The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust's mission is to bring parks and gardens to underserved communities in Los Angeles, where problems of obesity are bad enough that the city recently banned new fast food operations.
The article features Q&A with Alina Bokde, the executive director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust:
"Our work is about bringing resources and creating viable neighborhood parks and community gardens where community members can work with the Land Trust to provide programs and engage in what we call 'stewardship activities' to help maintain the site. We do clean-up days, we do big volunteer days to rehab the park, and we also engage the community in developing the leadership capacity to address quality of life issues within the community."
"There's more and more research coming out showing that the built environment has a very direct relationship to public health outcomes. If you live in a community or neighborhood that doesn't have fresh foods, groceries, or community gardens, doesn't have parks, and doesn't have walkable streets and trees, you're more likely to live in a community with higher rates of obesity, higher rates of diabetes, and higher rates of mental depression. There is a direct correlation that we see with the built environment and public health."
Thanks to James Brasuell
FULL STORY: Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust Goals: Creating Urban Gardens and Pocket Parks
10 of the Best Urban Agriculture Projects
Urban Land surveys ten of the best recent examples of development projects that incorporate agricultural facilities—from New York to new Orleans.
How the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust Gets the Job Done
In a city of increasingly scarce land, the Los Angeles Neighborhood land Trust has a track record of ushering community gardens and other public health resources in low-income communities.
Baltimore's Big Idea: Schools as the Center of Neighborhood Transformation
The city of Baltimore is taking a new approach to an old idea: that schools should be the center of neighborhoods.
The Right to Mobility
As we consider how to decarbonize transportation, preserving mobility, especially for lower- and middle-income people, must be a priority.
America’s Best New Bike Lanes
PeopleForBikes highlights some of the most exciting new bike infrastructure projects completed in 2022.
Early Sharrow Booster: ‘I Was Wrong’
The lane marking was meant to raise awareness and instill shared respect among drivers and cyclists. But their inefficiency has led supporters to denounce sharrows, pushing instead for more robust bike infrastructure that truly protects riders.
L.A. County Towns Clash Over Homelessness Policies
Local governments often come to different conclusions about how to address homelessness within their respective borders, but varying approaches only exacerbate the problem.
A Mixed-Use Vision for Houston Landfill Site
A local nonprofit is urging the city to consider adding mixed-use development to the site, which city officials plan to turn into a stormwater detention facility.
Milwaukee County Makes Substantial Progress on Homelessness
In 2022, the county’s point-in-time count of unhoused people reflected just 18 individuals, the lowest in the country.
Town of Palm Beach
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
York County Government
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Fitchburg, WI
City of Culver City
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
