This case study highlights work from those who participated in our Healing our Highways program, an initiative that aims to inspire creative ideas and activities to build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Boyle Heights, a vibrant Latino neighborhood, was shaped by redlining and the East LA Interchange. While the interchange spurred business growth, it also displaced many residents. A team of artists in Los Angeles worked with their community to define what resilience means to them, and how they can build off of that idea to create a better place to live.
Background
Located in Los Angeles, Boyle Heights is a culturally rich neighborhood with a large Latino population. Boyle Heights was deeply impacted by redlining and the construction of the enormous East LA Interchange. While the Interchange did bring an influx of new business, it also forced out many residents. In addition, this type of infrastructure brought in massive amounts of traffic congestion and as a result, heavy pollution. These infrastructure decisions, made with little to no input from community members, have created an environment that presents few mobility options and many health impacts for residents.
The Boyle Heights team wanted to use the support of the Healing Our Highways program to continue the work they had already begun. Based on the idea that community input leads to infrastructure that addresses community needs, the Boyle Heights team led “co-design” workshops. These gatherings invited participants to think deeply about their built environment, create a vision of change based on their needs and experiences, and identify what resilience looks like in Boyle Heights.
Taking action
In addition to the insights gained from the workshops, the Healing Our Highways program allowed the Boyle Heights team to continue to shape their co-design model in order to increase its effectiveness. The experience also helped them gain insights from their fellow cohort members who had expertise in a range of different disciplines such as historic preservation, oral history, and story mapping. They hope to continue this type of work in Boyle Heights and use feedback from community members to advocate for infrastructure that better serves residents. Additionally, the team hopes that others may be inspired to use this model to gather community input and advocate for the changes they want to see in their communities.
“One of the main goals for us was to understand and explore how the community shows resilience already through everyday practices that are not super visible, but have already been there throughout the years.” -Lakshmy Narayana, Transportation Planner & Activist