Creating Common Ground

Year: 2020–2022

This study examines public space use and experiences of low-income older adults and youth in the Westlake/MacArthur Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The primary goal is to understand the public space needs and values of these two groups and explore the similarities and differences in their use of neighborhood parks, both before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results yield insights into the potential for intergenerational uses of public space in disinvested neighborhoods.

Using a transdisciplinary methodological approach, we assess local stakeholders’ relationships to and experiences with three different outdoor public spaces: MacArthur Park, Lafayette Park, and Golden Age Park. Spanning 18 months, our research group undertook site observations at each park to observe how users of different ages interact with public spaces; focus groups and thick mapping exercises to ask residents about their use of public spaces; one-on-one interviews to understand in-depth the research participants’ historic and ongoing relationships to the neighborhood; and a participatory design exercise to listen to older adults and youth’s suggestions for better public spaces, and collectively imagine what intergenerational public spaces might look like in their neighborhood.