Los Angeles
Neighborhood Land Trust
Growing Healthier Communities through Urban Parks & Gardens
Growing Healthier Communities through Urban Parks and Gardens Dashing between leafy trees, the laughing youngster lands a hard kick on a soccer ball and leaps for joy as he scores a goal. Nearby, a dark-haired toddler triumphantly climbs to the top step on a colorful play structure, and a group of parents clap and smile.
L.A. County
Obesity Epidemic
• More than 1 in 5 kids are obese • More than 1 in 3 adults are overweight or obese • 3 in 5 children fail to get the recommended amount of exercise—at least 60 minutes for 5 days a week
It is a typical afternoon at Beverly Union Park, one of the many urban parks and community gardens created by the Neighborhood Land Trust. We are the region’s leading nonprofit organization growing healthier communities by working with residents to envision, build and maintain these havens in underserved urban neighborhoods.
Our work is transforming the fabric and future of greater Los Angeles. Combating the Obesity Epidemic For young and old alike, our parks provide boundless opportunities to exercise and play, and our community gardens offer better nutritional choices. This is especially important in Los Angeles County, where high obesity rates and the lack of physical activity are literally killing residents: Los Angeles County ranks among the worst of all of California’s counties in deaths caused by diabetes and heart disease.
Enhancing Education and Scientific Discovery From planting a seed to harvesting a crop, our community and school gardens provide real-life science labs where nature reveals its mysteries and nurtures the inquisitive, confident and capable young minds that will forge our future.
Creating Safer and Stronger Communities Our urban parks and gardens make neighborhoods safer by bringing residents together to prevent crime and improve their surroundings. Our projects also offer productive activities to keep young people out of gangs and empower neighbors to take ownership of their community.
All this and more goes on everyday in our urban parks and gardens, making our communities healthier, stronger, safer and smarter.
Los Angeles: Starved for Urban Parks and Gardens At the turn of the century, less than half of Americans lived in urban areas. Today, more than 8 in 10 do, and Los Angeles County leads the nation with nearly 10 million residents. Yet it ranks behind all major metropolitan areas in the number of acres of open space per person: Less than 15% of Los Angeles’ residents live in walking distance of a park. Even more troubling is the distribution of this open space: White neighborhoods enjoy more than 30 times the park space found in African-American and Latino neighborhoods.
Living Far From Parks and Open Spaces “The inequitable distribution of open space is abundantly clear in the Los Angeles region. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Griffith Park and other large open spaces offer wonderful opportunities for
Los Angeles
outdoor recreation and exploration. But these expansive swaths of open space aren’t easily accessible to most lowerincome families, and the region’s major parks aren’t located in the neighborhoods with the most kids,” says Jennifer Wolch, Dean of the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley.
No Safe Place to Play Without easy access to urban parks and gardens, children in underserved neighborhoods have no safe place to play. They are more likely to turn to TV and other sedentary past-times. Teens are more likely to find unproductive ways to fill their days, leading to risky behaviors and crime.
Parks and open spaces
Open Space in Los Angeles (Acres per 1,000 people) 1.1 Overall 31.8 White neighborhoods 1.7 African-American Neighborhoods 0.6 Latino Neighborhoods
Without a nearby park or garden, neighborhoods languish, crime flourishes and our children’s health suffers.
we lead the way
Through our work, in harnessing the resources, creativity, diversity and expertise to build a safer, healthier and stronger future for us all.
Leading the Way with Urban Parks and Gardens
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Turning trash-strewn vacant lots into pocket parks and building communities out of urban gardens – these are just a few of the ways we transform neighborhoods and lives in greater Los Angeles.
Empowering and Strengthening the Community
All my children
eat much healthier now because they know where food comes from. —Veronica Bala
”
Before building a new project, we engage residents to determine what they want, and we continue to work with them to maintain the parks and gardens once they’re completed. This ongoing engagement empowers neighbors, develops leadership skills, strengthens the community and ensures a continuing commitment to the projects.
Creating and Sustaining Programs and Activities Local residents create community management groups at each project to ensure their local park or garden is fulfilling the neighborhood’s needs. Working with the community management groups, we help provide activities not otherwise available nearby, including tutoring, job training and classes in nutrition, exercise, health, gardening, arts and culture.
Eating Healthier, Growing Closer Urban Garden Improves Neighborhood Ties Veronica Bala proudly displays the early sprouts of lettuce on her plot of land and the many other fruits and vegetables her neighbors cultivate at Moothart Collingnon Community Garden in Koreatown. “All my children eat much healthier now because they know where food comes from,” she says. The garden was purchased with funding from Proposition K, a Los Angeles initiative for urban parkland. In addition to its vital nutrition lessons, the garden provides a gathering place where community ties grow. “We didn’t talk to each other before the Neighborhood Land Trust opened the garden to us all,” said Silvia Rivera, a community leader. “Now, we are safer because we have learned to work together to protect the neighborhood.”
Partnering with Others, Maximizing Investments Volunteers Create Park in a Day With a devoted group of partners working together, it took just one day to turn the 11th Avenue Family Park into a community playground and neighborhood retreat. With a grant from the nonprofit Kaboom! Organization, service from California Volunteers, property provided by the City of Los Angeles and the Parks and Recreation Department, additional support from Kaiser Permanente and our leadership, one of the county’s most park-poor communities, Hyde Park, now has a new place for children to play.
Sharing Skills, Building Community Residents Take Ownership of Their Parks Zully Flores is among the dedicated community leaders who helped us turn a neglected surplus city property into a favored refuge in a crime-ridden community.
“Working side-by-side with volunteers to build a new playground at the 11th Avenue Family Park, I saw firsthand how the Neighborhood Land Trust empowers and strengthens the community through its projects,” says Maria Shriver, California’s former first lady and a volunteer leader. “The urban parks and gardens the Neighborhood Land Trust creates and sustains give our children safe places to play and make our families healthier.”
She has been engaged in the planning and operations of Marson Street Pocket Park in Panorama City since shortly after we purchased the land with funds from the Anna H. Bing Living Trust in 2006. The crocheting and art classes she teaches at the park give neighbors a creative outlet to relieve stress and the skills to produce crafts to sell to supplement their families’ incomes. “The park keeps the kids out of gangs, and it gives the parents a place to cultivate friendships,” Zully says. “Now we all feel like a big family.”
Discovering Fitness, Finding Happiness Park Programs Transform Lives Elvia Cerritos says the Neighborhood Land Trust saved her life. The mother of six was overweight, suffering from depression and diagnosed with clogged arteries. She joined an aerobics class at Beverly Union Park and discovered the joys of regular exercise and good nutrition. Now, she’s free of depression, and her health is improved. “For me, the park means happiness,” Elvia says. “This is where I bring all my worries, and they disappear.”
Envisioning a Future When Every Child Can Walk to a Park or Garden Urban residents living in neighborhoods far from parks or community gardens were the genesis of the Neighborhood Land Trust. Their foresight led to the organization’s founding in 2002.
hood associations, foundations, businesses and others to build new parks and gardens in urban neighborhoods.
“Our founders envisioned a day when every child in an underserved neighborhood in greater Los Angeles would live in walking distance of an urban park or garden. Today, the Neighborhood Land Trust is working diligently to overcome the funding disparities and other obstacles to achieve this vision,” says Founder Misty Sanford.
With fewer public dollars available, we are developing creative solutions to bring more open space to underserved communities.
Building Partnerships to Maximize Investments We are constantly expanding and strengthening our partnerships with public and private agencies, community members and others to maximize our investments. Working with local governments and schools, we identify potential sites and partner with nonprofit organizations, neighbor-
Finding Creative Solutions
We are seeking to revamp funding rules for developers’ fees to make more money available for urban parks. We are teaming up with schools and others to establish more community gardens and parks and to ensure the existing ones remain open and accessible to the public.
Fulfilling Our Mission What compels us is a vision of healthier, safer and stronger communities and the knowledge that the work we’re engaged in today will achieve that goal for future generations. We invite individuals, organizations, foundations and all who care about our future to join us.
Together, we can achieve our goal of
growing healthier communities through urban parks and gardens.
Los Angeles
Neighborhood Land Trust An independent nonprofit organization leading the way in creating urban parks and gardens in greater Los Angeles’ underserved neighborhoods. p 213-572-0188 • info@lanlt.org • www.LANLT.org