The Invisible 5 Audio Project, by collaborators Amy Balkin, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Tim . . . → Read More: “Invisible 5″ project]]> We got an exciting email recently! An environmental justice-minded audio project that we participated in is getting its international debut this December at the Cubitt Gallery in London as part of the show, “The city is a burning, blazing bonfire”.

The Invisible 5 Audio Project, by collaborators Amy Balkin, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Tim Halbur, Kim Stringfellow and the Pond grassroots organization, is:

…a self-guided critical audio tour along Interstate 5 between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It uses the format of a museum audio tour to guide the listener along the highway. [It] investigates the stories of people and communities fighting for environmental justice along the I-5 corridor, through oral histories, field recordings, found sound, recorded music, and archival audio documents. The project also traces natural, social, and economic histories along the route.

Map of Invisible 5 Projects in Southern California

A few years ago, PB staff member Lucia Torres took the collaborative on a tour of Pacoima.  Visit their Pacoima page to hear the tour and read more,  or listen below.

Invisible 5 – PACOIMA tour

As part of the exhibit, they will also display information about PB and our current work. Congratulations to the Invisible 5 team on their show, and thanks for letting us participate!

We had a great time at this year’s Environmental Justice Awards.  We celebrated the contribution of our Pacoima Wash supporters Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, Scotts Miracle-Gro, and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and helped raise funds that could make our . . . → Read More: Environmental Justice Awards 2011]]>

Assemblymember Fuentes, Barbara Romero of MRCA, John Kondo of Scotts, and Nury Martinez, our ED

We had a great time at this year’s Environmental Justice Awards.  We celebrated the contribution of our Pacoima Wash supporters Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, Scotts Miracle-Gro, and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and helped raise funds that could make our Vision Plan a reality!  Check our Flickr page for more photos!

Recently, Caminos del Pueblo campaign staff Lauren worked with four young women from El Nido Family Source Center’s Parenting Class to finish out the tile murals on the benches in front of the Center.  They spent an hour creating designs and, in just two hours, mortared the benches, installed . . . → Read More: Tile Murals a Success!]]>

Tile Murals at El Nido

Recently, Caminos del Pueblo campaign staff Lauren worked with four young women from El Nido Family Source Center’s Parenting Class to finish out the tile murals on the benches in front of the Center.  They spent an hour creating designs and, in just two hours, mortared the benches, installed the designs, and even had enough time left over to tile the sides of the benches and clean up!  Lauren says of her experience:

Not only am I thrilled at how the benches look, I am extremely impressed with the creativity and skill of these young women.    I am confident they will not only be great parents, but also contribute tremendously to their communities and families through their time and talents.

Thanks to El Nido staff Rosa and Lillian for helping make this happen, and to Lulu, Catherine, Becky, and returning tiling champion, Caroline, for all their work!  Additional thanks to the first round of participants, Caroline, , and Rosa, Sarah, and Sam from El Nido staff.

To complete the project, YUTEP volunteers came out to grout between the tiles.  Big thanks to YUTEP stalwarts David, Florina, Roger, and Richard for their help!

Last week at ThinkBike LA, we and two other neighborhoods (Jefferson/Vermont in South LA, and Main/Spring in Downtown) had the opportunity to partner up with the wise eyes of Dutch bike planners along with other experts to take a fresh look at potential bike . . . → Read More: ThinkBike LA Comes to Pacoima]]>

The "Today" Option for Bike Lanes on Van Nuys Blvd.

Last week at ThinkBike LA, we and two other neighborhoods (Jefferson/Vermont in South LA, and Main/Spring in Downtown) had the opportunity to partner up with the wise eyes of Dutch bike planners along with other experts to take a fresh look at potential bike infrastructure in our communities.  The Dutch Embassy, LA County Bicycle Coalition, and LADOT Bikeways, collaborated with community members, advocates, council office and city planning staff, for a two-day workshop culminating in public presentations on what could be next for cyclists.  We worked hard to come up with three options for Van Nuys Blvd., focusing on potential solutions we could implement today, tomorrow, and our big dream for the future!  Check out our presentation here.  Also check out the great coverage on this event by  LA Streetsblog, Curbed LA, LACBC, and LADOT Bike Blog (who am I leaving out?).  Many thanks to the incredible people on our team: Tina Backstrom, Nate Baird and CullenMcCormick (LADOT Bikeways), Marisa Alcarez (Councilmember Alarcon’s office), Emily Yllescas (Dept. of City Planning), Brenda Medina (PB), Colin Bogart (LACBC), Glenn Bailey (LA Bicycle Advisory Committee), Tom Ames (SCI-ARC), and last but CERTAINLY not least, our fantastic Dutch planning extraordinaire, Cor van der Klaauw of the Groningen Province of the Netherlands!  We took people on a bike tour of Pacoima, and spent many hours brainstorming, calculating, and drawing our visions for a more cyclist-friendly LA!

Also one more article on PARKing Day at CityWatch!

We had an AMAZING time last Friday at our Second Annual PARKing Day!  From a morning visit by Damien at Streetsblog LA (see his great post here), to a mid-day of conversation with passing community members, . . . → Read More: PARKing Day 2011 a Success!]]>

PB staff, adult and youth members rally together at close of PARKing Day. Check out our awesome tshirts!

We had an AMAZING time last Friday at our Second Annual PARKing Day!  From a morning visit by Damien at Streetsblog LA (see his great post here), to a mid-day of conversation with passing community members, an afternoon full of art projects (from sidewalk chalk to seed bombs and even armadillos!), and an evening visit from the offices of Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes and Senator Alex Padilla – we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It was a great reminder of how critical public space is for healthy and happy communities, particularly in park-poor neighborhoods like ours.  For more photos, check out our Flickr page.

Stalwart members Sofia and Mario with staff Maria (center)

Our members joined us and helped reach out to new residents!

Two happy seed animal makers!

The seed bombs quickly became “seed animals” in the hands of our creative visitors!

Repeat PARKing Day visitors!

One of the highlights was a family who came to our first PARKing Day last year, and back for another round! They were tickled to see themselves in our poster!

A cyclist reviews LACBC's Spanish bike guide

We saw dozens of cyclists – almost of all of whom relied on the sidewalks for their travel and lacked helmets. Time to spread the word with the City of Lights LACBC bike guides, and improve those streets so people safe to bike in traffic lanes – or even better, bike lanes!

Budding artist chalking it up

Neighborhood children instantly “activated” the space as a lively and fun public place with simple materials like sidewalk chalk drawings and bubbles.  It was so much fun, we’re tempted to do it every week!

There is also coverage of other PARKing Day events at the LA Weekly, NBC, LAist, and Curbed.  And of course, the PARKing Day LA website!

We’ll host our second PARKing Day on Friday,September 16 from 10am-5pm outside of the Pacoima Branch Library.  Come out and enjoy the fun!  We’ll have treats, music, information, and shady places to sit.  We’ll also have fun activities where you can make seed bombs . . . → Read More: Get Ready: PARK(ing) Day 2011]]>

People get info, plants, and paletas at PARKing Day 2010

We’ll host our second PARKing Day on Friday,September 16 from 10am-5pm outside of the Pacoima Branch Library.  Come out and enjoy the fun!  We’ll have treats, music, information, and shady places to sit.  We’ll also have fun activities where you can make seed bombs and give your input about community improvements, plus sidewalk chalk and bubbles!  If you don’t know what seed bombs are – come make one with us next Friday!  Here’s the blog post about last year’s PARKing Day.  Stay tuned for more details or contact Lauren at (818) 899 –2454 or by email.  This event is part of our Caminos del Pueblo/Complete Streets campaign and is funded through the RENEW LA initiative of the LA County Department of Public Health.

PARKing Day 2010

Save the date for our upcoming Environmental Justice Awards on October 13!  We’ll be celebrating the Pacoima Wash, the completed Vision Plan, and the champions who are helping us make the vision a reality.  Click here for . . . → Read More: Save the Date: 2011 Environmental Justice Awards!]]>

PB Founder Marlene Grossman, Executive Director Nury Martinez, and Board President Raul Bocanegra at last year's event

Save the date for our upcoming Environmental Justice Awards on October 13!  We’ll be celebrating the Pacoima Wash, the completed Vision Plan, and the champions who are helping us make the vision a reality.  Click here for more information, and here for our post about last year’s fantastic event!  Contact us for more information at (818) 899 – 2454 or email Deputy Director Veronica.

Last week, we proudly hosted the culmination of six months of hard work through our People’s Planning School.  Participants in the 12-session . . . → Read More: People’s Planning School Culmination]]>

PPS participants Sofia R., Reyna H., Elvida M., China H., Mario R., Juana P., Jesse R., with guests Ruben Zaragoza (Councilmember Cardenas) and Gerry Guzman (Assemblymember Fuentes) and PB staff Lauren Ahkiam.

Last week, we proudly hosted the culmination of six months of hard work through our People’s Planning School.  Participants in the 12-session workshop series brought their families and friends to celebrate their dedication and commitment to the future of Pacoima with representatives from the offices of the CRA/LA, Councilmember Cardenas, and Assemblymember Fuentes.  Assemblymember Fuentes provided beautiful certificates acknowledging the fantastic new team of People’s Planners, who also received graduation certificates from Pacoima Beautiful.  One of our students, Jesse R., said “I learned so much in planning school. I hope to learn more in the future and put what I’ve learned into action.”

Since January, residents of the Northeast Valley have been meeting twice a month for sessions exploring the information and tools needed to ensure the future of Pacoima reflects the vision of the community.  We’ve had an incredible group of participants, reflective of the diversity of our community.  Our residents are geared up and ready: ready to improve the conditions for people who walk, bike, and bus, ready to reduce and mitigate pollution and to revitalize Pacoima, and ready to make their voices heard.  It’s been an honor to get to know them, their passion and wisdom, and I look forward to continued collaboration as we move forward!

Heartfelt thanks go to everyone who help make this happen, particularly to Margot Ocanas and the RENEW initiative of the LA County Department of Public Health, for their support (financial and otherwise) of this project.  Additional thanks to Senior Planner Gerald Gubatan and the East Valley CRA/LA Region Office for their partnership on the RENEW initiative to incorporate community feedback into the Pacoima Streetscape Improvement Project.

Sincere thanks to all of those who have supported, assisted, and inspired our People’s Planning School efforts, especially to SAJE, TRUST South LA, ELACC, and Hollywood Community Studio for sharing their people’s planning expertise.  Also to guest speakers who braved rush hour from Dr. Pop, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, ELACC, TRUST South LA, LANI, LAANE, CiCLE, LACBC, the Watershed Council, and our graduation speakers as listed above.  And to all the volunteers and fellow PB staff who made it happen!

In Unit One, “City Politics and Us: The Big Picture,” participants learned how to navigate city processes and how land use policies, such as PB’s Caminos del Pueblo/Complete Streets and Clean Up Green Up campaigns, can improve the health of our environment, economy, and community. Participants delved into zoning with presenters Gilda Haas and Rosten Woo (Dr Pop) and their incredible Blocks and Lots game and deciphered city structure and with a city department role-playing activity pioneered by SAJE and TRUST South LA. They participated in skits to explain policy proposals and public speaking trainings to better voice their support for the Caminos del Pueblo and Clean Up, Green Up efforts. They were inspired by the community-driven environmental successes at the Ports with guest speaker Angelo Logan from East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

In unit 2, “Complete Streets and Design in Our Community: The Local Picture,” residents collaborated through community walk audits, survey creation, and a design workshop facilitated by James Rojas as part of our Caminos del Pueblo/Complete Streets campaign. This campaign is working in conjunction with CRA/LA and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to envision streetscape improvements to improve streetscape conditions on Van Nuys Boulevard and encourage active transportation. This unit culminated in an inspiring panel of Community Planners from other parts of the city: Paola Ruvalcaba from East LA Community Corporation and member Teresa S., Tafarai Bayne from TRUST South LA, and Norma Fernandez from LA Neighborhood Initiative.

In unit 3, “Our Community, Our Family, Our Streets!,” guests presented on important issues impacting our community and how we can get involved to address them. Topics included healthy and safe cleaning products with PB promotoras Maria Guzman and Amelia Tena, healthy eating and food access with Osbaldo Robles (Youth United Towards Environmental Protection), equity and transportation issues with Allison Mannos (LA County Bicycle Coalition), Carlos Hernandez (CiCLE), and Jackie Cornejo (LAANE’s Construction Careers at Metro campaign), waste and recycling with Francisco Arzu (Don’t Waste LA Campaign), and the importance and opportunities of watersheds with Alex Kenefick (LA San Gabriel Rivers and Watershed Council).

Thanks again to everyone who participated or otherwise supported us!