New Roots

The site is located in Los Angeles’ thriving Crenshaw neighborhood. Crenshaw is an important cultural hub for Los Angeles’ black community under immense gentrification pressures. There is an opportunity to uplift the area surrounding the site, which is currently a food desert, lacking in places for people to gather, and deficient of affordable housing. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported over 66,000 unhoused residents in 2020 signaling the lack of affordable housing available in Los Angeles. At least 180 unhoused persons live in the neighborhoods surrounding the site (Leimert Park, West Adams, Crenshaw, and Baldwin Hills).

We* proposed a new housing development with affordable housing units for formerly unhoused persons with a community garden at its core. In general, the project aims to create a new space for bringing together the entire Crenshaw Community, to celebrate locally-owned businesses, and promote a healthy lifestyle.

*The development vision of this project was collaboratively completed with Emily Wulf for Prof. Liz Falletta’s RED 425: Designing Livable Communities. Additionally, I was responsible for all of the design work and graphs.