park is still reflected in today's battle of the supposedly "public space". The park had most recently become a network for unhoused individuals and families, in addition to the existing communities and programming of the neighborhood. As Los Angeles's local government cracked down on homeless encampments in March 2020, Echo Park became victim to anti-homeless ordinances. Additionally, the space has become one of protest, where local community organizations and unhoused residents fight for affordable housing rights, and housing for all.

Current Day Context

Interventions

Henri Lefebvre, Don Mitchel

The Right to the City

“The city is an ouvre--a work in which all its citizens participate”; “A revolution that does not produce a new space has not realized its full potential..but has merely challenged ideological superstructures, insitutions, or political apparatuses.”

Vacancy Rates and Definitions

What is the best utilization of land? Can vacant lots be converted to sustainable and affordable housing while maintaining the unique character and beauty of Echo Park? What potential do these vacant lots have for the future of Echo Park and its diverse residents?

I have proposed a tier system as a solution for the affordable housing crisis in Echo Park.

First Tier: Design Bungalow Court Homes for infill of vacant lots in the neighborhood

A render of 6 bungalow style homes, a courtyard, and fencing on the vacant lot shown above (previously photoshopped with tents as a possible land use).

Architect and urbanist Stefanos Polyzoides argues in The Bungalow, the Street, and the Court that the courtyard design of bungalow courts symbolically blends public and private spaces, fostering “mutual dependence” and friendly interaction between residents.

Marietta Torriente, a previous occupant of bungalows in Los Feliz, loved the comunity and warmth which bungalow courts brought to her and her neighbors. “It was perfect for one person, or a couple,” she recalls. “Super cozy, and there were so many windows. It was standalone, so it just felt like your own little house.”

The Case for Saving LA's Bungalow Courts

“Bungalow courts are harder to come by today. Only about 350 remain standing citywide, based on a review of SurveyLA findings.

Bungalow courts “are increasingly at risk,” says Fine. In recent years, he has supported campaigns to save several threatened complexes, including Beverly Grove’s Edinurgh Court and Echo Park’s Wurfl Court.

Other preservation efforts haven’t been as successful. In July, over protests from neighbors and the intervention of a Los Angeles city councilmember, developer Wiseman Residential reduced the 93-year-old Norton Court complex in Larchmont to rubble.

Fine says rising property values are putting pressure on bungalow court owners to sell the complexes or raze them in order to construct new housing with higher profit potential.”

(Chiland 2018)

Programming and Following Tiers:

I. Re-appropriating Eminent Domain to reclaim vacant housing units for all and create human housing for those who were originally displaced. Streetwatch LA and other organizations are closely working with these residents. Eminent domain has been used successfully in the past to use underutilized land for housing and public transportation. While it may seem controversial, this method which has been seen in negative light in the past can be appropriated for a good cause.

"When you want to build a bridge or you want to preserve open space or you need a parcel of land to create affordable housing and keep people from being homeless, the power of eminent domain is there for the government" (Harasz, 2016).

https://www.housingfinance.com/management-operations/eminent-domain-helps-affordable-housing-for-now_o

II. Subdividing single family lots to incorporate missing middle housing, residents receive financial incentives to do so (similar to Backyard Homes Project).

III. Programming: Matching unhoused or low-income individuals with current residents who can be a support system and build community with one another. This can be done through existing programs and community organizations such as Street Watch LA and LA CAN Network, who have been working closely with the communities who lived in Echo Park before being forcibly removed in March 2020. Interestingly enough, Echo Park has had a long history of close relationships between neighbors. The neighborhood currently has a Time Bank, where neighbors can offer each other various services for free. This spirit should be built upon for the future of a place with so much promise and potential.