latimes--2020-06-18--Californians must wear face masks in public under coronavirus order issued by Newsom

Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all Californians to wear face coverings while in public or high-risk settings , including when shopping , taking public transit or seeking medical care , following growing concerns that an increase in coronavirus cases has been caused by residents failing to voluntarily take that precaution .
Newsom ’ s order came a week after Orange County rescinded a requirement for residents to wear masks and as other counties across California were debating whether to join local jurisdictions that had mandated face coverings .
“ Simply put , we are seeing too many people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the real progress we have made in fighting the disease , ” Newsom said in a statement .
“ California ’ s strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations .
That means wearing a face covering , washing your hands and practicing physical distancing.
” Under state law , residents who violate the new requirement could be charged with a misdemeanor and potentially face a financial penalty , according to a representative for the Newsom administration .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcing other statewide coronavirus mandates with similar actions , choosing instead to encourage compliance and educate residents about the benefits of safeguards against spread of the virus .
State agencies such as Cal/OSHA , which enforces workplace safety requirements , could take action , an administration official said .
The mask requirement comes as California and Los Angeles County saw single-day highs in coronavirus cases on Wednesday , a clear sign that the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of waning in the state .
More than 5,300 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in L.A. County .
Until now , state public health officials had only recommended that Californians wear face coverings , which , if worn by someone with the virus , have been shown to decrease the chances of spreading COVID-19 .
The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday first reported that the Newsom administration was considering a statewide face-covering requirement .
The state mandate exempts children 2 years old and younger and people with a medical , mental health or developmental disability that prevents them from wearing a face covering .
Restaurant customers are also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are residents engaged in outdoor recreation as long as they are able to socially distance from others .
Face coverings also are not required for the hearing impaired , or those communicating with them , or for workers whose health may be put at risk or may need to temporarily remove a mask to perform a task or service .
Masks must be worn by Californians in their workplace , when serving customers or any member of the public , by all food service workers , when walking through parking facilities and hallways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elevators , according to the order .
People who drive buses , taxis , ride-hailing vehicles or any other service that accepts passengers also must wear masks .
Newsom in mid-March issued the nation ’ s first stay-at-home order , arguing at the time that the restrictions were necessary to slow the spread of the virus .
Since that time , the Democratic governor has made it clear that enforcing the order , as well as deciding when to ease the restrictions , is up to counties and cities to decide .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the same legal authority as all of the other state orders , ” Kate Folmar , spokeswoman for the California Health and Human Services Agency , said of the mask requirement .
State Public Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell said wearing face coverings is an effective way to decrease the spread of the coronavirus .
“ As Californians venture into our communities more , ” she said , “ wearing face coverings is another important way we can help protect one another.
” A recent study from Germany found that face masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections by around 40 % .
Another study , published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , concluded that “ wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission.
” Dr. Shruti Gohil , associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine , said face coverings , in addition to frequent hand washing , are helpful in reducing the spread of infection as communities reopen and physical distancing becomes less possible .
“ In my opinion , if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of our energy into figuring out how to shave off every piece of risk that we can , reasonably , without crippling our society , ” she said .
“ I do think it ’ s hard for the public to digest what the right steps are and I think in a time of pandemic it is nice to have authorities steer the ship as stably as possible .
I do think that perhaps the governor ’ s move allows for that at some level.
” Dr. Peter N. Bretan , president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newsom ’ s order was a reminder that the “ COVID-19 crisis is not over.
” “ We hope this order will offer some support and protection for local public health officers who have been placed in untenable situations in counties across California , coming under attack for only trying to do what science tells us is necessary to protect public health , ” Bretan said in a written statement .
California joins New York , Illinois , Michigan , Virginia , Massachusetts , Maine , Maryland , Delaware , Rhode Island and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requirement , according to the National Governors Assn .
Some Californians have openly rebelled against directives to wear face coverings , which they consider to be government overreach and an infringement on their personal freedom .
Last week , an Orange County public health official resigned after weeks of verbal attacks , including a death threat , over her mandatory mask rules .
Her replacement rescinded the rules amid intense pressure from the Board of Supervisors , and now the county only “ strongly recommends ” wearing masks in public settings .
Orange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said she was surprised by the governor ’ s statewide mandate , noting that Orange County ’ s infection rate and hospitalization numbers are below the state thresholds for reopening .
Steel had previously advocated for the county health officer to loosen the requirement that all residents wear masks when in public .
“ A mandatory order was too strong , ” she said .
“ I think our residents in Orange County are very smart .
If they feel sick , they ’ re going to wear a mask .
It doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes indicated that he believes it ’ s not the responsibility of law enforcement to ensure compliance with the state ’ s mask order .
Instead , “ it is each person ’ s responsibility to wear a face covering , and follow other recommended safeguards , in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 , ” he said .
“ I expect that Orange County residents will continue to use common sense approaches for the benefit of their own health , as well as the collective health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement .
“ We must do what is necessary to stop the transmission of COVID-19 , enabling us to further open remaining businesses , places of recreation , and the hospitality industry.
” Officials in Riverside County , which previously rescinded a face-covering requirement , urged residents to follow the state ’ s new rules .
“ Social distancing , washing our hands and wearing facial coverings are all simple measures that we can all abide by to protect ourselves and our fellow neighbors , ” Riverside County Board of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement .
“ I am happy that our governor has made this decision.
” Though he declined to comment specifically on Newsom ’ s mandate , saying officials hadn ’ t yet had time to review it in detail , San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said “ the county is a big believer in face coverings.
” “ The county ’ s position has been that face coverings do reduce the risk of spreading the virus and we have strongly recommended that everyone wear them when they go out in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses that require them , ” he said .
Fresno and San Bernardino counties have also rescinded face-covering requirements due to public opposition .
Many of California ’ s other most populous counties , including Los Angeles , San Diego , Santa Clara , Alameda , Sacramento , Contra Costa , San Francisco and San Mateo , require mask wearing in public .
Times staff writers Stephanie Lai and Rong Gong Lin II contributed to this report .

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all Californians to wear face coverings while in public or high-risk settings, including when shopping, taking public transit or seeking medical care, after growing concerns that an increase in coronavirus cases has been caused by residents failing to voluntarily take that precaution.
Newsom’s order came a week after Orange County rescinded a requirement for residents to wear masks and as other counties across California were debating whether to join local jurisdictions that had mandated face coverings.
“Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease,” Newsom said in a statement. “California’s strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations. That means wearing a face covering, washing your hands and practicing physical distancing.”
Under state law, residents who violate the new requirement could be charged with a misdemeanor and potentially face a financial penalty, according to a representative for the Newsom administration. However, officials have shied away from enforcing other statewide coronavirus mandates with similar actions, choosing instead to encourage compliance and educate residents about the benefits of safeguards against spread of the virus.
1 / 46 Newport Beach police enforce closures along the Wedge in Newport Beach, a popular surf spot. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 2 / 46 Spectators along the Wedge in Newport Beach, a surf spot, on July 4. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) 3 / 46 A bicyclist rides along Highland Avenue with the pier closed to beachgoers on July 3 in Manhattan Beach. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 4 / 46 Peter Gratzinger of Pacific Palisades heads to the water at Santa Monica State Beach, which opened to the public at 5 a.m. July 6. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 46 A bicyclist with her child rides along the closed bike path on July 3 in Manhattan Beach. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 6 / 46 A police officer and a lifeguard boat comb the shoreline in Venice Beach on July 5. Even though the beach was closed over the weekend a few still made their way to the shoreline. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 7 / 46 No-parking signs from the July 4 weekend still block spots on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica on Monday. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times) 8 / 46 Dusk sets in over the the Santa Monica Pier on Friday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) 9 / 46 Southern California residents watch the fireworks during the Drive-Up 4th of July Spectacular at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base on Saturday in Los Alamitos. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) 10 / 46 Bella Nousiainen, left, with daughter, Helmi Nousiainen, of Los Angeles, at the Santa Monica Pier, which reopens after being closed to guests for months because of the coronavirus. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 11 / 46 Dr. Jamie Taylor checks the ventilators at the refashioned St. Vincent Hospital. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) 12 / 46 Shoppers and mannequins wear protective masks in the Los Angeles downtown garment district on Thursday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 13 / 46 Patrons wear face coverings at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. A recent surge in COVID-19 cases in California has pushed the state’s total past 200,000 with more than 5,800 deaths. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times) 14 / 46 LAPD officers E. Rosales, left, and D. Castro, patrol the Metro Red Line at the Hollywood/Highland Metro Station Thursday. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 15 / 46 Visitors wear protective masks while walking through historic Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 16 / 46 People wait in line to have a COVID-19 screening administered by the Community Organized Relief Effort at the Los Angeles City Mayor’s test site at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 17 / 46 A woman adjusts a protective mask while walkiing along Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Ti mes) 18 / 46 Cameron Johnson,18, left, headed to UC Berkeley in the fall and Simona Krasnegor,17, headed to UCLA in the fall, watched the sun set while sitting next to the Manhattan Beach Pier, following their drive-through graduation from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times) 19 / 46 Jair Guido, 36, a veterinarian visiting from Durango, Mexico, right, wearing a sombrero with an American flag draped over his shoulders, walks with other pedestrians along Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. Guido said that he wore this outfit to show people that he is proud to be a Mexican and that he loves America. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all Californians to wear face coverings while in public. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 46 A mask-wearing skateboarder and her dog make their way along the boardwalk in Venice Beach. Californians must wear face masks in public under a coronavirus order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 46 Pedestrians, some with face coverings, some without, walk past musicians Brent Kendell, background left, and Sam Jones, background right, as they perform at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 46 People wear masks while walking along the boardwalk in Venice Beach. Californians must wear face masks in public under a coronavirus order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 46 Pedestrians cross the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all Californians to wear face coverings while in public, following growing concerns that an increase in coronavirus cases has been caused by residents failing to voluntarily take that precaution. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 46 Sophia Strauss, left, and Sarah Hoffmeister celebrate after their drive-through graduation from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 46 New West Charter School vice principal Mark Herrera shouts at graduate Joe Reid to come and receive his diploma during a drive-up graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 at the charter school in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 26 / 46 A worker directs drivers at a drive-up testing site for COVID-19 outside of Jackie Robinson Stadium at UCLA.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) 27 / 46 Destiny VanSciner is tested for COVID-19 with an oral swab by family nurse practitioner Anniesatu Newland at a walk-in site at St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 46 Melissa Gomes fixes the tassel on the mortarboard of Sarah Anggraini as the new graduate gets ready for a photo at Chaffey College, which held a drive-through graduation, in Rancho Cucamonga. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 46 Maricela Moreno, manager at El Tarasco in Marina del Rey, disinfects cash at the restaurant. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 46 Mildred “Millie” Stratton waves to a caravan of cars led by Alhambra police officers and firefighters. The parade past her home celebrated Stratton’s 102nd birthday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 46 Eric Larkin hands an order to Brittany Wright as she fastens her face covering outside the Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 46 A jogger passes Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles as local stay-at-home orders are increasingly relaxed months into the coronavirus outbreak. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 46 Hikers and bikers traverse the Santa Fe Dam trail as county parks officially reopen to the public. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 46 A woman, masked against COVID-19, walks past a building that features the image of Britney Spears at a shopping center in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 46 Manon Guijarro, a new graduate of Pierce College, has her photo taken by friend Paige Johnson at Chris Burden’s outdoor work “Urban Light” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 46 Mary Perez, a salesperson at High Class Jewels on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, helps a customer as he tries on a gold rope chain inside the recently reopened store. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) 37 / 46 Professional dog walker Lindsay Rojas takes golden retrievers Gomez, left, and Nikki for a stroll along Le Bourget Avenue in Culver City. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 46 The Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team banks over downtown Los Angeles in formation to salute healthcare workers and first responders on May 15. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 46 Maria Morales, center, a member of the USC class of 2020, participates in virtual graduation via Zoom with her brother Manny Morales, left, mom Pilar Morales and stepdad Victor Ramos from her home in Orange. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 46 On a recent day, there’s not a face mask in sight as a roller skater and others share the reopened walking path on the Strand in Manhattan Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 46 Crew members of a Hainan Airlines flight walk through the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) 42 / 46 A woman wearing a protective mask walks past a shuttered business in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 43 / 46 Thousands of rental cars are stored at Dodger Stadium as the coronavirus crisis has caused rentals to nosedive. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) 44 / 46 Some beachgoers actively use the beach while others relax on the sand, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s active-use-only order, in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 45 / 46 Traveling nurse Gail Cunningham waves thanks outside the emergency room entrance to Riverside University Health System in Moreno Valley as residents pay tribute to her and other medical personnel with a drive-by rally. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) 46 / 46 A scene from “Knives Out,” with actor Don Johnson, seen at the Mission Tiki Drive-in Theatre in Montclair. Opened with one screen in 1956, the Mission Tiki expanded to four screens in 1975 and began renovation in 2006, updating to FM transmitters and digital projectors. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
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State agencies such as the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which enforces workplace safety requirements, could take action, an administration official said.
The mask requirement comes as California and Los Angeles County saw single-day highs in coronavirus cases Wednesday, a clear sign that the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of waning in the state. More than 5,300 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in California thus far, including more than 3,000 in L.A. County.
Until now, state public health officials had only recommended that Californians wear face coverings, which, if worn by someone with the virus, have been shown to decrease the chances of spreading COVID-19.
The state mandate exempts children 2 years old and younger, and people with a medical, mental health or developmental disability that prevents them from wearing a face covering. Restaurant customers are also exempt when eating and drinking, as are residents engaged in outdoor recreation as long as they are able to keep distance from others.
Face coverings also are not required for the hearing impaired, or those communicating with them, or for workers whose health may be put at risk or who may need to temporarily remove a mask to perform a task or service.
Masks must be worn by Californians in their workplaces when serving customers or any member of the public, by all food service workers, when walking through parking facilities and hallways at work, and when riding on elevators, according to the order. People who drive buses, taxis, ride-hailing vehicles or any other service that accepts passengers also must wear masks.
Newsom in mid-March issued the nation’s first stay-at-home order, arguing at the time that the restrictions were necessary to slow the spread of the virus. Since that time, the Democratic governor has made it clear that enforcing the order, as well as deciding when to ease the restrictions, is up to counties and cities to decide.
“This is a statewide requirement and flows from the same legal authority as all of the other state orders,” Kate Folmar, spokeswoman for the California Health and Human Services Agency, said of the mask requirement.
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State Public Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell said wearing face coverings is an effective way to decrease the spread of the coronavirus.
“As Californians venture into our communities more,” she said, “wearing face coverings is another important way we can help protect one another.”
A recent study from Germany found that masks reduced the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%. Another study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that “wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission.”
Dr. Shruti Gohil, associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine, said face coverings, in addition to frequent hand washing, are helpful in reducing the spread of infection as communities reopen and physical distancing becomes less possible.
“In my opinion, if we want to reengage we have to put all of our energy into figuring out how to shave off every piece of risk that we can, reasonably, without crippling our society,” she said. “I do think it’s hard for the public to digest what the right steps are, and I think in a time of pandemic it is nice to have authorities steer the ship as stably as possible. I do think that perhaps the governor’s move allows for that at some level.”
Dr. Peter N. Bretan, president of the California Medical Assn., said Newsom’s order was a reminder that the “COVID-19 crisis is not over.”
“We hope this order will offer some support and protection for local public health officers who have been placed in untenable situations in counties across California, coming under attack for only trying to do what science tells us is necessary to protect public health,” Bretan said in a written statement.
California joins New York, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island and New Mexico in implementing a mandatory face-covering requirement, according to the National Governors Assn. The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday first reported that the Newsom administration was considering a statewide face-covering requirement.
Some Californians have openly rebelled against directives to wear face coverings, which they consider to be government overreach and an infringement on their personal freedom.
Last week, the Orange County public health officer resigned after weeks of verbal attacks, including a death threat, over her mandatory mask rules. Her replacement rescinded the rules amid intense pressure from the Board of Supervisors, and now the county only “strongly recommends” wearing masks in public settings.
Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said she was surprised by the governor’s statewide mandate, noting that Orange County’s infection rate and hospitalization numbers are below the state thresholds for reopening. Steel had previously advocated for the county health officer to loosen the requirement that all residents wear masks when in public.
“A mandatory order was too strong,” she said. “I think our residents in Orange County are very smart. If they feel sick, they’re going to wear a mask. It doesn’t really have to be mandatory.”
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes indicated that he believes it’s not the responsibility of law enforcement to ensure compliance with the state’s mask order. Instead, “it is each person’s responsibility to wear a face covering, and follow other recommended safeguards, in order to stop the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
“I expect that Orange County residents will continue to use common sense approaches for the benefit of their own health, as well as the collective health of other county residents,” he said in a statement. “We must do what is necessary to stop the transmission of COVID-19, enabling us to further open remaining businesses, places of recreation, and the hospitality industry.”
Officials in Riverside County, which previously rescinded a face-covering requirement, urged residents to follow the state’s new rules.
“Social distancing, washing our hands and wearing facial coverings are all simple measures that we can all abide by to protect ourselves and our fellow neighbors,” Riverside County Board of Supervisors Chairman V. Manuel Perez said in a statement. “I am happy that our governor has made this decision.”
Though he declined to comment specifically on Newsom’s mandate, saying officials hadn’t yet had time to review it in detail, San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said “the county is a big believer in face coverings.”
“The county’s position has been that face coverings do reduce the risk of spreading the virus, and we have strongly recommended that everyone wear them when they go out in public, and we’ve provided incentives to businesses that require them,” he said.
Fresno and San Bernardino counties have also rescinded face-covering requirements due to public opposition.
Many of California’s other most populous counties, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo, require mask wearing in public.
Times staff writers Stephanie Lai and Rong Gong Lin II contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-06-18--Under pressure, L.A. agrees to provide 6,000 new beds to clear homeless camps under freeways

After frenzied weeks of negotiating , the city and county of Los Angeles announced an agreement Thursday to create 5,300 beds for homeless people over the next 10 months , rising to 6,000 over a year-and-a-half .
These beds will be provided to comply with a court order issued last month by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter that requires city , county and homelessness officials to provide space in shelters or alternative housing for the 6,000 to 7,000 county residents living near freeway overpasses , underpasses and ramps .
The two parties had previously been at loggerheads over how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people after the judge raised concerns about the health risks of constantly breathing vehicle emissions .
Carter has been presiding over the case since March , when the advocacy group L.A. Alliance for Human Rights sued public agencies across the county , accusing them of allowing unsafe and inhumane conditions in homeless camps .
His order came as the city and county are attempting , through a statewide initiative called Project Roomkey , to house people in hotels who are over 65 and most susceptible to the coronavirus .
That population , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be eligible for these new beds .
Elected officials including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti , City Council President Nury Martinez and County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas attended court Thursday in an ornate ballroom in the Alexandria Hotel .
Carter ’ s freewheeling sessions have taken place there since the pandemic shuttered the federal courthouse .
They all hailed the agreement as a sign of a continued commitment to improving the plight of people living on the street .
Garcetti said in court that if the effort succeeds he ’ s hopeful it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and federal government to help address the crisis on city streets .
If people can be moved into the new beds , “ I ’ m confident we ’ ll see the first reduction in homelessness in five or six years , ” he said .
The deal announced Thursday vacates Carter ’ s prior order and came after two long days of negotiation late last week .
It was overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte , who is a special master in the case .
In addition to creating 6,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the city will use a combination of 700 shelter beds and units of permanent supportive housing that are already under construction .
City and county officials said these beds could be different forms of shelters , including sanctioned campsites , safe parking , interim housing and buildings purchased by the city .
The beds will just be for people within the city limits .
To assist in funding the services to care for and shelter these people , the county will pay the city $ 53 million this year and $ 60 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years .
That money is separate from the hundreds of millions being allocated by the county to homelessness through Measure H. As an incentive to make this deal happen , the county must pay the city $ 8 million if the 5,300 bed target is reached within 10 months .
Carter has previously said that he wanted all of these people moved from the freeways by Sept. 1 .
In court Thursday , he appeared to back away from that deadline , saying he ’ d like to see progress by then .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with separate plans for people living near freeways in unincorporated Los Angeles .
Other cities in Los Angeles are not party to the lawsuit and don ’ t have to comply with Carter ’ s rulings .
Local officials had been concerned that Judge Carter ’ s focus on freeways would distract from serving people who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus and at risk of dying .
The judge , who is 76 and has been visiting encampments in Los Angeles for months now , fixated on these locales after city officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 Freeway to house homeless people in prefabricated shelters .
Homeless advocates and city lawyers questioned the wisdom of that proposal , pointing to the health risks posed by vehicle emissions .
After Carter issued his order , officials from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority scrambled to quantify how many people were living in these locations .
In an interview Wednesday , before the deal was announced , LAHSA Executive Director Heidi Marston said that the work to relocate people near freeways “ certainly adds a layer of complexity ” to her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the streets .
She didn ’ t give specific numbers but said that data show the people living at underpasses and ramps are largely white and not as acute in their vulnerabilities .
It was for that reason that both Ridley-Thomas and Martinez said they were happy people over 65 and who were medically fragile would be given beds .
“ Some of what had to happen was to cause the court to understand that in actuality , those who are freeway adjacent are not the most vulnerable , ” Ridley-Thomas said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ averted a crisis , ” which could have arisen if either the city or county had chosen to appeal Carter ’ s decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals .
Martinez said agreement is a major step in the right direction and that she hoped it could create momentum as local officials begin to discuss a broader settlement about homelessness with Carter .
“ There ’ s such a racial disparity when it comes to this issue , ” she said .
“ We just need to deal with it , head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop going in circles .
Start building shelters and beds and pay for services.
” The annual point-in-time count released last Friday estimated the county ’ s homeless population is 66,433 , up nearly 13 % , the second consecutive double-digit increase .
The estimate for the city was 41,290 , up almost 14 % and only slightly less than last year ’ s increase of 16 % .
Those numbers are from January , before the pandemic , but they showed a continuing disparity in how homelessness is distributed by race .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the population in Los Angeles County , but 34 % of those who are homeless .
In court Thursday , Carter said he would like to see the various parties spend more time thinking about how they could address this inequity in any settlement they might reach .
After the agreement was announced , an attorney for the L.A. Alliance , Elizabeth A. Mitchell , said she was encouraged to see the county and city offering up plans that were far more ambitious than previously imagined .
“ There is so much more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that you have the city and the county coming together to produce beds by the thousands , which is what we ’ ve been been advocating for from the beginning , gives us all a lot of faith that we can actually get this done , ” she said .

After frenzied weeks of negotiating, the city and county of Los Angeles announced an agreement Thursday to create 5,300 beds for homeless people over the next 10 months, rising to 6,000 over a year and a half.
The beds will be provided to comply with a court order issued last month by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter that requires city, county and homelessness officials to provide space in shelters or alternative housing for the 6,000 to 7,000 county residents living near freeway overpasses, underpasses and ramps.
The two parties had previously been at loggerheads over how to fund a plan to help these people after the judge raised concerns about the health risks of constantly breathing vehicle emissions.
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Carter has been presiding over the case since March, when the advocacy group L.A. Alliance for Human Rights sued public agencies across the county, accusing them of allowing unsafe and inhumane conditions in homeless camps.
His order came as the city and county are attempting, through a statewide initiative called Project Roomkey, to house in hotels people who are older than 65 and most susceptible to the coronavirus. That population, in addition to people living near freeways, will be eligible for these new beds.
Elected officials including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council President Nury Martinez and county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas attended court Thursday in an ornate ballroom in the Alexandria Hotel. Carter’s freewheeling sessions have taken place there since the pandemic closed the federal courthouse.
They all hailed the agreement as a sign of a continued commitment to improving the plight of people living on the street.
Garcetti said in court that if the effort succeeds, he’s hopeful it will inspire more commitments from the state and federal government to help address the crisis on city streets.
If people can be moved into the new beds, “I’m confident we’ll see the first reduction in homelessness in five or six years,” he said.
The deal announced Thursday vacates Carter’s previous order and came after two long days of negotiation late last week. It was overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte, who is a special master in the case.
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In addition to creating 6,000 new beds in the next 18 months, the city will use a combination of 700 shelter beds and units of permanent supportive housing that are already under construction.
City and county officials said these beds could be different forms of shelters, including sanctioned campsites, safe parking, interim housing and buildings purchased by the city. The beds will be only for people within the city limits.
To assist in funding the services to care for and shelter these people, the county will pay the city $53 million this year and $60 million a year for the following four years. That money is separate from the hundreds of millions being allocated by the county to homelessness through Measure H.
As an incentive to make this deal happen, the county must pay the city $8 million if the 5,300-bed target is reached within 10 months. Carter has previously said that he wanted all of these people moved from the freeways by Sept. 1. In court Thursday, he appeared to back away from that deadline, saying he’d like to see progress by then.
U.S. District Court judge David O. Carter asks a skid row resident how long the water dispensers have been dry while touring the area on April 3. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
The county will have to come up with separate plans for people living near freeways in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Other cities in the county are not party to the lawsuit and don’t have to comply with Carter’s rulings.
Local officials had been concerned that Carter’s focus on freeways would distract from serving people who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus and at risk of dying. The judge, who is 76 and has been visiting encampments in Los Angeles for months now, fixated on these sites after city officials proposed using a Caltrans property under the 10 Freeway to house homeless people in prefabricated shelters.
Homeless advocates and city lawyers questioned the wisdom of that proposal, pointing to the health risks posed by vehicle emissions. After Carter issued his order, officials from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority scrambled to quantify how many people were living in these locations.
In an interview Wednesday, before the deal was announced, LAHSA Executive Director Heidi Marston said the work to relocate people near freeways “certainly adds a layer of complexity” to her broader push to get the sickest people off the streets.
She didn’t give specific numbers but said data show the people living at underpasses and ramps are largely white and not as acute in their vulnerabilities.
It was for that reason that both Ridley-Thomas and Martinez said they were happy people older than 65 and who were medically fragile would be given beds.
“Some of what had to happen was to cause the court to understand that in actuality, those who are freeway adjacent are not the most vulnerable,” Ridley-Thomas said.
He added that the deal “averted a crisis,” which could have arisen if either the city or county had chosen to appeal Carter’s decision to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Martinez said that the agreement is a major step in the right direction and that she hoped it could create momentum as local officials begin to discuss a broader settlement about homelessness with Carter.
“There’s such a racial disparity when it comes to this issue,” she said. “We just need to deal with it head-on, and we just need to stop going in circles. Start building shelters and beds and pay for services.”
The annual point-in-time count released Friday estimated the county’s homeless population is 66,433, up nearly 13% from the previous year , the second consecutive double-digit percentage increase. The estimate for the city was 41,290, up almost 14% — only slightly less than last year’s increase of 16%.
Those numbers are from January, before the pandemic, but they showed a continuing disparity in how homelessness is distributed by race. Black residents account for 8% of the population in Los Angeles County but 34% of those who are homeless.
In court Thursday, Carter said he would like to see the various parties spend more time thinking about how they could address this inequity in any settlement they might reach.
After the agreement was announced, an attorney for the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, Elizabeth A. Mitchell, said she was encouraged to see the county and city offering up plans that were far more ambitious than previously imagined.
“There is so much more progress to be done, but the fact that you have the city and the county coming together to produce beds by the thousands, which is what we’ve been been advocating for from the beginning, gives us all a lot of faith that we can actually get this done,” she said.


latimes--2020-06-18--Nine ideas for making our city's public space more race equitable

It was a photo that captured the divide .
Late last month , Nick Swartsell , news editor at the Cincinnati alt weekly CityBeat , snapped an image of a group of young , white urbanites in the city ’ s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood enjoying a round of beers in an alfresco dining space improvised along the street for the age of COVID-19.there .
Just beyond the group was another sight : a flurry of masked marchers , fists raised , protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
The image , first published as part of CityBeat ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was disseminated by television writer Ziwe Fumudoh on Twitter , where she wrote : “ There are two Americas : one fights for Black lives and the other fights for brunch.
” It ’ s been retweeted more than 150,000 times and received almost half a million likes .
( Though , to be clear , the photo was taken in the evening and not during brunch hour . )
The COVID-19 pandemic , which has disproportionately claimed Black and Latino lives , and the uprisings , which have thrown into stark relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ die in disproportionate numbers at the hands of law enforcement , have forced a national debate about structural racism .
( The BBC has a good roundup of charts that show the disparities between Black and white wealth accumulation , educational attainment , political representation , wages and employment . )
This same debate is roiling the world of design and urban planning , where conversations can often get tied up on issues such as bike lanes and height limits , without considering the larger inequities our cities perpetuate — such as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policed .
“ Every week in America , people like Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd have their lives stolen because their visibility in public space goes against the ways we ’ ve come to understand who should have access to ‘ outside , ’ ” anthropologist and urban planner Destiny Thomas writes in an essay published recently by the website CityLab .
It was a point proved yet again when a young Black entrepreneur named Malachi J. Turner led a group of college students on a walking tour of a pair of upscale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents called law enforcement .
Others took to Facebook to speculate that protesters had landed in the area , with one person stating : “ Where are all my Second Amendment peeps at ?
” Erin Kerrison , a scholar in the school of social welfare at UC Berkeley , noted in the Sacramento Bee how the default setting for public space is frequently white .
“ They imagine what is theirs , their streets , their grocery stores , their sidewalks , and what they claim is theirs against a Black threat.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is more equitable ?
One in which public space can be accessed by African Americans without threat or fear ?
The Times spoke with nine architects , planners and advocates for their ideas .
Tamika Butler is the director of planning for California at Toole Design , a North American planning and design company .
Based in Los Angeles , she has worked on planning and equity initiatives for the city of Los Angeles .
Stop killing Black people .
If we ’ re going to talk about how we are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s stop killing Black people and stop criminalizing us .
I am a Black woman and I identify as a Black woman .
( I always joke that if there ’ s a natural disaster , I ’ m going to find a Black woman because I know we will all be OK. We hold a lot on our shoulders . )
But I ’ m also gender-nonconforming .
I wear a suit and a tie and I have short hair .
Many people see me as a Black man .
So I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are perceived in the system — and how women are erased .
My wife is white , and we ’ ve been pulled over in our car in downtown Los Angeles , leaving happy hour from her office .
She ’ s a partner at a law firm .
And she ’ s been pulled out of the car by police asking if she is with me by force — even if she says , “ That ’ s my wife.
” The color of my skin scares people .
And if Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter what an architect or an urban planner does to design the city .
If that officer has his foot on George Floyd ’ s neck , it doesn ’ t matter if there is a bike lane .
Mabel O. Wilson is a graduate architecture professor at Columbia University and co-editor of “ Race and Modern Architecture : A Critical History From the Enlightenment to the Present , ” published by the University of Pittsburgh Press last month .
Talking to architects , planners and architectural historians , many of whom are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things they say is that we need to recognize the entanglements of these fields in regimes of white supremacy .
Until we do that work , we are just setting the scene for these events to happen again .
For example , we knew what redlining was , but now it ’ s back in other forms : gated communities , or the fact that there is no public housing but affordable housing that relies on private financing , or subprime mortgages pushed on people of color .
You also have poisoned water @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have a pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color .
It ’ s not just one thing , but a constellation — and it can be deadly .
The [ design ] field is 90 % white in America .
The built environment , it emerges from European encounters of colonialism .
In the West , that ’ s what architecture is — the European project that reached out and developed a kind of system of domination economically , politically , racially .
So architects need to understand that when you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cause is white supremacy .
They have to reckon with this legacy .
Rosten Woo is an L.A. artist who uses graphic design to render complex public policy issues in visual ways .
He helped create the historical signs in Los Angeles State Historic Park and a mini-golf installation about zoning for the arts group the Los Angeles Poverty Department .
I think [ planners ] tend to have an ahistorical sense of how they move forward .
Most planners can tell you a laundry list of injustices like redlining and disenfranchisement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tend to compartmentalize that and say , “ OK , we learned the lesson .
When we move forward , we won ’ t do that again.
” But you can ’ t just move forward .
You have to reckon with it .
We have built our environment on these super inequitable foundations .
One thing where that gets concrete is the park and open space piece .
If you look at high-need neighborhoods versus low-need neighborhoods , it ’ s basically a map of whiteness .
A tiny percent of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Los Angeles County average is about 3.3 acres per 1,000 people .
But there are neighborhoods that have 52 acres and others that have 0.7 .
It ’ s really extreme how inequitably those green spaces are distributed .
So you can ’ t just be like , “ How do we make parks wherever they happen to be more equitable ?
” The actual location of the parks is the bigger problem .
It ’ s trying to think proactively of how you redress these inequities .
Faiza Moatasim is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ design at USC ’ s School of Architecture .
Oftentimes , when you are dealing with architecture and design professionals , there is this assumption that it ’ s a design problem .
Well , it ’ s not bad design that is the cause of our unequal cities — cities are manifestations of our social values .
Cities are unequal because our society is unequal .
Broadly speaking , how can we make cities more equitable ?
It ’ s finding ways to support the now .
The big picture is important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you need housing — that ’ s important .
But what can you do right now ?
In Los Angeles , for example , it ’ s illegal to sleep in a car but legal to sleep on a sidewalk .
So how can we transform our cities in a proactive way so that people who are forced to sleep in cars have access to safe parking ?
That forces us to rethink parking lots and parking structures — not just as a place to park , but as a place that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in those types of operations is security and bathroom facilities .
And that is still pretty low when you compare it with building an actual building .
But for the people who are forced into those situations , being able to sleep peacefully at night , with security , that is the No .
1 priority .
We are often scared of the temporary , that it will take away from the larger mission .
But there is power in the temporary .
You can do a lot with a lot less .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the city of Los Angeles and The Times ’ former architecture critic .
One direct and positive step the city can take is to become a more thoughtful ( and self-critical ) client and patron when it comes to bringing emerging architects , particularly Black architects and architects of color , into the public-sector design process .
We ’ re working on two initiatives right now — one with our Department of Building and Safety , the other with the Bureau of Engineering — to examine and update the range of ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firms .
I ’ m also increasingly convinced that building equitable spaces means getting past the idea of always going for a brand-new , tabula rasa solution when we ’ re thinking about the future of a park or other open space .
Instead , let ’ s redouble our commitment to taking care of , improving and re-imagining the spaces we ’ ve already built , with meaningful input from the people who use them every day .
One of many things the Black Lives Matter protests should teach us about public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an effective plaza or gathering place if we want it to .
The right to be left alone Leslie Kern is an urban geographer based in New Brunswick , Canada , who is the author of “ Feminist City : Claiming Space in a Man-Made World , ” due out in July from Verso .
A lot of what we talk about when we talk about public space is the right to gather and the right to protest , a place where people should be able to have all of these social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I think about the right to be left alone in public space .
The ability to be left alone , to just be another person , that right is not often granted to women .
People will speak to us , yell at us , harass us .
Expanding that to black people — think about Christian Cooper , who goes out to bird-watch and encounters a woman with a dog and has the threat of police violence leveraged against him .
Or the story from a couple of years ago of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on suspicion of trespassing while waiting at a table for a business associate .
Things like stop-and-frisk policing , where the police randomly stop you , it ’ s about surveillance of youth and people of color .
The creeping privatization of public space is part of the problem in terms of levels of surveillance , with private security that disproportionately affects poor people , homeless people , people of color .
Anything that is viewed as a disorder becomes a target , and this view of disorder is shaped by race and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of who are cities for ?
And whose presence are we questioning in one way or another ?
Adonia Lugo is an urban anthropologist based in Los Angeles and also the author of “ Bicycle/Race : Transportation , Culture , & Resistance.
” She helped found the transportation equity group People for Mobility Justice .
In L.A. , there ’ s an emphasis on development as a way forward .
The idea is if you build it , they will come .
But adding rail infrastructure doesn ’ t necessarily increase ridership , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get pushed out .
There have been clear calls for removing police from Metro for quite some time , since there has been a lot of policing of behaviors .
And across the country , there is a well-documented phenomenon of biking while Black .
But it ’ s difficult to get urban planners and elected officials to see this as a problem of more than built systems .
There has been a lack of investment in developing robust organizations and programming in communities of color around sustainable transportation and being able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes sense .
While there are some standout examples — like Ride On in Leimert Park and the East Side Riders Bicycle Club in Watts — people have had to have these total uphill battles to keep riding going .
What happens is that POC groups often have to figure out how to mold themselves to fit whatever funding is available , rather than the funding being crafted to support where this great community-rooted stuff has emerged .
James Rojas , founder of the urban planning practice Place It !
, is an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the community level .
Based in Los Angeles , he has worked in cities around the U.S. , including Phoenix , Minneapolis and Portland , Ore. You can ’ t talk about equity or race without talking about place .
They are so intertwined .
Planners often approach planning as engineers .
It ’ s solving a problem .
But it ’ s more about emotions .
If you ask people what they need , they ’ ll say , “ We need more parking.
” But planning has no way of thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to plan for bodies , not just issues .
What does our body need to make it feel healthy ?
The format of planning meetings is wrong .
Rather than producing a checklist , you let people articulate it with objects .
If instead of “ What do you want ?
, ” you ’ re asked , “ What is an ideal street ?
” You might be able to say , “ I like a street with trees.
” So in my sessions , I bring objects , and people work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ built on memory of what makes them feel good .
It ’ s about the details that make people happy : gardens and community centers and art museums .
You get a different outcome that way .
Karen Mack is executive director of the community arts group LA Commons and a member of the L.A. City Planning Commission .
What I observe in public process is that there is not a great understanding of what it means to partner with community .
It ’ s coming at this from the perspective of , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we want to check off the box that we engaged community.
” One of my favorite projects that we ’ ve done [ with LA Commons ] is a mural , “ Heart of Hyde Park.
” The mural is beautiful .
[ Painter ] Moses Ball did a great job .
But really it was about the process of creating the mural .
We found leaders in the community who were invested in what we were doing — there ’ s a group called Hyde Park Organizational Partnernership for Empowerment , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the project .
Moses is from L.A. , but not from the neighborhood .
They wanted someone local , so we made budget to hire a second artist .
We recruited youth , and they were able to gather stories that served as the basis of the mural .
They were having these intergenerational dialogues — those connections are a fiber that creates strength in the neighborhood .
And now one of the youth artists that worked on that project is running other projects .
It ’ s that deep community work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public space more reflective of the people who live there .
That ’ s equity .

Customers at an al fresco area improvised for the COVID-19 era in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood have a beer as marchers protest the death of George Floyd in late May.
It was a photo that captured the divide. Late last month, Nick Swartsell, news editor at the Cincinnati alt weekly CityBeat, snapped an image of a group of young, white urbanites in the city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood enjoying a round of beers in an alfresco dining space improvised along the street for the age of COVID-19. Just beyond the group was another sight: a flurry of masked marchers, fists raised, protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The image, first published as part of CityBeat’s protest coverage, went viral after it was disseminated by television writer Ziwe Fumudoh on Twitter, where she wrote: “There are two Americas: one fights for Black lives and the other fights for brunch.”
It’s been retweeted more than 150,000 times and received almost half a million likes. (Though, to be clear, the photo was taken in the evening and not during brunch hour.)
there are two americas: one fights for black lives and the other fights for brunch pic.twitter.com/TFNsKghfmR — ziwe (@ziwe) May 31, 2020
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The COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately claimed Black and Latino lives, and the uprisings, which have thrown into stark relief the way in which Blacks and Latinos die in disproportionate numbers at the hands of law enforcement, have forced a national debate about structural racism. (The BBC has a good roundup of charts that show the disparities between Black and white wealth accumulation, educational attainment, political representation, wages and employment.)
This same debate is roiling the world of design and urban planning, where conversations can often get tied up on issues such as bike lanes and height limits, without considering the larger inequities our cities perpetuate — such as the ways in which the public space is policed.
“Every week in America, people like Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd have their lives stolen because their visibility in public space goes against the ways we’ve come to understand who should have access to ‘outside,’” anthropologist and urban planner Destiny Thomas writes in an essay published recently by the website CityLab.
Artist Theo Ponchaveli painted a mural of Ahmaud Arbery in Dallas. Arbery was gunned down while out for a jog in Georgia. Three white men have been charged in the homicide. (Associated Press)
It was a point proved yet again when a young Black entrepreneur named Malachi J. Turner led a group of college students on a walking tour of a pair of upscale communities outside Sacramento last week. Several residents called law enforcement. Others took to Facebook to speculate that protesters had landed in the area, with one person stating: “Where are all my Second Amendment peeps at?”
Erin Kerrison, a scholar in the school of social welfare at UC Berkeley, noted in the Sacramento Bee how the default setting for public space is frequently white. “They imagine what is theirs, their streets, their grocery stores, their sidewalks, and what they claim is theirs against a Black threat.”
So how to build a city that is more equitable? One in which public space can be accessed by African Americans without threat or fear? The Times spoke with nine architects, planners and advocates for their ideas.
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‘Stop killing Black people’
Tamika Butler is the director of planning for California at Toole Design, a North American planning and design company. Based in Los Angeles, she has worked on planning and equity initiatives for the city of Los Angeles.
Urban planner Tamika Butler tackles issues of equity and inclusion in her work for municipalities around California. (Serena Liu / Serena Grace Photography)
Stop killing Black people. If we’re going to talk about how we are going to change public space, it’s stop killing Black people and stop criminalizing us.
I am a Black woman and I identify as a Black woman. (I always joke that if there’s a natural disaster, I’m going to find a Black woman because I know we will all be OK. We hold a lot on our shoulders.) But I’m also gender-nonconforming. I wear a suit and a tie and I have short hair. Many people see me as a Black man. So I understand the ways in which Black men are perceived in the system — and how women are erased.
My wife is white, and we’ve been pulled over in our car in downtown Los Angeles, leaving happy hour from her office. She’s a partner at a law firm. And she’s been pulled out of the car by police asking if she is with me by force — even if she says, “That’s my wife.”
The color of my skin scares people. And if Black scares you, it doesn’t matter what an architect or an urban planner does to design the city. If that officer has his foot on George Floyd’s neck, it doesn’t matter if there is a bike lane.
George Floyd’s casket arrives at the memorial service in his honor in Minneapolis on June 4. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Reckon with history
Mabel O. Wilson is a graduate architecture professor at Columbia University and co-editor of “Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History From the Enlightenment to the Present,” published by the University of Pittsburgh Press last month.
Talking to architects, planners and architectural historians, many of whom are people of color, one of the things they say is that we need to recognize the entanglements of these fields in regimes of white supremacy. Until we do that work, we are just setting the scene for these events to happen again.
Mabel O. Wilson of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. (Dario Calmese)
For example, we knew what redlining was, but now it’s back in other forms: gated communities, or the fact that there is no public housing but affordable housing that relies on private financing, or subprime mortgages pushed on people of color. You also have poisoned water in Flint [Mich.]. And you have a pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color. It’s not just one thing, but a constellation — and it can be deadly.
The [design] field is 90% white in America. The built environment, it emerges from European encounters of colonialism. In the West, that’s what architecture is — the European project that reached out and developed a kind of system of domination economically, politically, racially. So architects need to understand that when you talk about racism or anti-Black racism, the cause is white supremacy. They have to reckon with this legacy.
A protester holds up a bottle of tap water from Flint, Mich., at a 2016 demonstration outside then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s office calling for his resignation. Gretchen Whitmer is the current governor of Michigan. (Jake May / The Flint Journal)
Redress is needed
Rosten Woo is an L.A. artist who uses graphic design to render complex public policy issues in visual ways. He helped create the historical signs in Los Angeles State Historic Park and a mini-golf installation about zoning for the arts group the Los Angeles Poverty Department.
Public artist and activist Rosten Woo works have engaged zoning and history. (Rosten Woo)
I think [planners] tend to have an ahistorical sense of how they move forward. Most planners can tell you a laundry list of injustices like redlining and disenfranchisement and freeways destroying neighborhoods. But people tend to compartmentalize that and say, “OK, we learned the lesson. When we move forward, we won’t do that again.” But you can’t just move forward. You have to reckon with it. We have built our environment on these super inequitable foundations.
One thing where that gets concrete is the park and open space piece. If you look at high-need neighborhoods versus low-need neighborhoods, it’s basically a map of whiteness. A tiny percent of the community parkland is in communities of color. The Los Angeles County average is about 3.3 acres per 1,000 people. But there are neighborhoods that have 52 acres and others that have 0.7.
It’s really extreme how inequitably those green spaces are distributed. So you can’t just be like, “How do we make parks wherever they happen to be more equitable?” The actual location of the parks is the bigger problem. It’s trying to think proactively of how you redress these inequities.
The intersection of the 105 and 405 freeways. Freeway building projects often divide communities of color. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Explore temporary solutions
Faiza Moatasim is an assistant professor of urbanism and urban design at USC’s School of Architecture.
Oftentimes, when you are dealing with architecture and design professionals, there is this assumption that it’s a design problem. Well, it’s not bad design that is the cause of our unequal cities — cities are manifestations of our social values. Cities are unequal because our society is unequal.
Broadly speaking, how can we make cities more equitable? It’s finding ways to support the now. The big picture is important. In thinking about the unhoused population, you need housing — that’s important. But what can you do right now? In Los Angeles, for example, it’s illegal to sleep in a car but legal to sleep on a sidewalk. So how can we transform our cities in a proactive way so that people who are forced to sleep in cars have access to safe parking?
Lawrence McCue, left, and Carla McCue bed down in their car in 2018 as part of a safe-parking initiative organized by Safe Parking L.A. The pair have since found housing. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
That forces us to rethink parking lots and parking structures — not just as a place to park, but as a place that someone might sleep. The biggest cost in those types of operations is security and bathroom facilities. And that is still pretty low when you compare it with building an actual building. But for the people who are forced into those situations, being able to sleep peacefully at night, with security, that is the No. 1 priority.
We are often scared of the temporary, that it will take away from the larger mission. But there is power in the temporary. You can do a lot with a lot less.
Faiza Moatasim teaches architecture and urban design at USC. (USC School of Architecture)
Reuse rather than rebuild
Christopher Hawthorne is the chief design officer for the city of Los Angeles and The Times’ former architecture critic.
One direct and positive step the city can take is to become a more thoughtful (and self-critical) client and patron when it comes to bringing emerging architects, particularly Black architects and architects of color, into the public-sector design process. We’re working on two initiatives right now — one with our Department of Building and Safety, the other with the Bureau of Engineering — to examine and update the range of ways that we hire and work with architecture firms.
I’m also increasingly convinced that building equitable spaces means getting past the idea of always going for a brand-new, tabula rasa solution when we’re thinking about the future of a park or other open space. Instead, let’s redouble our commitment to taking care of, improving and re-imagining the spaces we’ve already built, with meaningful input from the people who use them every day. One of many things the Black Lives Matter protests should teach us about public space is that any street can operate as an effective plaza or gathering place if we want it to.
The right to be left alone
Leslie Kern is an urban geographer based in New Brunswick, Canada, who is the author of “Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World,” due out in July from Verso.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, center, walks with demonstrators during a silent march to end New York’s stop-and-frisk program in 2012. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
A lot of what we talk about when we talk about public space is the right to gather and the right to protest, a place where people should be able to have all of these social interactions. But from a gendered perspective, I think about the right to be left alone in public space. The ability to be left alone, to just be another person, that right is not often granted to women. People will speak to us, yell at us, harass us.
Leslie Kern is an urban geographer who examines cities from the feminist perspective. (Mitchel Raphael)
Expanding that to black people — think about Christian Cooper, who goes out to bird-watch and encounters a woman with a dog and has the threat of police violence leveraged against him. Or the story from a couple of years ago of the two men in a Starbucks arrested on suspicion of trespassing while waiting at a table for a business associate. Things like stop-and-frisk policing, where the police randomly stop you, it’s about surveillance of youth and people of color.
The creeping privatization of public space is part of the problem in terms of levels of surveillance, with private security that disproportionately affects poor people, homeless people, people of color. Anything that is viewed as a disorder becomes a target, and this view of disorder is shaped by race and class. So it raises the question of who are cities for? And whose presence are we questioning in one way or another?
Support community groups that exist
Adonia Lugo is an urban anthropologist based in Los Angeles and also the author of “Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance.” She helped found the transportation equity group People for Mobility Justice.
VIDEO | 03:00 Peaceful bicycle demonstration in South L.A.’s Leimert Park Video of a bicycle demonstration in Leimert Park to protest the killing of George Floyd.
In L.A., there’s an emphasis on development as a way forward. The idea is if you build it, they will come. But adding rail infrastructure doesn’t necessarily increase ridership, and the people who rely on it get pushed out. There have been clear calls for removing police from Metro for quite some time, since there has been a lot of policing of behaviors. And across the country, there is a well-documented phenomenon of biking while Black. But it’s difficult to get urban planners and elected officials to see this as a problem of more than built systems.
Adonia Lugo focuses on mobility issues in South L.A. (Anna Goddard)
There has been a lack of investment in developing robust organizations and programming in communities of color around sustainable transportation and being able to advocate for the type of transportation that makes sense. While there are some standout examples — like Ride On in Leimert Park and the East Side Riders Bicycle Club in Watts — people have had to have these total uphill battles to keep riding going.
What happens is that POC groups often have to figure out how to mold themselves to fit whatever funding is available, rather than the funding being crafted to support where this great community-rooted stuff has emerged.
Reinvent planning meetings
James Rojas, founder of the urban planning practice Place It!, is an independent planning consultant who leads workshops at the community level. Based in Los Angeles, he has worked in cities around the U.S., including Phoenix, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore.
You can’t talk about equity or race without talking about place. They are so intertwined. Planners often approach planning as engineers. It’s solving a problem. But it’s more about emotions. If you ask people what they need, they’ll say, “We need more parking.” But planning has no way of thinking of the fine-grain details. We need to plan for bodies, not just issues. What does our body need to make it feel healthy?
What was once an empty lot became a community garden in Koreatown. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
The format of planning meetings is wrong. Rather than producing a checklist, you let people articulate it with objects. If instead of “What do you want?,” you’re asked, “What is an ideal street?” You might be able to say, “I like a street with trees.” So in my sessions, I bring objects, and people work together to build a place that is built on memory of what makes them feel good. It’s about the details that make people happy: gardens and community centers and art museums. You get a different outcome that way.
Deep listening with community
Karen Mack is executive director of the community arts group LA Commons and a member of the L.A. City Planning Commission.
Karen Mack has worked on arts initiatives in and around Leimert Park. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)
What I observe in public process is that there is not a great understanding of what it means to partner with community. It’s coming at this from the perspective of, “We have this toolkit of options and we want to check off the box that we engaged community.”
One of my favorite projects that we’ve done [with LA Commons] is a mural, “Heart of Hyde Park.” The mural is beautiful. [Painter] Moses Ball did a great job. But really it was about the process of creating the mural. We found leaders in the community who were invested in what we were doing — there’s a group called Hyde Park Organizational Partnernership for Empowerment, H.O.P.E., and they took on parts of the project. Moses is from L.A., but not from the neighborhood. They wanted someone local, so we made budget to hire a second artist.
A detail from “Heart of Hyde Park,” a mural organized by LA Commons, and led by artists Moses Ball and Dezmond Crockett. (Rafael Cardenas / LA Commons)
We recruited youth, and they were able to gather stories that served as the basis of the mural. They were having these intergenerational dialogues — those connections are a fiber that creates strength in the neighborhood. And now one of the youth artists that worked on that project is running other projects.
It’s that deep community work. Deep listening. This made the public space more reflective of the people who live there. That’s equity.


latimes--2020-06-18--Before Juneteenth was widely known, here's how Black Angelenos celebrated emancipation

The listing that ran in the Dec. 31 , 1874 , edition of the Los Angeles Herald was as short as it was dismissive .
“ The ‘ high-toned ’ colored folks , ” the unsigned story stated , “ will celebrate the anniversary of their emancipation ” on New Year ’ s Day with a dinner and dance .
But the blurb nevertheless remains significant : It ’ s one of the earliest documented records of African Americans in Los Angeles celebrating the end of slavery in the United States .
And parties , picnics and parades to mark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a batch of holidays .
Juneteenth , which falls on June 19 and references the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas found out about their freedom 2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation , is just the most well-known .
But over the past 150-plus years , other dates served the same purpose : Jan. 1 ( when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863 ) , Sept. 22 ( when President Lincoln signed it a year earlier ) , and July 28 ( the 14th Amendment was officially adopted on that date @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A look through historical archives shows these jubilees were a barometer of their times .
One thing that never changed , though , was the overriding theme , one more resonant today than ever : Black people in California began to celebrate Jan. 1 as Emancipation Day as early as 1865 in San Francisco .
But public celebrations in Los Angeles took longer to emerge .
For one , the population was minuscule in the wake of the Civil War : The 1870 U.S. Census found only 134 Black people , less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time .
It was a city then dominated by white Southerners whose sympathies still lay with the defeated Confederacy .
But on April 12 , 1870 , more than 50 people gathered at what would become the First African Methodist Episcopal Church , the city ’ s first Black house of worship .
The reason : the ratification of the 15th Amendment , which gave African American citizens the right to vote .
There was a potluck with speeches and a dance where whites were invited .
Later on that night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bunker Hill and blasted anvils into the sky at 4 in the morning .
Four days later , one of those partygoers , a barber named Lewis G. Green , tried to register to vote .
Alison Rose Jefferson , a historian who focuses on Black Los Angeles , said emancipation celebrations then weren ’ t predicated on set dates or even big events .
“ It was always about the struggle for freedom , ” she said .
“ Just being together informally was a form of emancipation.
” Eventually , Jan. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ celebrate as L.A. ’ s Black population grew because it coincided with New Year ’ s Day .
Newspaper articles mention beach picnics in Redondo Beach and dances in downtown Los Angeles .
For the 1896 Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade , local African Americans even entered two horse-drawn floats , “ handsomely decorated and suitably inscribed in commemoration of the incidents which recall so much for their race , ” according to a Los Angeles Herald story .
But most of the Emancipation Day commemorations centered around church , an apt setting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from ex-slaves .
One such event happened on Jan. 1 , 1900 , at Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church , which stood on what ’ s now skid row .
The subject was personal for Pastor F.L .
Donohoo : his mother was sold as a baby , and Donohoo remembered how his father was part of the Union regiment that freed his family .
Over three services that day , reported the Los Angeles Times , the Wesley Chapel congregation heard from people such as “ Mr .
Morton , ” who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poor slave boy with not even an education to aid him , but he has been able to accumulate considerable property and live a happy life.
” Another former slave , one “ Mr .
Sawyer , ” told the audience he was there when the first Juneteenth happened “ and praised God for freedom.
” Juneteenth didn ’ t warrant any further comment from Sawyer , because it was still relatively unknown to locals ; the earliest known celebration is an 1895 picnic at North Beach in Santa Monica attended by more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Emancipation Day in popularity after tens of thousands of African Americans from Texas came to Southern California as part of the Great Migration and brought the Lone Star State tradition with them .
“ The Texans had more of a party-type celebration than people here , ” Jefferson said .
“ And people went to that.
” African Americans from San Bernardino to Long Beach , Bakersfield to Brawley , began to hold their own Juneteenths .
But the biggest soiree was at the Elks temple in South L.A. , where the fraternal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and dancing until 1 in the morning .
By 1933 , the Los Angeles Times explained the holiday to its mostly white readers as “ What Independence Day is to all Americans ; Cinco de Mayo to Mexicans , so ‘ June Teenth ’ is to the Negro of the United States.
” It became fixed enough on the Southern California African American imagination that in 1938 , the resort town of Val Verde near Santa Clarita , known as the “ Black Palm Springs , ” chose June 19 as the date @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project where African Americans could swim and lounge in peace .
Marcus Hunter , chair of African American studies at UCLA , says Juneteenth also rose above other dates in California and beyond because of its symbolism .
“ It ’ s a memory of slavery , ” he said .
“ In a world without social media , how do you find out that you ’ re free two years after it actually happened ?
From black folks , not the federal government.
” Juneteenth has been celebrated in Los Angeles ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s “ truly ” grown in stature over the past 30 years .
But whatever the date , she argues it and its sister holidays drew their staying power because of the challenge it offered .
“ It ’ s a way of calling to our citizens that although this freedom occurred , ” Jefferson said , “ there ’ s still some unfinished business .
”

Celebration of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, 1866.
The listing that ran in the Dec. 31, 1874, edition of the Los Angeles Herald was as short as it was dismissive.
“The ‘high-toned’ colored folks,” the unsigned story stated, “will celebrate the anniversary of their emancipation” on New Year’s Day with a dinner and dance.
But the blurb nevertheless remains significant: It’s one of the earliest documented records of African Americans in Los Angeles celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.
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And parties, picnics and parades to mark the occasion have continued ever since with a batch of holidays.
Juneteenth, which falls on June 19 and references the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas found out about their freedom 2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation, is just the most well-known.
But over the last 150-plus years, other dates served the same purpose: Jan. 1 (when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863), Sept. 22 (when President Lincoln signed it in 1862), and July 28 (the 14th Amendment was officially adopted on that date in 1868), among others.
A look through historical archives shows these jubilees were a barometer of their times.
One thing that never changed, though, was the overriding theme, one more resonant today than ever:
Black lives mattered.
***
Black people in California began to celebrate Jan. 1 as Emancipation Day as early as 1865 in San Francisco. But public celebrations in Los Angeles took longer to emerge.
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For one, the population was minuscule in the wake of the Civil War: The 1870 U.S. census found only 134 Black people, less than 1% of all Los Angeles residents at the time. It was a city then dominated by white Southerners whose sympathies still lay with the defeated Confederacy.
But on April 12, 1870, more than 50 people gathered at what would become the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, the city’s first Black house of worship. The reason: the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which gave African American citizens the right to vote. There was a potluck with speeches and a dance where whites were invited. Later on that night, ecstatic parishioners took the party to Bunker Hill and blasted anvils into the sky at 4 in the morning.
Four days later, one of those partygoers, a barber named Lewis G. Green, tried to register to vote.
He was denied.
Alison Rose Jefferson, a historian who focuses on Black Los Angeles, said emancipation celebrations then weren’t predicated on set dates or even big events.
“It was always about the struggle for freedom,” she said. “Just being together informally was a form of emancipation.”
Blurb for Emancipation Day festivities in Nov. 14, 1885 edition of Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times)
Eventually, Jan. 1 became the most popular date to celebrate as L.A.’s Black population grew because it coincided with New Year’s Day. Newspaper articles mention beach picnics in Redondo Beach and dances in downtown Los Angeles. For the 1896 Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade, local African Americans even entered two horse-drawn floats, “handsomely decorated and suitably inscribed in commemoration of the incidents which recall so much for their race,” according to a Los Angeles Herald story.
But most of the Emancipation Day commemorations centered on church, an apt setting for its most important feature: testimonials from former slaves.
One such event happened on Jan. 1, 1900, at Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, which stood on what’s now skid row. The subject was personal for Pastor F.L. Donohoo: His mother was sold as a baby, and Donohoo remembered how his father was part of the Union regiment that freed his family.
Over three services that day, the Los Angeles Times reported, the Wesley Chapel congregation heard from people such as “Mr. Morton,” who talked about how “he was a poor slave boy with not even an education to aid him, but he has been able to accumulate considerable property and live a happy life.”
Another former slave, one “Mr. Sawyer,” told the audience he was there when the first Juneteenth happened “and praised God for freedom.”
A Jan., 2, 1900 edition of the Los Angeles Times mentions an Emancipation Day celebration in downtown Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times)
Juneteenth didn’t warrant any further comment from Sawyer because it was still relatively unknown to locals; the earliest known celebration is an 1895 picnic at North Beach in Santa Monica attended by more than 200.
But it soon eclipsed Emancipation Day in popularity after tens of thousands of African Americans from Texas came to Southern California as part of the Great Migration and brought the Lone Star State tradition with them.
“The Texans had more of a party-type celebration than people here,” Jefferson said. “And people went to that.”
African Americans from San Bernardino to Long Beach, Bakersfield to Brawley, began to hold their own Juneteenths. But the biggest soiree was at the Elks temple in South L.A., where the fraternal order offered a carnival, a picnic and dancing until 1 in the morning.
By 1933, the Los Angeles Times explained the holiday to its mostly white readers as “What Independence Day is to all Americans; Cinco de Mayo to Mexicans, so ‘June Teenth’ is to the Negro of the United States.”
It became fixed enough on the Southern California African American imagination that in 1938, the resort town of Val Verde near Santa Clarita, known as the “Black Palm Springs,” chose June 19 as the date to start a bathhouse and swimming pool project where African Americans could swim and lounge in peace.
Marcus Hunter, chair of African American studies at UCLA, says Juneteenth also rose above other dates in California and beyond because of its symbolism.
“It’s a memory of slavery,” he said. “In a world without social media, how do you find out that you’re free two years after it actually happened? From black folks, not the federal government.”
Juneteenth has been celebrated in Los Angeles ever since, although Jefferson says it’s “truly” grown in stature over the last 30 years. But whatever the date, she argues it and its sister holidays drew their staying power because of the challenge it offered.
“It’s a way of calling to our citizens that although this freedom occurred,” Jefferson said, “there’s still some unfinished business.”