The Little Ethiopia Tour

Public transit

Central LA

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

While Los Angeles is rich in cultural diversity, neighborhoods like Little Ethiopia often remain under the radar—especially for Angelenos who rely on public transit. The new D Line subway extension to Fairfax and Wilshire opens the door for greater access, but without intentional cultural programming, these transit improvements risk bypassing smaller immigrant communities entirely. We recognize that access isn’t just about physical infrastructure—it’s about creating meaningful pathways for people to connect with unfamiliar places and cultures. Youth and seniors, in particular, often lack opportunities to explore the city beyond their immediate neighborhoods. At the same time, Ethiopian-owned small businesses in Little Ethiopia struggle with visibility and foot traffic. Our program grows from a deep understanding of these gaps—geographic, social, and cultural—and aims to bridge them through place-based, transit-connected experiences.

This grant will support The Little Ethiopia Tour, a new cultural experience designed to connect Angelenos, especially youth, seniors, and community groups, to the heart of LA’s Ethiopian community, just steps from the new D Line subway extension at Fairfax and Wilshire. The tour invites participants to travel via Metro and experience the neighborhood through guided storytelling, food, and shared traditions. It begins at Destination Little Ethiopia’s community office with a short film on Ethiopian and neighborhood history, followed by an Amharic writing activity. From there, participants take a walking tour of the block, meet local business owners, sample traditional food, and enjoy a traditional coffee ceremony.
To encourage public transit use, each participant will receive a pre-loaded Metro TAP card to cover their fare, making transit the core mode of access, not just an option. The tour also emphasizes last-mile access with an easy, walkable route from the station to the tour site. Over time, The Little Ethiopia Tour will open to the broader public, helping more transit riders experience this cultural gem while supporting small, immigrant-owned businesses. By aligning cultural engagement with public transit, the program transforms a Metro stop into a doorway to discovery.

If our work is successful, public transit will become a bridge between communities. This will make it easier for people from the Eastside and across LA County to access and experience the cultural richness of Little Ethiopia. The Metro will no longer just move people through the city, but connect them to meaningful cultural experiences that build understanding and pride. Small immigrant-owned businesses will gain visibility and foot traffic, and Angelenos of all backgrounds will feel more connected to each other. As LA prepares to welcome the world for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, The Little Ethiopia Tour offers a model for how we can spotlight our city’s diversity in an authentic, accessible way. This program shows how a simple subway stop can open the door to an entire culture, while shaping a more inclusive, connected Los Angeles.