PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Which would you prefer? Taking a survey or testing your local IQ and competing for prizes from local businesses? 

Yeah, we thought so. 

Public Matters creates joyful, participatory engagements that draw upon and celebrate local history and culture. We believe engagement should be fun, not a chore. 

Public Matters leveraged East LA’s strong cultural identity and community pride to engage residents in conversations about street safety and accessibility in the first/last mile radius around the East LA Civic Center Station to inform LA Metro’s plans for the area. 

Exploramos East Los (Exploramos) addressed two primary challenges to effective engagement in East LA: 

• The community’s “engagement fatigue” from many overlapping projects.
• Those most vulnerable to traffic violence–the young, the old, those with mobility impairments–are the least likely to participate in standard engagement practices.  

Exploramos worked on multiple levels to address these obstacles. Exploramos was a fun, eye-catching street-level installation and competition. Twenty-six Loteria-inspired medallions were placed across the half-mile radius, inviting community members to compete and “Test Your East LA IQ” through questions in three categories: local history, hidden gems, and  “street smarts” (street safety and mobility). Gift cards to local businesses were awarded to the winners. 

Exploramos was an innovative way to gain comprehensive feedback about street enhancements in the corridor to make the streets around the F/LM corridor safer and more accessible for people walking, biking, rolling, and using public transit. Pulling at the strings of community nostalgia, the medallions were dynamic and culturally relevant. While each medallion had a QR code and corresponding survey, responding to a local IQ test was far more interesting and fun than responding to someone holding a clipboard with a survey. 

Exploramos was educational. It informed participants about key facets of traffic safety and complete street principles through the “street smart” medallions and direct engagement with the most vulnerable users of East LA’s streets.

Exploramos supported local businesses and reinvested funds back into the local economy. Public Matters purchased gift cards and certificates from restaurants that are in or near the F/LM corridor. Not only was this exciting and enticing to participants, but it also drove business to small family-owned restaurants, several of whom hadn’t previously offered gift cards or certificates.

Exploramos ensured the perspectives of those most susceptible to traffic violence were centered in the conversation about street safety and accessibility in the F/LM corridor. Public Matters led community walks in the corridor with four community groups: Alma Family Services, Belvedere Park Senior Center, East LA Rising Youth Club, and Griffith Middle School Students Run LA. Collectively, these groups include people of all ages and abilities. Each group participated in Exploramos through customized walks, with routes tailored to their unique needs and familiarity. The walks provided invaluable insights into the active transportation challenges and needs of East LA community members.

PARTNERS

CONTEXT

East LA pride runs deep. 

Locals love to reminisce about how the neighborhood has evolved through social events, group chats, and casual conversations. Who could forget the Kern Bus, a ride for just a shiny dime? Or the annual East LA Christmas Parade, a Whittier Blvd tradition that welcomed iconic Grand Marshals, from Fernando Valenzuela to the legendary Cantinflas? Public Matters turned these questions into the East LA IQ test for Exploramos. 

It’s more than just a neighborhood, East LA is full of culture, history, and community spirit. East LA is bursting with pride for its Chicanx roots, legendary landmarks, and vibrant Latinx culture. When you think of “East Los,” it’s impossible not to picture iconic spots like El Pino and the Whittier Blvd Arch.

East LA’s streets tell a story; one of resilience and pride but also pressing challenges. 

Cracked and broken sidewalks with little to no shade are what community members encounter on their daily commute. Tree debris piles up, but few trees provide shade from the sun. Crosswalks, especially near schools, are faint or nonexistent, making safe crossings unrealistic. At night, dim lighting leaves East LA’s streets in darkness, creating an unsafe environment. Cars often speed,  making it unsafe to walk or cross the street. 

These conditions don’t just impact the look of the streets; they shape how people move and interact as a community. 

Leveraging East Los pride, Exploramos allowed people to lead first with pride, while also sharing their experiences of getting around the neighborhood and proposing solutions to the existing conditions and challenges.

ENGAGEMENT

EXPLORAMOS MEDALLIONS

Celebrating East LA’s rich heritage, Public Matters placed 26 Lotería-inspired fun, eye-catching street-level medallions around the first/last mile corridor. Each medallion had an IQ test, testing local knowledge about East LA history, hidden gems, and street smarts (street safety). Sparking curiosity and competition, anyone who lives, works, or plays in East L was invited, to share their mobility experiences. Unlike the standard one-time interactions the community often experiences, this approach was different. It was an innovative way to gain comprehensive feedback about street enhancements. To ensure everyone had an opportunity to participate, the medallions were installed for two weeks, giving even the busiest community members a chance to engage. 

QR codes on the medallions enabled community members to enter into a competition and to give their input on how to make it easier and safer to walk, bike or roll in the corridor.

MEDALLION LOCATIONS

Medallion locations were placed strategically at high-visibility and high-traffic intersections and locations that are also known to be hazardous, with a documented history of traffic incidents or identified in the East LA Pedestrian Plan. For example, the medallion, “​​Where can you go retro and see great local art?” was placed on Cesar Chavez Ave. and Mednik because it has four East LA Pedestrian Plan recommendations and is a collision concentration corridor. Previous community members’ observations from other projects noted that cars speed down Cesar Chavez. It’s also at an intersection of two heavily used streets, surrounded by a school, park, businesses, and multiple bus stops. the medallion’s answer was a local business two blocks away, encouraging residents to discover or visit the business.

COMMUNITY WALKS

Beyond the street-level installations and community walks, Public Matters continuously interacted with the community. Far before the Exploramos installation, Public Matters contacted local businesses to gather their input about the project and to see if we could have their support with the project. This opened conversations about street safety with local businesses and avenues to reach their customers.

After installing the medallions, Public Matters actively sought out community members to join the scavenger hunt to provide first/last mile enhancement input. With schools nearby, Public Matters focused on school pick-up hours (weekdays from 2:30 to 4 PM) to connect with parents as they picked up their children. This included conversations with two crossing guards stationed at two major intersections: 1st St. and Dangler Ave., and Cesar Chavez Ave. and Mednik Ave. The crossing guards provided insight into pedestrian and road user activity, drawing from their daily interactions helping students and families cross during school hours.

To ensure the perspectives of those most susceptible to traffic violence were centered in the conversation about street safety and accessibility in the F/LM corridor, Public Matters led four community walks in partnership with local community organizations that serve youth, seniors, and people with disabilities: Alma Family Services, Belvedere Park Senior Center, East LA Rising Youth Club, and Griffith Middle School Students Run LA. The walking routes were tailored to their unique needs and familiarity. The walks provided invaluable insights into their active transportation challenges and needs.

IMPACT 

It’s difficult to engage groups who are most vulnerable to traffic violence: children, seniors, and people with disabilities. For various reasons, they will not participate in conventional community meetings or pop-up engagements. If plans include the experiences and suggestions of people who have the hardest time safely traversing streets, they will provide safety and comfort for all. Exploramos ensured these perspectives are central to the East Los Angeles Civic Center Metro Active Transport (ELACC MAT) planning process.

Public Matters Impact:

• Created a novel eye-catching street-level installation and competition as a form of community engagement to inform transportation planning.
• Ensured the perspectives of those most susceptible to traffic violence were centered in the conversation about street safety and accessibility in the F/LM corridor. Celebrated East LA’s history and culture to uplift the community even while discussing its infrastructure and mobility challenges.
• Supported local businesses and reinvested funds back into the local economy. 
• Provided comprehensive feedback and analysis of its findings, ensuring LA Metro has comprehensive data and information for first/last mile enhancements.

UPDATES / OUT IN THE WORLD