Planning For Diversity

http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/11/wanted-more-and-better-discourse-on-designing-diverse-communities/382616

Colorful brooms in East Los Angeles
Image courtesy of James Rojas
citylab.com

Hello Everyone:

About a few weeks this blog did a three-part series highlighting three different communities in Los Angeles County: Downtown Los Angeles, Arcadia, and Koreatown.  The common denominator in each was immigration has directly affected the character of these places.  Today, yours truly would like to look at how "Broadening our understanding of how different groups interact..." with their built environment can lead to a better way of designing diverse communities.  Tanvi Misra's article, "Wanted: More (and Better) Discourse on Designing Diverse Communities," for CityLab will be our guide for this post.

Latino Urbanism
nyupress.org

Neuroscientists have demonstrated that "the way our brains are wired plays into how we engage with the physical space around us."  However, there are other determinants that factor into the way we engage engage with the physical space.  These determinants include: life experiences, place of origin, and our cultural values.  All of these, and more, combine to make a difference in the way we understand and use space.  This is what city and transportation planner James Rojas (full disclosure: his a Facebook friend) believes.  During his twenty year career, Mr. Rojas has observed members of Latino communities throughout the United States, particularly immigrants, import ideas about public space.  Mr. Rojas has become a leading supporter of what he refers to as Latino Urbanism.  Latino Urbanism is "the idea that including more Latino ideas and voices in design process is key to planning more inclusive urban and suburban communities.

Mosaic of typical Spanish colonial town
Image courtesy of James Rojas
citylab.com

The majority of Latin America cities, cities in California (including Los Angeles) and the American Southwest, their buildings and public spaces are laid out according to the "Law of the Indies."  This very specific seventeenth century set of codes influenced urban planning in the Spanish colonies.  The most common feature in each of these towns is the plaza-"an open space, often with a central fountain, where children play and neighbors gossip."  Mr. Rojas is concerned that in suburban communities, as well as many urban settings, the plazas are non-existent.  "You build on what you know, so a lot of Latinos will transform their front yards into plazas," says Mr. Rojas.  Mr. Rojas has traced the evolution of the traditional American single family home in predominantly Latino neighborhoods-"Latino Vernacular-" which can take on regional characteristics such as in East Los Angeles:

Evolution of East Los Angeles Vernacular
Image courtesy of James Rojas
citylab.com

James Rojas says, "These [private] spaces lead into the bigger context of the city."  Further, "But of course, just because many Latinos like and understand the social context of the plaza doesn't mean you can plop down a bunch of plazas in a given city. Besides, Latinos seem to be doing a good job accomplishing this on their own.

The point here is instead of analyzing why some cultures prefer plazas, the better approach is studying "...how these communities use both alternative public spaces or the spaces outside their homes."  By observing how people make use of their front and back gardens, how frequently they bike or walk, or how street vendors conduct their business can be determinants for issue such whether or not a wider sidewalk or bicycle lane are needed or something as simple as where to put benches.

Socio-economic and cultural activities of a community
newsmotion.org

This is a seemingly innocuous idea that barely registers in larger conversations "...about the future of diverse U.S. metro areas."  However, in a October 19, 2014 column for the Denver Post, fine arts critic Ray Mark Rinaldi criticized the rehabilitated Union Station "...as doing enough to attract people of color-the 'neo-classical' style in which the complex was built was a reminder of colonial rule." (http://www.denverpost.com/.../did-diversity-miss-train-union-stations-architecture)  Mr. Rinaldi argued that this reminder of colonial rule alienates minorities.  Further, "No statues of minorities appear in or around the station, and no low-cost multicultural restaurants operate in the food court."  (Ibid)  Mr. Rinaldi sounds way too politically correct for his own good and, perhaps, it colored his review of Union Station.

Union Station
Denver, Colorado
en.wikipedia.org

 

In a post for the website interculturalurbanism.com, professor of anthropology and Director of the Urban Studies program at the University of Denver criticized Mr. Rinaldi's criticism, "...putting in a Mexican restaurant or a statue would be a superficial fix." (http://www.interculturalurbanism.com/?author=1)  Although Prof. Saitta concurs with Mr. Rinaldi that diversity in urban planning and design is a necessary conversation, he adds, "sometimes a neo-classical building should be left a neo-classical building."  (Ibid)

"One size does not fit all," declares Setha Low, professor of anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and author of several books on diversity in public spaces.  "[Creating diverse spaces] requires that you go deeper," she adds.  Prof. Low expands her definition of diversity to include class, gender, age, sexual preference, and ability.  She suggests that planners and designers make a genuine concerted effort to understand their target audience through focused ethnographic research, combined with ecological and structural research that usually accompanies the planning process.  Blogger would like to caution that ethnographic research can sometimes be used to make generalizations about a specific community, thus planner and designer use the information with care.

Parking lot altar in East Los Angeles
planetizen.com

Whether you call it multi-cultural urbanism, "diverse urbanism," "intercultural urbanism," or whatever the term du jour, the subject of "multicultural urban planning...still exists in small urban planning circles," says Prof. Saitta.  Perhaps the reason for this is that planners, politicians, and designers have not yet realized just how quickly American metropolitan demographics ares changing.  Prof. Saitta offers one last thought, "Now, it's going to be time to face the music."