Partner Highlight: Kounkuey Design Initiative’s North Hills Lot Opening
3.02.2020
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LISC StoriesHealth
We appreciated the opportunity to attend the grand opening celebration of Kounkuey Design Initiative's first lot in their Adopt-A-Lot pilot program. The lot in North Hills couldn't be in a more perfect location adjacent to two public schools in a residential neighborhood. The lot sat empty for over 100 years due to its proximity to an arroyo. KDI worked in conjunction with Inclusive Action for the City, Pacoima Beautiful, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez's office to re-purpose the space for youth and families to use immediately.
KDI is design lead of Free Lots Angeles (FLA), a collaborative working to help residents access vacant lots for social, economic and environmental benefit. The Adopt-A-Lot program works on identifying underutilized LA-city owned parcels to convert then into public space for local communities that are often park-poor and combatting the long-term health effects of environmental racism. This creative place making is meant to serve the long standing and ongoing relationships between residents and their neighborhood spaces. The Adopt-A-Lot pilot will be conducted at 10 lots across the City of LA with hopes of a permanent program to reimagine vacant spaces in our communities.
LISC LA is proud to have supported KDI’s Adopt-A-Lot program with a $75,000 ESPN RePlay grant to continue their innovative work on the intersection of design, community organizing, and planning. RePlay is a national effort led by ESPN and LISC to revitalize vacant spaces into places for sports, recreation and play. With support from ESPN in providing grants for planning and implementation, along with LISC’s technical assistance to local, community-based groups and other qualified organizations, we hope to bring vitality back to local neighborhoods by creating courts, playgrounds and other safe places for youth to play and communities to thrive.
