Pocket Stripping
Green & Wildlife – Hummingbird Feeder Park
How can new public space infiltrate the existing urban fabric? Many great parks and public spaces in Los Angeles have been lost over time. They were transformed into parking lots and other single-use facilities. This has resulted in a low acreage of public space in Los Angeles, comparative to other North American cities. At the same time, the garden cities of Los Angeles, like for example residential Boyle Heights, are some of the densest areas in the United States. Several families now live in what were once single-family homes, and backyards have been transformed into parking spaces and additional housing.
Pocket Public Space The Pockets are a strategy to recreating public space in Los Angeles. It is a process that actively takes on key in-between spaces. Sometimes a building, an abandoned parking lot, an easement, part of a street or alley needs to make room for a Pocket Public Space. On the Strip, the Pocket Spaces have the same integrity as the built structures that draw people to the Strip from Mission Street. The City of Los Angeles plays an important role by successively buying leftover land from private property owners. These spaces are then sought after by the city or private entrepreneurs. 16
A Pocket Space is a place to recover, work out, sit down, play a board game, or barbeque with friends and family. It can be a small park, a number of small pools, or a playground. It is a place to feel safe, yet intrigued. Their scale is reminiscent of the private backyards that make up so much of the city. The pockets are organized into three main themes: Water & Cooling, Green & Wildlife, and Activity & Sport. The Pockets will start along the Strip and eventually spread into the Downtown area and Boyle Heights. They sprinkle public space into nearby neighborhoods and recreate trust among its residents. The Overall Pocket Program guarantees the quality and variety of the pockets. Creating Pocket Public Space in the downtown area becomes an issue of environmental justice. Alongside the Pocket Public Spaces is the Field of Opportunities, where the real estate owners are provided with an additional space to develop. A part of these spaces are always accessible and reserved for non-gated, public/private use.
Activity & Sport – Bodycult Park
Water & Cooling – Pocket Pool Park THE FIFTH ECOLOGY. Beyond Desire: Los Angeles