LA Pathmakers: From Neglected Sidewalks to Kid-Friendly Cities

Community Safety

Central LA

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative

Inner city youth often walk to school through marginalized neighborhoods that suffer from a high proportion of pedestrian-automobile accidents. Previous cityLAB research in Westlake-MacArthur Park suggests that in doing so they navigate unsafe sidewalks along heavily trafficked streets. According to thirty student surveys and route-mapping exercises, along with eight in-depth walking audits, the students who make these trips are concerned about lack of shade, broken sidewalks, unattractive fences, neglected streetscapes, trash buildup, and poor lighting. Per LADOT's Safe Routes to School program, four of LA's ten most in-need schools are in the neighborhood. The issues measured by cityLAB research and voiced by youth in Westlake-MacArthur Park are clear, as is the need to target particular pedestrian routes around schools. Micro-urban interventions can address young students' stated concerns, improve the pedestrian experience, and create safer and more inviting streets for everyone.

Two existing cityLAB projects serve as the foundation for LA Pathmakers. "Pathways to Autonomy," collects data on students' routes to school and identifies urban characteristics that contribute to feelings of danger, while "On-Your-Own: Micro-Urbanisms for Kid-Friendly Cities," documents how art and design can enhance local parks. Our pilot initiative aims to combine both to elevate the pedestrian experience. Our primary focus will be on revitalizing a city block along one of LADOT's High Injury Network streets near Lafayette Park and the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) building, a heavily used route for area youth. Through a cluster of small community-led and arts-based physical improvements, called micro-urban interventions, we intend to transform the urban infrastructure along this path. Examples of these interventions may include the installation of Music Trees that create calming sounds from wind chimes, Kaleido-Fences showcasing interactive youth art that softens the harsh streetscape, Surgical Sidewalk Mosaics that fill broken infrastructure with ceramic tiles, and Supportive Supergraphics, public art that can incorporate benches, lighting, trash receptacles, and shade structures to unify the intervention.

This project aims to demonstrate the transformative power of community-led, small enhancements along our streets that make the city more welcoming, secure, and vibrant. By focusing on improving the pedestrian experience for youth, we can foster safer, more inviting streets for all residents. Additionally, this initiative emphasizes the importance of leveraging the stories and experiences of existing neighbors whose voices have been marginalized, enabling us to pinpoint areas in need of investment with the greatest impact. LA Pathmakers serves as inspiration and model for future corridor-specific investments that can foster a network of intentionally designed, safe pathways throughout the county. As these pathways multiply, they can act as focal points for further interventions, serving as gathering spaces for essential services and catalyzing neighborhood-wide investments. The project will demonstrate that the old adage "You can't walk in LA" no longer holds true.

This pilot project builds on cityLAB's previous research which provides valuable insights into heavily trafficked walking routes. Student surveys, interviews, walking audits, photovoice, and mapping exercises of the area point to the sidewalks where Micro-urban interventions can greatly improve youth mobility. Once this pilot project is installed, we can employ the same approaches to survey people who walk along the newly improved route. The success of our interventions will be evident when pedestrians not only acknowledge and appreciate the changes, but also express an increased sense of safety. We want to keep the voices of the students involved at the forefront throughout the process. Ideally, their positive response will extend beyond the immediate area, prompting suggestions to implement similar interventions in other neighborhoods as well.

We will work directly with the teachers and staff of HOLA: our long standing community-based partner with deep roots in Westlake. HOLA has identified student safety on neighborhood streets as a key organizational priority. Our youth-centered methods will involve HOLA students directly in collecting data and designing site-specific micro-urban interventions, as well as in communicating these ideas to policymakers. This communication enables youth to play an active role in urban design and decision-making. Additionally, we will continue our partnership with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), which served as our agency partner for the Pathways to Autonomy project. LADOT will provide key guidance at early stages of the project and serve as an important governmental audience.