CSC_Alleys

Home

People

Welcome to the Back Alley LA project website.

Project Background

Thousands of alleys exist in southern California. Many are sites of nuisance, pollution, and danger that collectively impose significant costs on local jurisdictions charged with public safety and sanitation. Yet because they are so prevalent, alleys constitute a major land resource for older built-out communities that could provide new open space and parkland, promote physical activity among nearby residents, absorb and clean polluted urban runoff, and reduce crime and blight through redesign and neighborhood involvement. Despite this potential, and the billions of dollars scheduled to be spent on infrastructure, little research exists to guide public policy efforts to transform alleys into desperately needed green infrastructure for the city.

The Back Alley LA project is a multidisciplinary partnership between public agencies, community-based organizations, and USC’s Center for Sustainable Cities and Keck School of Medicine, to conduct action-oriented research on alleys in the City of Los Angeles. This study includes a pilot assessment of social and behavioral aspects of alleys enabling the design of a rigorous longer-term comparison of demonstration (greened and improved) and control (unimproved) alleys, to assess usage, physical activity levels of local residents, crime rates and perceptions of danger, and neighborhood property values. We have worked to determine the extent to which alleys pose soil pollution challenges, and the viability of novel phytoremediation strategies. The research also provides understanding of institutional issues in alley transformation and maintenance, and a set of best practices for community-based landscape design and environmental engineering to transform nuisance alleys into lush green ribbons linking the city’s diverse neighbors together in a network of public spaces. Findings have been broadly disseminated to policy makers, public officials, and community organizations.