CONNECTBlacklistLA Moves Toward The Future
Every Monday night at 10:00 PM, hundreds of Angelenos gather for a 3-mile run through the streets of LA. The location of the run varies; what remains the same is a diverse group of runners sharing their fitness goals, appreciating the unsung beauty of our city’s street art, and developing a deeper connection to each other and our neighborhoods. This proposal aims to turn the powerful connecting force of the BlacklistLA Monday run into a more frequent occurrence by expanding its offerings.
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Central LA
East LA
San Gabriel Valley
San Fernando Valley
South LA
Westside
City of Los Angeles
All Metro Station with Park and Rides. Also, places such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, LACMA, Leimart Park, Culver City Arts District, Abbot Kinney, etc
How do you plan to use these resources to make change?
Engage residents and stakeholders
Implement a pilot or new project
Expand a pilot or a program
How will your proposal improve the following CONNECT metrics?
Adults getting sufficient social & emotional support
Number of public transit riders
Total number of local social media friends and connections (Dream Metric)
Attendance at public/open streets gatherings (Dream Metric)
Residential segregation (Dream Metric)
Describe in greater detail how you will make LA the best place to CONNECT.
We’ll be the first to admit that we’ve got a big crush on this city. Whether catching the sunrise in Chinatown, exploring the trails of Griffith Park, stopping at the LACMA lights for a selfie, or meandering through the canals of Venice, we’ve been going on running dates with Los Angeles for the past several years. Rain or shine, moonlight or darkness, we always show up with a desire to connect the people of LA a bit more.
We Angelenos spend too much time in our cars, on our phones, at our desks and disconnected from each other. Breaking these habits can be tough. But, BlacklistLA is encouraging a rapidly growing community of residents to do so though its runs. Whether it’s the Monday night run to a featured piece of street art, the weekday “Metro Run” that involves us hopping on the subway, or the Saturday morning run when we explore different neighborhoods, BlacklistLA is changing the way Angelenos engage with the city and each other. The innovative approach BlacklistLA is taking to build community has caught the eye of Runner’s World magazine, the LA Times, Los Angeles Magazine and the Mayor’s Office. And with nearly 13,000 followers on Instagram, Angelenos clearly want more.
To build on this momentum, BlacklistLA is seeking to expand the number of opportunities residents have to connect. We envision a Los Angeles where Angelenos are linked to one another through sport, the alternative forms of transportation they take, and the shared appreciation they have for the city’s diversity. To get there, in 2016 Blacklist seeks to:
(1) Offer more runs throughout the city by aligning with Mayor Garcetti’s Great Streets Initiative. The Mayor’s Office has selected one street in each of the 15 council districts to receive improvements to make them more pedestrian-friendly. By tapping into the City’s initiative, BlacklistLA will bring Angelenos together to experience LA’s Great Streets.
(2) Foster deeper connections between Angelenos who are working toward a shared race goal. BlacklistLA will be creating training groups for the Happy Birthday LA 5k, LA Chinatown Firecracker 10K, Hollywood Half Marathon and Los Angeles Marathon.
(3) Expand BlacklistLA’s Happy Birthday LA 5K. Last month, BlacklistLA held its inaugural Happy Birthday LA 5K to celebrate the City’s 234th. The race attracted nearly 500 runners to the start line at Olvera Street, the City’s birthplace. With support from LA 2050, BlacklistLA hopes to attract 1000 to next year's race.
Please explain how you will evaluate your work.
The success of our work will be measured by our ability to make progress toward our expected outcomes. Included below are our two desired outcomes:
(1) More Angelenos will be connected through BlacklistLA (BLA) offerings.
Number of Angelenos who attend BLA runs, number of repeat runners, number of runners in BLA training groups for targeted races, number of runners who participate in BLA's 5k, diversity of communities of BLA runners, presence of BLA community members at races and number of Angelenos who follow BLA’s social media.
(2) More Angelenos will experience alternative forms of transportation and different neighborhoods of L.A.
Number of Angelenos who are exposed to and take public transit at least once per month. Number of Angelenos who report that BLA has exposed them to a new neighborhood
We will be tracking these numbers and data points throughout the year. All of the data will be the basic information used for any midcourse corrections that need to be made.
How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed
Money (financial capital)
Publicity/awareness (social capital)
Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles, etc.)
Network/relationship support