The space that I chose was the exposition park playground area, formally known as Jesse Brewer Jr. Park and described on google maps as: Small, secluded neighborhood green space adjacent to the Natural History Museum of LA. I picked this space because, aside from its proximity to campus, the number of people using it for leisure from a very distinct Latino demographic. As you can see from the above pictures, the park consisted of a crossing walkways with lots of trees, grass spaces, and most prominently a playground. Some other important amenities that I noticed were porta-potties and an adjacent bus stop.
The community that I found at this park was entirely Latino, so I was certainly out of place when I visited. I realized quickly that it appears, from the dedication plaque, as though the park was designed by white people, but used exclusively by Latinos, which is an odd contradiction. However, it far from a hostile environment for this community, with signs being written predominantly in Spanish.
Overall this is a space that is welcoming to families for playtime, groups of adolescents for hanging out, and the whole community for potlucks. There are a lot more things I still want to learn about the park, though, including its history, funding program, and maintenance. Also, its relation to the other exposition park activities is interesting: i wonder how many of these kids are attending the museums. Lastly, I plan to visit on a weekday to see how the attendees differ than the sunday evening crowd that I witnessed the other day.
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