Impact of the Rodney King Riot on the Built Environment
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This the third part of a week of programs on the violence, causes and aftermath of the Rodney King riots that devastated so much of Los Angeles 20 years ago. More than 50 people were killed, thousands were injured. Estimates of property damage were in excess of $1 billion. Today, we learn how some architects and designers responded to the "deep sense of evil" and "license for disobedience" they felt after the violence was over. We focus on efforts to reconstruct South LA, the dramatic transformation of Koreatown and how devastation led to inspiration. (For additional KCRW coverage of the 1992 riots, go to http://KCRW.com/LARiots.)
Banner image: Koreatown, from Olympic Boulevard, looking east towards downtown. Photo by Kenneth Han
Main Topic
South LA ()
South Los Angeles will be more connected -- quite literally — when the new Expo Line opens to much fanfare this coming weekend. Metro's newest line will go from Pico and Flower downtown, south to USC and then west all the way to Culver City. KCRW's Saul Gonzalez recently took a preview ride with Metro CEO Arthur Leahy and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.
Guests:
- Peter Ueberroth: businessman
- Bernard Kinsey: philanthropist and entrepreneur
- Jackie Dupont Walker: Ward Economic Development Corporation
- Richard Riordan: Riordan Foundation, @RichardJRiordan
- John Bryant: Operation Hope, @johnhopebryant
- Carolyn Hull: Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles
- David Roberts: University of Southern California
- Kerman Maddox: First AME Church
- Rochelle Mills: South Los Angeles Area Planning Commission
- Hector Sanchez: Community Coalition, @Hesanche
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Koreatown ()
Koreatown was officially designated an LA neighborhood in 1978. It's five square miles just west of downtown, between Beverly and Olympic on the North and South and, roughly, between Wilton and Crenshaw on the east and west. Among American cities, only Midtown Manhattan and Chicago's North Side are more densely populated. Koreatown has the largest Korean population outside of Korea itself, but the largest resident group is Hispanics. During the riot, Koreatown experienced more property damage than the rest of the city put together.
Guests:
Main Topic
Inner City Arts and the Utopian Moment for Architects ()
The violence and rioting of 1992 were terrifying for the city. But for some people, they were also inspiring. KCRW's Frances Anderton visited Inner City Arts, a nonprofit arts school near Skid Row in downtown LA.
Guests:
- Michael Maltzan: Michael Maltzan Architecture
- Bob Bates: Inner City Arts
- Orlene and Alex: Inner City Arts
- David Miranda: Inner City Arts alumnus
- Morris Newman: California Planning and Development Report, @cal_plan
- Michaele Pride: University of New Mexico
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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