Neighborhood Design Lab

K-12 STEAM education

South LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

For decades, redlining and exclusionary zoning have been used to exploit the architectural illiteracy of LA’s working class to extract wealth, displace residents, and erase culture. In South LA, under-resourced communities this inequity takes forms such as food deserts, limited green space, and high pollution. This exploitation is by design; Black and Latino communities have long been denied access to the education needed to resist spatial injustice. For example, only 5% of architects are Latino; 2% are Black, with only 0.2% being black women. Existing architectural enrichment for children are rarely located in affordable or accessible areas, with only 5 LAUSD schools still teaching architectural drafting. This challenge is not simply about representation, or access to quality careers, but who has the power to shape neighborhoods.

To identify and repair spatial inequality, The Neighborhood Design Lab empowers South LA youth to be designers and decision-makers in their own neighborhoods. Our program bridges STEAM education, community organizing, and creative industry exposure to drive neighborhood transformation from within. Funding from this grant will support four key areas:
Architecture Workshops: 30 youth (ages 14-20) engage in 5 weeks of hands-on workshops, gaining architectural and problem-solving skills through real-world STEAM applications, building confidence and agency.
Youth-Led Design-Build Project: In 20 weeks, 20 youth will co-design and construct a small-scale public resource with over 40 community members—like outdoor seating or community gardens—organized as a series of community workshops to gather community input and foster collaborative innovation.
Community Engagement + Organizing: 3 events celebrating neighborhood histories—strengthening social ties with other grassroots nonprofits and promoting safety through public space activation.
Leadership Development for Emerging Professionals: 40 emerging professionals (age 17–28) are trained to lead workshops, engage communities, and facilitate events—gaining vital experience in design justice and public communication.
Together, these components advance community well-being and safety, increase access to STEAM and design careers, and cultivate a new generation leading equitable neighborhood development.

Working directly with LA residents and existing community programs, students will identify challenges impacting daily well-being in neighborhoods and imagine ways to design, build, and advocate for these communities. Short-term impacts will 1) increase the number of youth exposed to hands-on experiences in architecture, design, and community-building professions, 2) work directly with residents to develop innovative ideas that uplift LA neighborhoods on local scales, and 3) strengthen networks for existing community resources and partnerships that support underserved residents. Long-term, our work will 1) reduce the gap in access to STEAM education and creative industry careers in LA’s low-income neighborhoods, 2) support equitable development and community-led public space improvements, and 3) help expand programming capacity to reach new neighborhoods in LA. Our goal is to reinvest power back into LA neighborhoods, for and with the communities that need it most.