Lack of Community Engagement in Urban Florence-Graham
A testimony map of the low-income unincorporated area surrounding Roosevelt Park
Florence-Graham is a low-income urban area of Los Angeles dominated by the Latino/a community. Because families have a lower average household income compared to the rest of LA County, the neighborhood has less funding for activities and events that encourage community engagement. With fewer opportunities to engage in the community, the more social issues arise such as physical inactivity, lack of motivation in school, sports, and work, and poorer nutrition habits.
According to Data USA, about 40% of Florence-Graham residents were born out of the country. 90% of the neighborhood identifies as Hispanic with the remaining identifying as African American (non-Hispanic).
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Roosevelt Park
Roosevelt Park is the main green space in Florence-Graham. It is centrally located around schools and small businesses. The park is framed by a metro line and residences. While green spaces promote social gatherings and physical activity, a lack safe spaces for recreation makes it difficult for individuals to remain healthy and active. Florence-Graham has lower available recreational space compared to all of LA County. The sidewalks are also busy with vendors and are poorly maintained, making much of the area not so accommodating for walking and biking.
On hotter days, less people visit Roosevelt Park which means they in turn exercise less. Because Florence-Graham is geographically more inland and endures higher temperatures, the community should construct more indoor fitness centers and gyms. The lack of gyms and studios make up an invisible issue in the area. Along with poor diet, physical inactivity contributes to obesity and higher risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
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Schools
Residents are zoned to Los Angeles Unified School District schools. These include 6 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and Fremont High School. Some sections may also be zoned to Jordan High School. All of these schools are walking distance to Roosevelt Park where students can meet up with friends to socialize or engage in recreational activity. The question is, is it safe for minors to walk alone to the park?
To address the issue of lack of community engagement, schools and parks should organize daily events for students to participate in so that they can develop interpersonal and leadership skills, grow self-confidence and improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
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Churches
The map shows points of many churches in Florence-Graham. The majority are Baptist churches. There are also many murals of Virgin Mary on street corners, suggesting that religion is fairly prominent. According to CityData.com, about 36% of the population identified as Catholic and 46% did not identify with any religion as of 2010.
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Convenience Stores
Many of the convenience stores and grocery shops are small privately-owned businesses, rather than chains. Further, there are zero farmers markets in Florence-Graham which are an important community resource to promote healthy and nutritional living by making fresh foods accessible to residents. The primary business demographics include retail sales and retail accommodation and food service sales. Low-income households in the area also experience food insecurity which is the inability to access or afford sufficient quantities of healthy foods. However, residents support each other and the economy by shopping from local vendors.
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Public Transportation
The Florence Blue Line Station is just West of Roosevelt Park. It spans from Downtown LA to Downtown Long Beach. Another common mode of transportation is the LAGoBus which is a shuttle that links Florence-Firestone/Walnut Park. The prices for the shuttle are 25 cents per trip or free for seniors.