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Newsletter
Summer 2004
Conceptual Plan for Cornfield
The California Department of Parks and Recreation unveiled the
conceptual plan for the state historic park at the Cornfield at
a community meeting in Chinatown on July 13, 2004.
The City Project helped build and lead the diverse alliance that stopped
warehouses in favor of a 32-acre park at the Cornfield. The conceptual
plan includes recreation, cultural activities, natural open
space, and a garden. A "Heritage Trail" for pedestrians
and bicyclists will incorporate historical, cultural, and natural
interpretive themes. Construction on the interim public use plan
will begin in Fall 2004.
In April 2004, The City Project published an influential and highly
acclaimed report, "The Cornfield and the Flow of History:
People, Place, and Culture" to guide the general plan
process (available at www.cityprojectca.org). The Cornfield State Park
Advisory Committee noted that "a park at the Cornfield should
be connected to the struggles, the histories, and the cultures
of the rich and diverse communities that have surrounded it since
the site was settled."
The Los Angeles Times called the Cornfield a "heroic
monument" and a "symbol of hope." The Cornfield
and its environs exemplify the struggle by low-income people of
color in Los Angeles for livable communities with parks, playgrounds,
schools, and recreation. In addition to creating playing fields
and open space in a neighborhood that has none, the park in the
Cornfield will improve the quality of life, create quality jobs,
increase tourism and property values, promote economic revitalization
of the community and preserve invaluable cultural and historic
resources at the birthplace of Los Angeles.
The Cornfield is part of our broader vision for a comprehensive
web of parks, playgrounds, schools, beaches, and transit that serves
the diverse needs of a diverse population.
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