California's poor neighborhoods push for parks

Yosemite, Death Valley, Redwood national and state parks — California, one might think, doesn't lack for open space. But in the crowded cities of the Golden State, it's another matter.

Per person, Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest metropolis, has about a third of the park space of New York: 11.8 acres, as compared with 37.3. And it has far less than Chicago (18.7), Boston (18), Philadelphia (17.1) and Miami (16).

Within cities, the disparity between rich and poor neighborhoods is striking. Predominantly white Los Angeles neighborhoods have 31.8 acres of park space for every 1,000 people, as compared with only 1.7 acres in predominantly African American neighborhoods, and 0.6 acres in Latino neighborhoods, according to Stephanie Pincetl, a researcher at UCLA and the U.S. Forest Service. "Integrating nature into urban fabric reduces pollution and absorbs runoff," said Pincetl, principal author of the 2003 UCLA report "Toward a Sustainable Los Angeles." "Providing more green spaces in park-poor areas makes a real difference."

This week California adopted a new law, sponsored by the Assembly’s assistant majority leader, Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), to target $400 million in park bond funds to underserved communities. Competitive grants will be awarded under strict criteria: Eligible neighborhoods must have less than three acres of park space per 1,000 residents, and must have an overall income below 80% of the household median.

It is no accident that park-starved communities are the same ones that suffer from high crime, unemployment, poverty, obesity and asthma, de León noted.  "Health studies show that providing people with green space and places to play has broad impact," he said. "Creating parks changes childrens' lives."

The measure comes at a time of increasing environmental consciousness in poor neighborhoods. In July, downtown Los Angeles inaugurated its first new park since 1895, the 10.5-acre Vista Hermosa, with trails, meadows, a waterfall, picnic grounds, a playground and a soccer field. It sits atop an old oil field, an earthquake fault and what was once a weed-infested dusty lot.

-- Margot Roosevelt

Photo: A young soccer player runs to the top of Vista Hermosa Park. Credit: Genaro Molina /Los Angeles Times