The Importance Of Micro-Spaces In Los Angeles

In the words of Robert E Park, “The city is a mosaic of little worlds which touch, but do not interpenetrate.” Park suggests that a city is a place of microcosmic worlds that have contact, but they do not mix. On a similar note, German Chancellor Angela Merkel remarks that people of different social backgrounds lead increasingly separate, parallel lives. Los Angeles is a manifestation of Park and Merkel’s commentaries, where people from all walks of life share micro-spaces. Even though they may cross paths and share certain spaces on a consistent basis, it does not mean they live identical lives. Furthermore, difference matters in the places and spaces of the contemporary Los Angeles region and the nature of interaction that occur in such micro-spaces.
The projects were created in 1942 to serve the city’s growing defense industry workers and then low-income families. The project’s blueprint emphases a “garden city” approach. According to the "garden city" design, two-story apartments would be positioned around open grassy spaces where people could interact. The buildings would have wide and flat roofs with spacious windows. Pueblo del Rio possess 660 housing units that house 2,005 residents. The apartment sizes range from one-bedroom to five-bedroom. Also, the projects have five parks and a recreation center. As of 2015, the majority of residents are Hispanic/Latinos (1,527) followed by African American (329), Asian (122), Caucasian (26), and Native American (1) (Housing Stats). According to “At an impoverished housing complex, a reflection of South L.A.” nearly half of the residents are reported to be under the age of eighteen (Gold). Also, the average family income is $17,405, which is less than a third of Los Angeles county’s average (Gold). As we can see, such a concentration of poverty in public housing contributes to the maintenance of the ghetto. Not only is poverty high in the neighborhood, but the deterioration of the built environment is also evident. The projects reside in the Central-Alameda area. According to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, the 2.18 square
Social interaction such spaces may transcend racial lines and age groups as exemplified a middle-aged Latino was barbecuing and speaking to an African American senior citizen on her porch. The proximity of the apartment units aided the interaction. The interaction amongst the neighbors is friendly. This emulates the notion of Allport’s Contact Hypothesis, where exposure to another race enhances knowledge about the race which ultimately helps reduce prejudice (Matjeskova, 719). However, social interaction can be confined to racial groups as with a group of African American adolescents who were a few feet from me talking about a party they attended the other day. Alternatively, another group of African Americans congregating in picnic tables near a playground. There is an elderly Latino male selling food from his cart on the block, and three Latino kids rush toward him to purchase from him. The first two people there are two little girls who stop the man and start pointing out what they want, their father then arrives also to get something and pays the man. The older gentleman thanks the father and waves goodbye to the girl. Meanwhile, another Latino child arrives at the cart to buy something and starts interacting with the other Latino customer