Transcript
Just as we know this is not a complete description of the NE
Valley, we also know that what is listed here may not exist in a
year or two. It is up to us to write our own histories/herstories
through whatever means possible, leaving a lasting image on
the cultural landscape that reflects our realities.
Our realities, of course are not always what we want them
to be. Still, all the people involved in this project understand
the importance of telling a story, explaining how they
perceive the block, letting folks know where the resources
are, and the importance of knowing what we want our
neighborhoods to become.
Now it’s up to you to discover everything between the lines
on the map. Create another alternative, another reality.
Not quite LA, not quite the Valley, that’s the sentiment in
the North East Valle. LA will look over the mountains from
time to time and make one or two stops in North Hollywood,
then return home. “The Valley is not really LA.” The world
recognizes “the valley” as a white suburban playground
(which is partly true for the west side), but does not recognize
the many working class cultures that live here. The north
east does not reflect Hollywood’s portrayal of airheads or
modern cave men. “The north east is not really the valley.” By
the way, we have a third of LA’s population. There are families
here, there’s movement here, and gentrification will never
creep its ugly spineless soul this far (we hope).
The collaboration between Urban Regeneration and Young Warriors is
that of compañerismo and ganas. There was no financial incentive for
any of us to do this. Imagine asking High School youth to walk their same
route early on Saturday mornings, simply to document the reality of the
neighborhood environment. The problem is that we don’t place ourselves
in the position of compañerismo, and we don’t allow youth any part of the
city. Enter the Funky Fieldtrip. We walked along Van Nuys Blvd. looking at
our environment and documenting the good, bad, ugly, and not so ugly.
We are in the process
of getting more bike
lanes striped on the
streets but that doesn’t
slow down movement
in the Valle. bikesan@s
del valle hooked us up
with a great reference for
getting around by bike,
designating their own
pathways and building
on existing ones.
Tallying billboards, liquor stores, libraries,
vacant sites, murals.
Classifying retail: restaurants, clothing,
convenience stores, etc.
Doing business profiles/interviews.
And most importantly, keeping it funky.
Some of the tasks the Young Warriors took were:
Pacoima has a lot of industrial facilities, some of which have
contaminated the soil and groundwater.
Environmental Injustice. It is common for communities of color to
experience social and economic injustice. This section pays close
attention to the fact that working class areas don’t have clean
streets or public spaces. Even worse, we serve as a bedroom for
heavy polluting industries to thrive. It’s not our fault; a lot of us
were born into this. Still, we don’t like a lot of what we see and
are willing to change things up for our younger sisters/brothers,
cousins, neighbors.
At the very least we’re going to point out the obvious and put some
folks on blast. City of LA, pick up the trash. Family and neighbors,
quit littering and dumping. Factories, be responsible. You, get involved.
Brownfields in Pacoima
Lopez Canyon Landfillmore
11950 Lopez Canyon Road
Lake View Terrace, CA 91342
(818) 834-5122
Bradley Landfill
9081 Tujunga Ave,
Sun Valley, CA 91352
(818) 768-6331
Valley Reclamation Co
Sun Valley, CA 91352
(818) 767-6180
Sun Valley Recycling Park
9227 Tujunga Ave,
Sun Valley, CA 91352
(818) 767-6180
Degarmo Street Dump
9189 De Garmo Ave,
Sun Valley, CA 91352
(818) 767-7511
SuperFund Sites
AMERICAN ETCHING & MFG
13730 Desmond Street
Pacoima, CA 91331-2796
HOLCHEMINC
13546 Desmond St
Pacoima, CA 91331-2315
HR TEXTRON INC
10445 Glenoaks Blvd
Pacoima, CA 91331-1609
(818) 896-2411
Price Pfister Inc.
13500 Paxton St
Pacoima, CA 91331
D&MSteel
11035 Sutter Avenue
Pacoima, CA 91331
(818) 896-2070
Remember!
Keep bicycling and
walking to stay fit.
“If we stay ready
we don’t have to
get ready”
Purpose
MISSION: Bikesan@s is a self-sustained cyclist
collective fromthe East San Fernando Valle riding
to inspire a community on wheels. Bikesan@s
provides a not for profit service to the community
by promoting cycle mechanics and awareness as
well as social justice and autonomous living.
WHAT WE DO: We seek to cultivate seeds of
consciousness by creating a more united sense
of community. Bikesan@s will provide bicycle
mechanics and promote bicycle culture by
making knowledge and tools readily available to
the community never turning anyone away for
lack of funds. We will promote social justice and
autonomous living by working with, listening to, and
keeping strong ties among our community and like
minded groups. We hope to build fromwhat we do
not have and make what we do have stronger.
WHY BIKES: We do this by providing the tools to build
and maintain bicycles in local spaces in the community,
thus promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. In
learning howto repair, build, and maintain bicycles,
individuals have a chance to strengthen ties between
peoples of all ages, backgrounds, and social categories.
Bicycles discourage excessive automobile infrastructure
and encourage public open spaces. In all, bicycles
promote dialogue and open minds.
Who is a Bikesan@ Del Valle?
Purpose, focus, create a team.
Let’s start by stating our purpose and narrowing
down our communities of choice.
The purpose of this Map Project is to produce
a map that can be distributed throughout the
San Fernando Valley, showcasing all the hidden
beauty and vibrant communities on the outskirts
of Los Angeles. This process is also a fun
collaboration with room for many community
members to jump in. For example, do we want
to focus on small mom n’ pop businesses or
other formal/informal economics? Or do we
want to focus on transportation infrastructure
such as bike lanes and bus routes? What about
focusing on the historical sites or murals in the
valley? We can do all this and more!
Also, what communities or streets are we
focusing on? The more we limit the map, the
more detailed information we can provide.
Conversely, the more expansive the map,
the more it serves as a guide to neighboring
communities.
Exercise 1: Draw all of your ideas and input on
a large scale map provided by PUR. Leave
roomfor comments/concerns and by all means,
get funky! This is the document we will use to
create our first map specifically for the NE
San Fernando Valley! The map will be available
to modify on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at
El Hormiguero. Gathering time is 11:00 am.
Reflect, discuss, research.
This is the time where we reflect and discuss
the progress and input as well as the other
components that will be included in the map
project including narrative and photographs.
Exercise 2: Build a street team to do
some fieldwork/research on the NE Valley.
This can include photo documentation,
interviews, business profiles, or surveys.
The purpose of this exercise is to apply
the cool funky ideas from our map project
and get some real community information
for the final map.
Design, format, print.
We are nowat the point where we can
create the map using creativity and our graphic
design skills. What size map do we need to
have our information? We can also consult
with a local print shop to help us print the map
at lowcost. Examples of current LAmaps will
be provided to the group.
Thank you for your participation
and commitment to regenerating your
communities.
“
by Blanca Samano.
Community Cleanup
The community is
creating the largest
concentration of
public murals in
the world.
3
2 1
The last couple of years have seen an emergence of public
art through murals. Van Nuys Blvd. is lined with murals that
represent the good, the bad, and the funky of the community.
Some individually led, some collectively created, all in Pacoima.
Stop by to see how artists in the North East have given life to once
drab walls. Stop by and see how the community is creating the
largest concentration of public murals in the world.
Public Art
Here’s a step by step guide for getting the City of LA to respond to illegal dumping such as mattresses or rubber tires on
the sidewalk by phone or online.
Industrial Past
In the 1950s Pacoima was a bedroom community
for manufacturing centers in Los Angeles, Burbank
and Glendale, but its economy floundered when
industries shut down. The 94,000-square-foot Price
Pfister plant, described by city ofcials as the largest
foundry west of the Mississippi, was used to make sand
castings for faucets. In 1997, the company moved its
foundry operation to Mexico although they continued
manufacturing and maintained an ofce there until 2001.
Unfortunately, after 30 years of operation, the property’s
soil had been contaminated from decades of producing
chrome and brass plumbing fixtures.
Now it is a shopping center.
Transportation
People Power
My Community,
Pacoima
(by Mayra Zaragoza)
Such a beautiful place but it does not seemto
be that way when...
Cholos roamthe streets
Liquor Stores and
Budwiser,
Tecate,
Corona,
XX,
billboards encourage our RAZAto drink
Trash and old broken down furniture
decorate the streets
and
Freeways and toxic plants surround my
community
My Community, Pacoima
Such a beautiful place but it does not seemto
be that way...
Although, it does not have to be that way
All it needs is love to flourish and be the
community we all know it can be
Filled with trees, clean air to breathe,
community centers for youth to succeed and
be all they can be...
My Community, Pacoima
Such a beautiful place but it does not seemto
be that way...
Process for Mapping our Hood
Mural by
HOOD Sisters
Photo by:
Javie Martinez
Urban
Regeneration
Environmental Injustice
NEAREST LANDFILLS, BROWNFIELDS, AND SUPERFUND SITES IN THE
NORTH EAST VALLEY.
Young Warriors
Urban Regeneration
Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural and Bookstore
Bikesan@s Del Valle
iamsanfernando.com
victor-zuniga.com
Blanca Samano
John Cantú
for questions, concerns, comments- email
Carlos Hernandez .
[email protected]
Photo by John Cantu
"Through canals and
alley ways just to say
money trees is the
perfect place for shade"
-Kendrick Lamar
Empty Lots
Overflow Garbage Can
Liquor Stores
Churches
Laundromats
Bars
Pawn Shops
Banks
Fast Food Joints
Clinic/Pharmacy
Restaurants
Auto Shops
Billboards
Pay phones
Health Stores
Dentists
Bus Stops
Murals
Barbershops
Fire Station
Van Nuys Blvd Tally
Calling 311? Llamando al systema 311?
• Antes de hacer su llamada asegúrese de tener esta
información; usted necesita la dirección or calles más
cercanas y una lista de los objetos que esta reportando.
• Before you make your call make sure you have the
following; either an address or the cross streets and a
list of the items you are calling for pick-up or reporting.
1. Marcar al 311 de un teléfono publico o privado.
(Dial 311 from either Private or public phone.)
2. Espere el mensaje del alcalde de Los Ángeles.
(Wait for the mayor of Los Angeles to give an
announcement.)
3. Para espanol presione el 2. (For English press 1.)
4. Espere para hasta que le contesten su llamada.
(Stay on the line until they pick up you can speak
with a representative. )
Que es el servicion del 311?
Es su Ciudad. Aproveche sus ventajas! Acceso a los
servicios de la Ciudad de Los Angeles que no son de
emergencia, simplemente marcando 3-1-1. Es gratis. Es
muy fácil
Por internet (Going Online?)
Go to http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/illdump/
Click on “Report Illegal Dumping” on the left hand side and
fill out the form. County of LA responds within 2 days.
PEOPLE
INVOLVED
IN THE
PROJECT.
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