Places, Spaces & People

H o w t H e U r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t i m pac t s H e a lt H
i n b oy l e H e i g H t s a n D e a s t lo s a n g e l e s
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Acknowledgement
this report was made possible through the
generous support of the california endowment.

The author would like to thank the residents

The health of a community is
directly connected to its physical
constructs, urban design and use of
public and private spaces. One’s
ability to access needed resources,
purchase high quality, affordable
food and safely participate in
physical activity can determine your
ability to live a vibrant, healthy life.
of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights for
their feedback and participation. In
addition, we would like to thank the many
organizations that supported this project including
the project’s Advisory Work Group:
• Bienvenidos
• Eastman Elementary School Healthy Start
• Garfield High School Healthy Start
• Garfield High School University Prep Program
• Lorena Elementary School Healthy Start
• Proyecto Pastoral

One way to ensure the design of an • Violence Intervention Program

area supports healthy living and
meets the needs of the community Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the guidance
is to include the community’s and support of Healthy City and USC’s Program for
residents in the planning process. Environmental and Regional Equity in the execution
Community members can best of the Community Health Assessment.
identify those measures that would
decrease fear, improve health
outcomes, and support healthy
behaviors in their community.

this report was authored by:

The following report utilizes this
best practice by engaging residents Vanessa Rodriguez,
and organizations in the evaluation Alliance for a Better Community

and improvement of their

community.

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Foreword
The nation is finally waking up to the critical connection between the built
environment and health. First Lady Michelle Obama, in her campaign to end
childhood obesity, specifically stresses the importance of improving the built
environment in communities by providing them with outlets for healthy food and
places where youth can safely play. The federal government’s $400 million
National Healthy Food Financing Initiative goes a step further by providing
funding to support the establishment and expansion of grocery stores in “food
deserts” – under-resourced communities that often lack retail outlets, farmers’
markets, and local gardens. Meanwhile, environmental justice groups in California and
beyond are highlighting the link between the health impacts of air pollution and climate
change on the one hand and communities’ truck traffic and land use patterns on the other.

Los Angeles caught this “place matters” wave early. Since its establishment in the early 1990s, the Community
Coalition of South LA has mobilized residents to close down over 200 liquor stores that contributed to neighborhood
violence. Since 2001, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice has prepared hundreds of community
members to speak up against the ravages of pollution from neighboring rail yards. Most recently in 2008, the L.A. City
Council passed a one year ban on new fast food outlets in a 32 square mile area, hoping to incentivize healthier food
opportunities for over half a million, low-income residents.

With this report, Alliance for a Better Community (ABC) is continuing this tradition of connecting place and health.
It highlights the steps that are needed to alleviate the pressures of the built environment on the health of residents in
Boyle Heights and East LA – communities ringed by polluting freeways, crisscrossed with hazardous industrial
facilities, and lacking basic amenities. The findings are both important and timely – and ABC makes a unique
contribution because the community members themselves played a large role in informing the research; 230 residents
participated in interactive community mapping sessions, providing not only what they saw as problems, but also what
they viewed as potential solutions. The resulting policy ideas are both significant and doable: they stress the importance
of schools as epicenters for healthy living and focus infrastructure improvements on creating buffer zones around both
schools and parks.

Decisions affecting public health and urban planning can last decades, if not centuries. With the shifting sands of
politics, the time for Boyle Heights and East LA to harness the national momentum that connects the built
environment with public health is now. Doing so could make a difference for generations to come.

- Manuel Pastor

Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity Director,

USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity

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Executive Summary

The Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles (BHELA) Community Health Assessment explores the nexus
between the built environment, public policy, and urban planning in an effort to determine their
impact on the health and wellbeing of residents in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. Through
community engagement efforts, four key findings were identified that inhibit residents’ ability to live
healthy, active lives: 1) inaccessibility to, and shortage of, quality food outlets offering affordable, healthy
food; 2) limited access to safe recreation space; 3) a need for greater public safety; and 4) much needed
improvements to and maintenance of community infrastructure.

Based on the aforementioned findings and the momentum garnered through local efforts, we propose the
following recommendations:

1) create schools as centers 2) establish a Health and 3) take back local

for healthy eating and
physical activity.
Transform local schools into
epicenters for healthy living in
Boyle Heights and East Los
Angeles by increasing physical
activity on and around school
campuses during school and non-
school hours. In addition, schools
should be a center for both
promoting and providing healthy,
affordable food.
safety buffer around school
campuses.
Infrastructure improvements should
be concentrated around campuses to
ensure safe routes to schools; the
selling of unhealthy food is prohibited
/limited while the sale of healthy food
options around school campus is
encouraged and incentivized; and
community policing groups work
with law enforcement to increase
public safety on and around
campuses.
parks.
Efforts should focus on
creating active, safe
recreation space that
accommodates the activities and
needs of the community. Advocacy
efforts must focus on infrastructure
improvements at local parks (i.e.
improved lighting, permanent
exercise equipment, clean park
facilities, etc.) and changing the
use of the parks to support
community programs for both
passive and active recreation.

By leveraging existing collaborative efforts, these recommendations can be realized and would ensure that youth
and families are supported in living a safe and healthy lifestyle.

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Introduction
Lush green space, bustling commercial corridors,
centralized employment centers, and welcoming schools
and parks create spaces that not only meet the needs of a
community, but also act as the social and economic
cohesion that supports healthy living. Inversely, when
these elements are absent or removed from a
neighborhood, an individual’s ability to thrive in their
community diminishes. In the communities of Boyle
Heights and East Los Angeles, insufficient access to
these much needed amenities are key catalysts in
perpetuating the difficulty residents’ face in living
healthy, vibrant lives.
To better understand the correlation between the
physical constructs of a neighborhood and their impact
on the health and wellbeing of local residents, the
Alliance for a Better Community (ABC) set out to
conduct a Community Health Assessment of the Boyle
Community Profiles
Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles are located in the
area generally known as East Los Angeles, nestled
tightly between the growing Downtown LA skyline
to the west and the sprawling San Gabriel Valley to
the East. The Los Angeles River, along with five major
freeways (the I-10, State Route 60, US 101, I-710, and
the I-5) run through the communities, dissecting
them geographically and socially.ii The freeway
construction, which occurred during the first half of
the 20th century, displaced one-tenth of residents in
the East Los Angeles region and created a housing
shortage, which ultimately led to overcrowding and
poor living conditions in the area.iii
During this same period, the city created a zoning
ordinance designating West Los Angeles as a strictly
residential area, resulting in the development of east
and south Los Angeles as the site for industry and
working class families employed in the area.
Furthermore, racially restrictive covenantsiv excluded
non-white residents from living in western portions
of Los Angeles, making the eastside one of LA’s early
ethnic enclaves. These real estate restrictions
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Heights and East Los Angeles communities.
ABC realizes that a healthy community
must holistically support individuals and
families in their pursuit to excel
physically, emotionally, academically,
economically and socially. is study
seeks to identify the elements of the
built environmenti, both positive
and negative, that affect healthy
living in these two communities,
and to provide strategic policy
responses.
In what follows, we summarize
the methodology, key findings,
and policy recommendations
of our Community Health
Assessment.
coupled with Boyle Heights’ and East Los Angeles’
affordable housing costs, made these neighborhoods
a port-of-entry for many newly-arrived, working poor
immigrants.
Despite the turbulent development of these
communities, residents have not sat idle in seeking to
improve their circumstances. Both communities have
extraordinary histories of strong civic engagement, as
evidenced by the civil rights movements that have
roots in the area. Cultural pride has also acted as a
unifying force throughout their history, beginning with
the early Japanese and Jewish settlers. This pride is
visible through the preservation of ornate cultural
centers, nostalgic murals and the spirited residents
that understand that the richness of their community
goes beyond their collective income.
Please see page 18 for map of
East L.A./ Boyle Heights project area.
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Boyle Heights

The community of Boyle Heights is home to

approximately 110,000 residents, living in the most
eastern part of the City of Los Angeles.v From the
early 20th century to present day, Boyle Heights has
long been an entry portal for recently arrived
immigrants who were often unwelcomed in other
parts of the city due to discriminatory real estate
practices and overt social prejudice.vi

In the 1940’s and 50’s Boyle Heights was a largely

Jewish community with booming businesses and
immense civic pride. During those same years,
generations, establishing strong roots in this dynamic
Japanese-Americans and Latino immigrants began
community. Boyle Heights is a largely poor, Latino
to settle in the community, forever changing the
community with a median income of about $33,570,
look and feel of this once isolated, hill-top
with 30% of families living below the poverty line and
community. After the 1942 internment of hundreds
a homeownership rate that hovers just below 30%.ix
of thousands of Japanese-Americans and the later
banning of racially restrictive covenants, Boyle
The figures on traditional health indicators are also
Heights was changed once again. Many of its Jewish
troubling. Boyle Heights suffers from high rates of
residents began migrating westward toward more
obesity and overweight, with over 33% of local
affluent sections of the City and its Japanese-
residents deemed overweight and 23% obese.x
American residents were displaced and forced to
These findings are significant because rates of obesity
find homes elsewhere after returning from the
can be directly linked to other chronic diseases such as
internment camps.vii
diabetes, heart disease, cancer, hypertension and an
overall poor quality of life.xi In 2008, heart disease was
Today, Boyle Heights is home to an ever growing
identified as the leading cause of death among
concentration of Latino immigrants who make it
residents. Heart disease, among other ailments, has
their first, and sometimes only, stop in their
been directly linked to an individual’s obesity and
migration into the United States. As an entry port,
fitness levels.xii
population growth in Boyle Heights has surpassed
Los Angeles County rates.viii Between 2000-2008,
Individuals with low-educational outcomes also tend
Boyle Heights experienced a population growth of
to have poor health outcomes.xiii This is a concern in
14% radically higher than the County rate. Although
Boyle Heights where 68% of residents have less than a
many Boyle Heights residents are immigrants, a large
high school education and less than 17% have a high
segment of the population has lived in the area for
school diploma.xiv At Roosevelt High School, Boyle
Heights’ largest high school, only 45% of 9th graders
who were enrolled in 2005 graduated four years later
in 2009.xv
“Boyle Heights also suffers from a
In addition, Boyle Heights also suffers from a deficiency
deficiency in park space with only in park space with only 161 acres of open space, much
of which is actually cemeteries.xvi This is distressing
161 acres of open space, much of given the County standard for the provision of
which is actually cemeteries.” parkland is 4 acres of local parklands and 6 acres of
regional parkland per 1,000 residents; Boyle Heights
rates fall well below that standard.xvii

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East Los Angeles

As Boyle Heights’ eastern neighbor, East Los

Angeles is home to approximately 123,000
residents and is an unincorporated community that
is governed and supported by the County of Los
Angeles.xviii As with Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles
has also been marked with a history of rapid
growth, poor planning and deteriorating
infrastructure that has exacerbated the poor health
and social outcomes of the community.
High density rates have contributed to these issues.
East Los Angeles has a density rate seven times
that of Los Angeles County and double that of
neighboring cities. Between 2000-2008, the area
had a population growth of over 11% which is
significantly higher than the growth rate of the rest
of Los Angeles County.xix
The East Los Angeles community is fairly young
with a median age of 32, five years younger than
the Los Angeles County median. This dense, urban
community is largely young, Latino, transit
dependent and poor.xx The median income in East
Los Angeles is $34,883, almost $20,000 less than the
Los Angeles County rate, with 27% of families living
below the federal poverty line. Additionally, East
Los Angeles’ homeownership rate is just slightly
higher than that of Boyle Heights at 34%, which is
significantly lower than the County rate at 50%. In
addition to the low homeownership rates, East Los
Angeles has been unable to meet its demand for its
affordable housing units. According to the areas
affordable housing strategy, East Los Angeles failed to
meet its demand for 15,146 affordable housing units
in 2008.xxi
Similar to Boyle Heights, the health outcomes
of East Los Angeles can be directly linked to residents’
economic and educational attainment.xxii The leading
cause of death in East Los Angeles’ in 2008 was heart
disease, with cancer second. Comparable to Boyle
Heights, more than 65% of the population in East Los
Angeles has less than a high school education and
only 17% has a high school diploma. At Garfield High
School, East Los Angeles’ largest high school, only 54%
of 9th graders who were enrolled in 2005 went on to
graduate four years later in 2009.xxiii

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coupled with its many local and regional resources

can be used to address the difficulties it faces due to
rapid population growth, sluggish economy and
weakening infrastructure. One current effort that
continues the legacy of activism is the push for
cityhood in East Los Angeles. A group of residents
are currently pursuing the prospects of incorporating
the region into a city with the aim of enhancing
localized civic participation, and public resources
and services.

In addition to these community challenges, available

park space in East Los Angeles falls short in meeting
the demand of the area. East Los Angeles contains
less than 60 acres of park space while cemeteries in
“East Los Angeles falls far short
the community cover approximately 147 acres.xxiv of meeting the County suggested
East Los Angeles falls far short of meeting the County
suggested park provision, with a deficit of local park park provision, with a deficit of
space of 145 acres and a deficit of regional park space local park space of 145 acres and a
of 195 acres.xxv
deficit of regional park
Despite its many impediments, East Los Angeles has space of 195 acres.”
significant potential to develop into a healthy and
robust community. Its long history of activism

Community Profiles Conclusion

Despite their tumultuous development, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles have survived due to their
overwhelmingly rich social capital, historic pride and steadfast community spirit. In addition to these intangible and
unique assets, this region is also home to local resources that can, and should, be leveraged to enhance the built
environment and support and sustain a healthy lifestyle for all residents. Some of these physical assets include East
Los Angeles Community College, the California State University of Los Angeles, the newly constructed Metro Gold
line, local and regional parks, the newly built LAC+USC County Hospital, White Memorial Hospital, three new area
schools and a large newly developed civic center, among other important social and physical assets. These areas are
also home to a large social service network that provides a foundation to build off of and improve.

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Study Design

In 2009-2010, the Alliance for a Better Community

(ABC) conducted a Community Health Assessment of
the Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles communities
to determine the impact of the physical environment
on the overall health,xxvi wellbeing, and vitality of the
community. The area of study is the Greater East Los
Angeles area which includes ZIP codes 90022, 90023,
90033 and 90063, and encompasses the
Building Healthy
neighborhoods of Boyle Heights (City of Los
Angeles), City Terrace (unincorporated LA County),
Communities
Wellington Heights (unincorporated LA County), and
Belvedere (unincorporated LA County), among other BOYLE HEIGHTS
unincorporated East LA communities.
In mid 2009, the California Endowment
The purpose of this study is to identify the urban launched Building Healthy Communities
elements that contribute to health disparities within as a 10-year initiative which focused on
these communities, and the urban planning strategic investments in 14 communities
strategies and public policy tools needed to mitigate
across the state of California. The goal
of this initiative is to support the
them. Although a wide array of environmental issues
development of communities where kids
were identified, ABC chose to narrow its focus to
and youth are healthy, safe and ready
access to healthy food options at local grocery outlets to learn. Investment in the 14 selected
and safe recreation space on and around school sites will concentrate efforts on systemic
campuses. This was due in part to our strong school changes that will meet the immediate
networks, expertise in the field, success in mobilizing health needs of residents and address
school communities for change and the current long term health issues.
momentum and capacities around these issues.
Rather than providing a general overview on all As part of the Building Healthy
topics, our study sought to delve deeper on a select Communities Initiative, each selected
few in an effort to achieve immediate changes. As a community underwent an extensive year-
result of this narrowed focus, we were unable to long planning effort where residents and
elaborate on the many other important
stakeholders were brought to the table
to identify community priorities and
environmental factors that were identified by
develop a strategic plan to guide
residents and stakeholders as significant, these
investment. Between June 2009 and
include: air quality and pollution, transportation June 2010, Boyle Heights underwent this
hazards, water quality (specifically the high levels of planning process and developed a
manganese found in the local waterxxvii), health comprehensive report that outlines
hazards in the home, and environmental toxins. ABC community priorities based on the
fully understands the magnitude of these issues and feedback of thousands of residents
strongly encourages additional efforts to address and stakeholders.
these critical health concerns.
For more information please visit
www.calendow.org/healthycommunities

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In executing the Community Health Assessment,

ABC worked closely with project partners,
community allies and local residents to gain a deeper
understanding of the root causes of the localized
health disparities. This study differs from other more
traditional health assessments in that it was not
formulated simply by the tabulation of quantitative
health data and research, but more significantly, it is
also informed by the feedback and life experiences
of local residents. The gathering of this community
data was done through a series of meetings with
community-based organizations, interactive
Findings
community mapping sessions with residents, and
information gathered through community
engagement efforts as part of the California
Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities In the community mapping sessions residents were
Initiative in Boyle Heights. able to clearly identified destinations for recreation
and grocery outlets. However, of approximately 11
During the interactive community mapping sessions, parks and green spaces identified, almost all were
ABC, in partnership with Healthy City and local deemed inaccessible by some participants due to
stakeholder groups, convened more than 230 poor infrastructure, distance, gang activity, perceived
residents and youth. The goal of these meetings was threats and fear of violence and crime.
to identify and discuss the most pressing health
concerns, caused by the physical makeup of their In regards to recreation space Boyle Heights and East
neighborhood, what contributing factors cause Los Angeles have deceivingly large amounts of open
them and possible remedies. space. When looking at a map of the area, much of
the large swaths of green space, are actually
ABC’s efforts resulted in the following findings and cemeteries that would not be considered recreation
strategic recommendations. space. One exception is the Evergreen Cemetery

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Jogging Path which is a 1.5 mile rubberized jogging

path that circles the Evergreen Cemetery. This
creative use of space has actually been met with
great success in activating underutilized public
space for physical activity and should be a model for
transforming public spaces.

Similarly, of the eight major local grocery stores

identified by residents as food resources, most were
described negatively due to poor quality of food,
unfavorable customer service, high prices,
inaccessibility, and safety concerns at or around
store locations. Public safety was also a cross cutting
theme among many of the discussions
with residents.
“I don’t feel safe. There are
drive-bys. The park has resources,
but people can’t access them
because they feel unsafe.”
- RESIDEnT DESCRIBES A LOCAL PARk

Distribution of All Identified Environmental Design Issues

19% POOR LIGHTING

11% STREET/SIDEWALK

19% GRAFFITI/VANDALISM

11% PROBLEM BUSINESS

15% INAPPROPRIATE POLICING

11% POORLY MAINTAINED PROPERTY

7% TRANSPORTATION

7% OTHER

Community residents were asked to identify the most common environmental design issues they encountered in their
community that act as a barrier to accessing resources.

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Recommendations
Create schools as centers for
1 healthy eating and physical
activity.
Transform local schools into epicenters for healthy
living in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles by
increasing physical activity on and around school
campuses during school and non-school hours. In
addition, schools should be a center for both
promoting and providing healthy, affordable food.
Schools are often the hub for community
engagement and advocacy efforts, and are a direct
connection to families and youth in the community.
This is especially true in Boyle Heights and East Los
Angeles where schools are closely connected to
local community-based organizations and
advocacy efforts. This entry point should be
maximized to promote healthy living in Boyle
Heights and East Los Angeles.
In order to increase recreation space available to
the community joint use agreements should be
utilized so that residents can have greater access to
school campuses during non-school hours. Joint
use agreements provide a safe, local space for
organized physical activities for youth, families and
the community at large.
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In addition, because of their close proximity to large
residential areas, school facilities are naturally the
most accessible space to provide alternative, healthy
food options. Schools can provide the setting for
innovative programs such as school site farmer’s
markets, community gardens, farm-to-school
programs, food pantries, and a variety of other food
alternatives that can cater to the needs of the
community. With well over 80% of students
participating in the area in Free and Reduced Meal
programs, the need for quality, healthy food on
school campuses is even more immediate.xxviii
Studies of programs in similar communities across
California have shown huge successes in not only
providing additional healthy food sources
for low-income families, but also in
providing “hands on” educational
experiences for youth and families to
learn the importance and ease of
healthy eating.xxix xxx This “hands
on” learning has proven more
effective than standard educational
material and programs that promote
healthy eating. These programs can also
provide an opportunities for parents to
become involved at their children’s
schools, as many are led by local parents.
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Establish a Health and
2 Safety Buffer around school
campuses.
Infrastructure improvements should be
concentrated around campuses to ensure safe
routes to schools; the selling of unhealthy food are
prohibited/limited while the sale of healthy food
options around school campus are encouraged and
incentivized; and community policing groups work
with law enforcement to increase public safety on
and around campuses.
School campuses, and the area immediately
surrounding them, should be a space that youth and
families can occupy safely. By concentrating
infrastructure improvements (i.e. illuminated cross
walks, sidewalk repairs, extended curbs, bike lanes,
tree shade, traffic calming measures, etc.) around
school campuses and coordinating community
policing programs, these spaces can once again be
reclaimed by the community, providing safe and
direct paths to and from school campuses,
improving resident’s mobility to encourage walking
and bicycling. Childhood obesity rates among
children and teens have tripled in the last 25 years.
12
Rates within our low-income communities of color
have grown at an even more alarming rate.xxxi Many
advocates suggest that easy access to unhealthy, low
nutritious food around school campuses can be a
direct link to rising obesity rates in our low-income
communities.xxxii By creating an ordinance around
campuses to promote the sale of healthy food, one
can directly impact the over-saturation of unhealthy
food outlets around school campuses. Part of this
might include supporting the federal government’s
proposed $400 million Healthy Food Financing
Initiative which could eventually lead to more
healthy grocery stores in these neighborhoods.xxxiii
In Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles mobile food
vendors selling unhealthy, high-calorie food to youth
and families greatly contribute to the health
problems in the area. Suppression and enforcement
are nOT recommended in dealing with this issue,
since this informal economy is engrained into the
cultural and social practices of the community, and
accounts for a large portion of the local economy.
Instead, a more collaborative approach is
recommended by working with mobile vendors and
neighborhood stores we can inform them on their
impact to the local public health and develop
mutually beneficial agreements that outline when,
where and what they can sell near school campuses.
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Take back local parks.

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Efforts should focus on creating active, safe
recreation space that accommodates the activities
and needs of the community. Advocacy efforts
must focus on infrastructure improvements at local
parks (i.e. improved lighting, permanent exercise
equipment, clean park facilities, etc.) and changing
the use of the parks to support community
programs for both passive and active recreation.
The increased use of parks and open space will help
The threat of violence and crime, be it actual or improve the fitness of local residents, and serve as an
perceived, is often a key determinant in whether intervention strategy for youth getting involved in
the community will use local parks and green gangs and crime. Studies have shown that youth
spaces. This fear can create a significant barrier to who participate in physical activity and organized
using local open space for recreation. A study by sports are less likely to have low self-esteem and are
the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention less at risk for engaging in criminal behavior than
found that individuals who perceived their their sedentary counterparts.xxxv
neighborhood as unsafe were more likely to be
physically inactive.xxxiv The same study also found By taking back local parks with alterations to the
that neighborhood safety was one of five key design, maintenance and use of those spaces, local
determinants identified by parents as important parks can once again become comfortable and safe
factors in allowing their children to participate in destinations for families and children to engage in
physical activity. recreational activities.

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From Recommendations to Action

All the recommendations presented address the need for more opportunities for physical activity and
increased access to more nutritious food options. These improvements can be made through better
use and design of public and private spaces, strategic public policy and the enhanced and deliberate
use of resources.

Although it may be possible to achieve these wins in isolation from the

community, we fully understand that the sustainability, buy-in and
ultimate success will come through the participation and leadership
of residents, local businesses, and community groups.

In the Schools

Our recommendations have placed schools as the
leading vehicle in driving the healthy living
movement in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.
This is due to ABC’s long history working with
schools and our success in mobilizing parents,
families and communities to advocate for changes
on their campuses. For this reason we propose the
establishment of a Parent and Student Health
Taskforce at school sites or cluster of schools. This
group of parents and youth would partner with local
community-based organizations and school
administration to lead community engagement and
advocacy efforts on campuses.
Each Taskforce would address the immediate and
unique health needs of their students and families
on and around their campus and would address
issues of health and safety, specifically those called
out in this report. The Taskforce would act as a
permanent vehicle for organized advocacy efforts to
ensure that school sites are not only the place for
obtaining a high quality education, but also a space
that supports and promotes healthy living for all
students and their families.

“...parents and youth

would partner with local
community-based organizations
and school administration to lead
community engagement and
advocacy efforts on campuses.”

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Department of City Planning and the LA County

Department of Planning, will impact the physical,
social and economic landscape of Boyle Heights and
East Los Angeles for decades to come. Community
participation is imperative to creating a successful
plan that supports the long term needs of the
community.

Boyle Heights will also be a pilot site for the LA

County Department of Public Health’s REnEW (Renew
Environments for nutrition, Exercise, and Wellness)
Initiative aimed at expanding additional joint use
opportunities in the community in an effort to
increase access to safe recreation space.

In the Community Other local efforts to be leveraged include the

Although our recommendations are focused
primarily on the power and potential of school-
based networks and resources, we are aware that
other important opportunities are also developing
outside school walls. In each of the following
initiatives, we plan to build partnerships to drive
these recommendations forward.
selection of East Los Angeles as one of First 5 LA’s Best
Start communities, the Gold Line Metro extension,
future infrastructure improvement projects of Los
Angeles’s Community Redevelopment Agency, the
submission of a federal grant application for the
Promise neighborhoods Initiative in Boyle Heights
and the long history of a strong and active network of
community-based organizations. Through these
ongoing efforts, ABC will promote the proposed
recommendations by building long term
sustainability and broad based support.

Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles are in a critical All of these concentrated investments and
state in their history, with tremendous investment collaborative efforts provide an opportunity to
and collaboration currently taking place. In 2009, transform Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles into
Boyle Heights was identified as one of the California healthy, safe and active communities.
Endowment’s 14 sites selected to receive
concentrated funding and support, over the next 10
years, through their Building Healthy Communities
Initiative. This initiative has created an opportunity
for local organizations, policy makers and residents
to work collectively to transform Boyle Heights into
a healthy, prosperous community. This collaborative
provides an additional vehicle to advance the
proposed policy recommendations from this report
and improve the health and wellbeing of Boyle
Heights residents.

In addition to the Building Healthy Communities

work, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles are also
the setting for additional investment and
development that should be leveraged. Both
communities are at an important moment in their
development, as they are both updating their
Community Plans. These efforts, led by the LA City

15
 p l a c e s , s pa c e s & p e o p l e

Mission Statement
The Alliance for a Better Community
(ABC) promotes equity for
Latinos in education, health,
economic development and civic
engagement for the betterment
of the Los Angeles region.

Conclusion
Board of Directors
It has become well-known that a poor diet and a
sedentary lifestyle can increase one’s risk for many
ed avila raul F. salinas
chronic diseases. However, participating in social ABC President Managing Shareholder
activities and having easy access to basic amenities President of L.A. Office
that support a healthy and active lifestyle are often Project Restore Adorno, Yoss,
hindered by physical and social uses of spaces and the Alvarado & Smith
urban design of one’s community. arturo vargas
ABC Secretary angela sanbrano
It is important to recognize that many of the barriers Executive Director President
low-income communities face in living a healthy life National Association of National Alliance of
are a result of crime, violence, fear, inadequate food Latino Elected Officials Latino American and
security, education, unsafe housing, poorly maintained Caribbean Communities
sidewalks and streets, crumbling infrastructure, and a Frank Quevedo (NALACC)
ABC Treasurer
lack of economic opportunities. Healthy choices and
michelle siqueiros
behaviors must be nurtured throughout one’s lifetime, maría casillas Executive Director
but without a supportive environment, both President Campaign for College
physically and socially, those healthy behaviors Families in Schools Opportunity
become difficult to maintain.
Hector Flores, m.D. Fernando torres-gil,
Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles are at a pivotal Co-Director ph.D.
moment where traditional norms, community Family Medicine Associate Dean
development practices and flawed public policy can Resident Program UCLA School of
be transformed through the collective efforts of a White Memorial Hospital Public Policy & Social
community poised for action. Through comprehensive Research
community planning, improved urban design, mónica lozano
Publisher & CEO peter villegas
supportive public policy and strategic coordination of
La Opinión First VP & National
resources, healthy behaviors can become the social, Manager
political and cultural norm of these communities that ref rodriguez Community & External
will support a safe and healthy, life for all residents of Founder Affairs Division
Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles for generations Partnership to Uplift J.P. Morgan Chase
to come. Communities (PUC)

16
 alliance For a bet ter commUnit y
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ii Greater East Los Angeles Community Profile.
Los Angeles: Healthy City, 2007. Print.
ii Spalding, Sophie. “The Myth of the Classic Slum:
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iv Racially restrictive covenants were contractual
agreements among property owners that prohibit the
purchase, lease, or occupation of their premises by a
particular group of people, usually African
Americans,Mexicans, Jews and other “undesirable”
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v Healthy City: Information + Action for Social Change.
“Zip Codes: 90033, 90063: Quick Stats.”
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July 2010. For the purpose of this study Boyle
Heights is defined by the zip codes of 90033
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vi Sanchez, George. “What's Good for Boyle Heights is
Good for the Jews: Creating Multiracialism on the
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(2004): 633-661. Print.
vii Ibid.
viii City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning-
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Accessed August, 2010.
ix Healthy City: Information + Action for Social Change.
“Zip Codes: 90033, 90063: Quick Stats.”
www.healthycity.org. Nielson Claritas, 2009. Web. 19
July 2010. For the purpose of this study Boyle
Heights is defined by the zip codes of 90033 and
90063.
x Ibid.
xi Ebbeling, C. and Pawlak, D. “Childhood Obesity:
public-health crisis, common sense cure.” The Lancet,
360.1 (2002): 473-482.
xii Ibid.
xii Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health, Office of Health Assessment and
Epidemiology- “Preventing childhood obesity:
the need to create healthy places- A cities
Communities Health Report.” October 2007:
4. Print.
xiv Healthy City: Information + Action for Social
Change. “Zip Codes: 90033, 90063: Quick
Stats.” www.healthycity.org. Nielson Claritas,
2009. Web. 19 July 2010. For the purpose of
this study Boyle Heights is defined by the zip
codes of 90033 and 90063.
xv School Report Card 08-09: Roosevelt Senior
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School District, 2009. Web.
xvi City of Los Angeles Department of City
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https://planning.lacity.org/. Web. Accessed
August, 2010.
xvii Los Angeles County Department of Planning.
“3rd St. Corridor Specific Plan”. June, 2010.
xviii Healthy City: Information + Action for Social
Change. “Zip Codes: 90022, 90023: Quick
Stats.” www.healthycity.org. Nielson Claritas,
2009. Web. 19 July 2010. For the purpose of
data collection East Los Angeles is defined by
the zip codes of 90022 and 90023.
xix Los Angeles County Department of Planning.
“3rd St. Corridor Specific Plan”. June, 2010.
xx Ibid.
xxi Ibid.
xxii Ibid.
xxiii School Report Card 08-09: Garfield High
School. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Unified School
District, 2009. Web.
xxiv Los Angeles County Department of Planning.
“3rd St. Corridor Specific Plan”. June, 2010.
xxv Ibid.
xxvi For the purpose of this report, the term
“health” will be used in its broadest sense to
include not only the physical condition of an
individual, but also their social, mental, and
economic wellbeing that holistically comprise
an individual’s ability to thrive. This
comprehensive approach to health is key to
identifying the root causes of disease and
chronic ailments and to developing successful
solutions to the health disparities in our most
vulnerable populations.
xxvii Salgado, C.J. “Open Letter: Manganese In East
L.A. Groundwater Unhealthful” Eastern Group
Publications, Eastside Sun, June 19, 2008.
xxviii Dataquest:rates For Free And Reduced Meals
For The Year 2007-08.”
http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/,
California Departmentof Education, 2010.
Accessed July, 2010
17
xxix “Success Story: Oakland Schools and Healthy
Food Access Oakland Schools Become Neighborhood
Produce Markets, Expanding Residents’ Access To
Healthy, Affordable Food.” tcenews.calendow.org
/pr/tce/document/TCE_SuccessStories_final.pdf.
The California Endowment, n.d.Web. Accessed
July, 2010
xxx “Success Story: Modesto’s Healthy Afterschool
Programs Modesto Models An Integrated Approach
To Community Health, Including Dynamic
Afterschool Programs And A Gardening Project For
At-Risk Youth Planting “Seeds For The Future.”
tcenews.calendow.org/pr/tce/document
/TCE_SuccessStories_final.pdf. The California
Endowment, n.d.Web. Accessed July, 2010
xxxi Goetz Katherine and Joelle Wolstein. “Street Vendors
in Los Angeles: Promoting Healthy Eating in L.A.
Communities.” Department of Public Policy, UCLA
School of Public Affairs. Funded by The Lewis Center
for Regional Policy Studies, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA,
March 2007. http://lewis.spa.ucla.edu
xxxi Creating a Healthy Food Zone around Schools: A Fact
Sheet for Advocates. National Policy and Legal
Anaylsis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity,
2008. Web.
xxxiii A Healthy Food Financing Initiative: An Innovative
Approach to Improve Health and Spark Economic
Development www.trfund.com/financing/realestate
/HealthyFoodFinancing_2_17_10.pdf. Web.
Accessed August, 2010
xxxiv Duke, J. “Physical Activity Levels Among Children
Aged 9-13 Years—Selected States, 1996.”Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report, 48.7 (1999): 143-146
xxxv Nelson, M.C. and Gordon-Larsen, P. “Physical
Activity Sedentary Behavior Patterns are Associated
with Selected Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors.”
Pediatrics. 117.4 (2006): 1281-1290.
p l a c e s , s pa c e s & p e o p l e

MAP OF
B OY L E H E I G H T S &
E A S T LO S A N G E L E S
PROJECT AREA

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