Jorell Singfield - Roses from the Concrete: Urban Public Parks
A map view of KHSRA and the surrounding neighborhoods
For my topic I will be writing about the new wave of public parks being developed in urban minority neighborhoods with an emphasis on the Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area. Whether it was slavery or Jim Crow segregation, African Americans and other people of color have historically not been given the same public commodities as those who live in primarily white communities. Recreational areas are important because they provide an escape from the concrete and a distraction from every day life. It's a place for kids to be kids and gets them off the streets and out of trouble. The distinct lack of parks has been noticeable in Los Angeles communities of color and action has recently been made to counter it. The majority of the parks in LA today have either been built or updated/upgraded in the last 15 years. There are many factors that may have gone into this neglect of communities of color. It may have been racism and segregation that led to the lack of green spaces in the area. It also might have to do with the precious resources found throughout LA that have been mined and pumped and drilled for decades. During the development of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area (KHSRA), a new emergency power station had to be built on site because of the energy crisis and residents in the surrounding neighborhoods protested this move as a cover for the delaying of their park.
The main source I'll be using is this article called The Park Made of Oil: Towards a Historical Political Ecology of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. It chronicles the development of the park from its earliest beginnings to its present day status. It's a great building block for the poster. The second source I'll be referring to is a book called Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era. This book discusses exactly what the title implies. It brings to light a side of segregation that is often overlooked in modern times. Everyone needs a place to relax and enjoy themselves but those opportunities were rare for people of color during this time. I will also tie in a couple of the readings from class discussing environmental racism and the policies that allowed it to happen. As a historian I feel its most important to understand the why and how on topics like this.
My research in the future will focus primarily on the development of the KHSRA and will branch out to include the history of segregation of recreational areas as well as the natural resources in the areas surrounding the KHSRA. I may also briefly cover the effect green spaces and the lack thereof can have on communities but I'm not sure if I should do that or not. I'm definitely open to suggestions.
Hey Jorell, your project really caught my attention because it reminded me about the community park from my childhood called South Park aka South Park Recreation Center. Although, the park had been there for a while, it never really got the maintenance it deserved. However, the year before I graduated they were remodeling the whole thing, and it got me really happy because we finally had a nice soccer field, decent outdoor basketball blacktops, and better lighting, etc,. As you mentioned, maybe do to racism and other common factors black neighborhoods and other poc neighborhoods didn’t really have recreation areas like these. In fact if one did, then it most certainly meant it was now owned by one of the local gangs and instead of a free space it became a dangerous spot to be at. I personally think it is a very cool research project, maybe because it hits home but also because it actually has a very positive impact on the communities. And I think I get that your argument is that recreational areas were lacking in these communities due to either racism, segregation, or redlining. I would say that mentioning some of your sources would be nice to further understand what led to the funding or creation of these recreation centers. However, I think oral histories might help your project a lot as many people have lived across or next to these areas far longer than one might think of. Their interviews might tell you what that space was used for before it became a recreation areas. It might even convey the positive effects on the community, and adding even though you’re focusing on KHSRA, adding little stories or other less focused examples can make your project even more profound. I suggest this because right before I embarked this college journey. Many many little recreation areas were developed all over LA on places we never thought we might have seen them. And I think the following article might contribute to your project when it comes to understanding the funding and disparities in LA parks.
ReplyDelete1. Joassart-Marcelli P. Leveling the Playing Field? Urban Disparities in Funding for Local Parks and Recreation in the Los Angeles Region. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. 2010;42(5):1174-1192. doi:10.1068/a42198
While there's not a lot so far, what you have paints a really unique and underdeveloped story of bringing joy back to communities primarily comprised of people of color. The narrative of repairing the damage done to these communities by bringing green parks into them is important, and I think that you have a lot of potential in developing this more.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the last part of your writing where you wondered if you should cover the effect of green spaces and lack thereof in communities, I think you should go for it. Visual pollution is a concept that goes hand in hand with actual pollution, and if you covered how that effected the people as well as the environment I think it would elevate your project.
Here are some sources that have to do with the effects of public parks on communities:
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2005.072447
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749379707006502
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/env.2012.0013
On google scholar, the third link found by searching "effects of visual pollution" links to a good PDF.
I would try and do more research on the environmental quality of urban areas compared to wealthier, white communities and see how that can be incorporated into your project. The potential is there, it just needs to be developed in order to focus on both racial and environmental issues.
Hi Jorell,
ReplyDeleteNice superblog! One area you might develop in terms of research here would be the topic of "brownfields" and environmental or restorative justice. There are some really key works out there in the "brownfields" literature. The term "brown" here refers to places, like former industrial sites, that have contaminants in the soils where it might cost hundreds of millions to fully clean up. There are some official EPA guidelines on brownfields, but conversions to open space, wilderness areas and parks are very common. Check out these sources:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi81qfVjN7uAhVdGjQIHWlJA3sQFjAAegQICRAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcore.ac.uk%2Fdownload%2Fpdf%2F70972596.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1u2iQM-ud0mjEBCBvQcSM0
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi81qfVjN7uAhVdGjQIHWlJA3sQFjABegQIBxAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.epa.gov%2Fsites%2Fproduction%2Ffiles%2F2015-02%2Fdocuments%2Fpublic-dialogue-brownfields-1296.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2hftAtmliEnmpw472Zut-u
And thanks for your comments about research posters for next week! I'll get some samples.
First of all, the title of this is perfect. I love the Tupac reference. I think it fits perfectly with your topic. We all had that one park that holds many stories of our childhood. Aside from the sentimental value of public parks, I would like to see the history behind the area that the park is being built in. Also, the environmental issues that have impacted the building of said parks. Also, I think that you can relate environmental racism to the lack of green spaces as well as connecting it to the socioeconomic side of the argument. Because I grew up where the grass wasn't always green, but lived near the towns that had the beautiful green grass where the kids would enjoy their day playing. There were two parks where I grew up and the one closest to me and all my friends was built and not ever taken care of by the city, but the other park across town was gated, painted yearly, the grass was always trimmed and plush. I never understood why, but now that I am older I realize it was because the rich had it better than the poor.
ReplyDelete