In a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, two “parklets,” or micro urban parks, were officially opened in downtown Los Angeles and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs had a hand in creating the new spaces.
“This parklet is the first in the nation that is an active recreation parklet,” said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, associate dean of the UCLA Luskin School, who spoke at the ceremony. The parklet features bike equipment and a foosball table along with seating and vegetation.
The two parklets on Spring St. were designed by the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council with support from Councilmember Jose Huizar and the L.A. Department of Transportation. The UCLA Luskin Complete Streets Initiative worked with these partners throughout the project phases and supported construction with a grant from the Rosaline & Arthur Gilbert Foundation.
The two parklets are part of a larger roll-out of parklets opening this month in Los Angeles. The local parklet movement is guided by the parklet toolkit (PDF) authored by Loukaitou-Sideris, UCLA Complete Streets Initiative Manager Madeline Brozen, and UCLA Luskin Center Deputy Director Colleen Callahan.
“It is a very exciting day for Los Angeles and UCLA… We are seeing our research in action, by assisting the city accomplish this innovative project,” Brozen noted.
For the third component of this project, building upon the parklet toolkit and parklet construction, UCLA, in collaboration with Parklet Studies, will now evaluate the parklets’ use and pedestrian and business volumes in the area, to quantify the impact of the micro parks. The three-part project was made possible by a grant from the Gilbert Foundation.
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