Embedded Files
An assessment of access to park space for communities along the Los Angeles River.
Park Access along the Los Angeles River
Park Access along the Los Angeles River
Access to parks and outdoor recreation spaces is an important part of an equitable and healthy community. Measures like the Park Score play an essential role in highlighting how access to parks differs from city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood. Access to open space is especially important to the communities of Northeastern Los Angeles served by Clockshop. These neighborhoods along the LA River include Elysian Valley, Cypress Park, Glassell Park, and Atwater Village. Throughout their history, these communities have fought for their right to open space, especially along the River, which the government concretized beginning in 1938 to avoid flooding. Between the concretization of the River, the construction of freeways, and increased urbanization, these neighborhoods have seen a significant portion of their open space removed. As such, it is increasingly important that the existing open space is preserved and even reclaimed in projects like the Bowtie, which will transition a former railyard along the River into nature-focused open space. The Bowtie project will promote the health of the local ecosystem and provide visitors a place to appreciate the natural world around them.
The goal of this mapping project is to assess the current pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access to parks in these neighborhoods along the LA River and analyze plans for future access to the Bowtie. The mapping files are open source and available on the Learn More tab for anyone interested in exploring more about park access or advocating for thoughtful and well-connected open space. Additionally, there is a short survey on the Learn More tab for those interested in sharing how they access parks in their neighborhood or what infrastructure they wish their parks had.
Park Access across Los Angeles
Park Access across Los Angeles
63% of residents in the City of Los Angeles live within a 10-minute walk of a park. However, greenspace is not distributed equally and many Angelenos in less wealthy neighborhoods have to travel further to access open space. This map from the Trust for Public Land shows the disparities in park access across Los Angeles.
Northeast LA Park Access
Northeast LA Park Access
Northeast Los Angeles is home to some of the region's newest and most beloved parks like Rio de Los Angeles State Park, Los Angeles State Historic Park, and the LA River Bike Path. These regional parks benefit the surrounding communities, but also are intended for visitors from across the region with larger parking lots for visitors and limited access from the adjacent communities. These neighborhoods are also served by smaller local parks which are intended to be utilized by the surrounding communities. Access to these parks, big and small, is essential to the quality of life for residents in the surrounding communities. These parks give people a place to walk, think, and play making it imperative that these parks are designed to welcome visitors traveling by all transportation modes.
[On the importance of spending time in nature]
[On the importance of spending time in nature]
“I was going through a really tough time recently and one of the things that helped me was to just go to the River and hang out by myself. Not really have a destination but to keep walking and get some sweat and talk to the birds and the plants and the sage...I’m trying to foster this relationship with the Earth and trying to give back to the thing that gave me so much.”
“I was going through a really tough time recently and one of the things that helped me was to just go to the River and hang out by myself. Not really have a destination but to keep walking and get some sweat and talk to the birds and the plants and the sage...I’m trying to foster this relationship with the Earth and trying to give back to the thing that gave me so much.”
- Rey, Elysian Valley resident
- Rey, Elysian Valley resident
Communing with nature along the Los Angeles River.
[On the importance of accessibility]
[On the importance of accessibility]
“My hope is that everyone that lives in LA County could choose to walk, bike, or roll in their neighborhood and tap into that feeling of happiness and connection with others and connections to the land and our community.”
“My hope is that everyone that lives in LA County could choose to walk, bike, or roll in their neighborhood and tap into that feeling of happiness and connection with others and connections to the land and our community.”
Sights and sounds of the LA River with cyclists and pedestrians enjoying the Bike Path along the LA River.
Questions?
Questions?
Contact gderleth@usc.edu to get more information about the project or reach out to info@clockshop.org for more information about Clockshop's work.
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