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Watts Re:Imagined

2015 - 2017

Location
Los Angeles
Client
Residents of Watts
Team
Grant Housing & Economic Development Corp, Natural Resources Defense Council

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all projects
all projects

Watts Re:Imagined

Watts Re:Imagined

Why

Watts has been called the most powerful neigborhood in Los Angeles. For more than 100 years, Watts has grappled with a troubling legacy of disenfranchisement. The 1965 Watts Riots were a testament to the ferocity of racial tension and alienation that has permeated the neighborhood. Currently, Watts has a population of approximately 41,000 people, 62% Lationa/o, and 37% black, living within a median income of $25,000. Through it all, the community has continued to cultivate art, culture, and a sense of hope and possibility. 

Watts Re:Imagined was created out of necessity. In 2011, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) was dissolved with all of the redevelopment agencies in California. The CRA/LA is gone, but the needs and priorities of Watts remain. Watts Re:Imagined stepped in to fill that void, committed to building sustainable development projects that already have the support of local government and the community.

What

Kounkuey Design Initiative is one of several organizations collaborating with Watts Re:Imaged to bring the community's vision to life. In 2015, KDI worked with Watts residnts to design and activate an empty lot located at the corner of 103rd and Central Ave - the Gateway to Watts' proposed main street. The lot owned by Grant Housing & Economic Development Corporation, is being developed into a community hub with an economic development incubator and affordable housing. Knowing that development is a long process, Watts Re:Imagined wanted to turn the vacant lot into an immediate community benefit.