introduction
11th Avenue Park is not grand in size, but community spaces don't have to take up a lot of room to make a big impact.
Spanning just 0.27 acres, this space is known as a pocket park, typically defined as a public park space that occupies less than one acre of land. While regional or large neighborhood parks may draw visitors from different parts of the city, pocket parks are intended to serve community members in the immediate area. These parks are unique in that they utilize unused land in densely populated communities—where space for a large park may not be available—and they function as a place for residents to gather, relax, and connect with nature. This is exactly the story of the 11th Avenue Park.
11th Avenue Park is situated on a residential street in the Hyde Park community in South Los Angeles. It was constructed in 2008 and is currently owned by the City of Los Angeles and operated by the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT) through a 99-year lease agreement. The park hasn't seen many upgrades in the nearly 18 years of its operation. There is currently a play structure, benches for sitting, and a modest collection of trees and native plants toward the back of the park. Much of the space is unshaded, making it a challenge to get outside on hot days. Despite the park's underdeveloped and aging infrastructure, community members have transformed this site into a meaningful space of friendship, support, and fresh air.
In 2012, LANLT hired a local community member, María Reyes, as a part-time employee to steward the park. Over the years, she's made sure the park opened and closed on time, maintained and cared for the space, and promoted safety as an active groundskeeper. Always going above and beyond, María Reyes is also involved with LANLT's program team and helps conduct outreach and host public events in the local neighborhood. Programming often includes collaboration with local community-based organizations, like yoga classes taught by the Tree Yoga Cooperative and nature classes from the Nature Nexus Institute.
Conversations with 11th Avenue Park community members
María Reyes, 11th Avenue Park Steward
"Soy la encargada de cuidar el parque de la calle 11. Desde 2012 vengo trabajando yo aquí. Hoy estamos celebrando el Club del Café. Es una reunión que tenemos las vecinas para distraernos, para hacernos terapia. Platicamos, reímos, y este tema la pasamos un buen tiempo, muy agradable. Es un día especial porque aparte de que pasamos un buen rato, disfrutamos el café.
Vivimos en este vecindario y es el único lugar que tenemos cerquita y es donde nos vemos. Nomás con sentarme allá en las bancas donde están las flores, escuchar los pajaritos, los árboles, como cuando hay aire, cómo se mueven los árboles, es como una terapia para mí y creo que me sana el espíritu y me da alegría.”
"I'm in charge of taking care of 11th Avenue Park. I’ve been working here since 2012. Today we're celebrating the Coffee Club. It's a gathering we have with the neighbors to unwind, it’s like a therapy. We talk, we laugh, and we have a great time, a very nice time. It's a special day because, apart from having a good time, we enjoy the coffee.
We live in this neighborhood, and it's the only place we have close by, and it's where we see each other. Just sitting there on the benches where the flowers are, listening to the birds, the trees, like when there's wind, how the trees move, it's like a therapy for me, and I think it heals my spirit and gives me joy.”
María Arias, 11th Avenue Park user
“Nos reunimos y estamos contentos porque tenemos un lugar donde reunirnos, tenemos mesas, tenemos nuestra familia, tenemos agua y pues el ambiente está reunido. Nos contamos nuestros problemas, lloramos cuando tenemos problemas y muchas cosas, y eso nos ayuda. Luego en las tardes vienen muchos niños. Salen de la escuela y este es el lugar donde tienen los niños un ratito de desestresarse.
Cuando dan fruta los árboles, cortamos fruta. Guayaba, hay un granado, un palo de mango. Hay nopales y guamúchil, que son cosas comestibles.”
“We get together and we're happy because we have a place to meet, we have tables, we have our family, we have water, and the atmosphere is peaceful. We tell each other our problems, we cry when we have problems, and many other things, and that helps us. Then in the afternoons, lots of children come. They're leaving school and this is where the kids have a little time to de-stress.
When the trees bear fruit, we cut fruit from them. Guava, there's a pomegranate tree, a mango tree. There are prickly pears and guamúchil, which are edible things.”
Graciela Reyes, 11th Avenue Park user
“Yo vivo aquí en la comunidad desde hace unos 30 años. Yo camino aquí diario con mi perrito. Aquí entrábamos al parque y con el tiempo, dijimos que íbamos a tomar café. Y ahora ya es costumbre. Con mis nietos aquí a veces celebramos sus cumpleaños con un pastelito. Y ahora que estoy cuidando a mi hermano por su demencia, es muy bueno este lugar porque salimos a caminar y luego nos venimos a sentar aquí a las bancas. Yo padezco estrés y este ratito que estoy aquí en comunicación con mis amigas, me sirve mucho.”
“I've lived here in the community for about 30 years. And I walk here every day with my dog. We would come here to the park, and over time, we said we were going to have coffee. And now it's a tradition. With my grandchildren we celebrate their birthdays here, sometimes with a little cake. And now that I am taking care of my brother because of his dementia, this place is very nice because we go out for walks, and then we come and sit here on the benches. I suffer from stress, and this little bit of time that I'm here communicating with my friends, it really helps me.”
The 11th Avenue Family Park Renovation project
What does the future hold for this tiny but mighty space? The 11th Avenue Family Park Renovation project, which began design in the fall of 2022, will see the construction of new active and passive recreation features, identified and designed with input from the community. The renovation will include an upgraded and expanded playground area with a new spider-web play feature, fitness stations, a remodeled grass area, additional shade trees, upgraded seating benches, a basketball/shooting court, a community gathering space, and an evolution/reworking of the existing public art mural.
In addition to the amenities listed above, the project includes a range of sustainable design elements: a high-efficiency irrigation system, LED lights, and the use of recycled materials in constructing site amenities. The plans will also integrate California native plants and stormwater capture features to ensure that all of the water landing in the park is infiltrated.
"Este parque antes era un terreno baldío, feo, y entonces cuando lo vimos convertido en este parque, pues fue lo más positivo que vimos de la comunidad. En ese tiempo, los parques que estaban alrededor, no estaban tan cerca como para poder decir ‘vamos caminando y llegamos.’ No, estaban un poquito lejos. Estos parques chiquitos en la comunidad nos ayudan. No se camina mucho, pero por lo menos respiramos aire fresco, tranquilo y nos hace pues una mente más positiva.
Los árboles son los que nos están limpiando el oxígeno. Estamos viviendo en un desierto y necesitamos un poquito de verde para limpiar el aire que estamos respirando. Hay mucho smog, mucho tráfico. Es una de las partes importantes para el desarrollo de las comunidades más saludables."
"This park used to be a vacant lot, ugly, so when we saw it converted into this park, it was the most positive thing we saw in the community. At that time, the parks around weren't so close that we could say, 'Let's walk and get there.' No, they were pretty far." These little parks in the community help us. We don't walk much, but at least we get to breathe fresh, calm air, and it gives us a more positive mindset.
Trees are what purify our oxygen. We're living in a desert, and we need a little bit of greenery to purify the air we breathe. There's a lot of smog, a lot of traffic. It's one of the important parts for the development of healthier communities."