LA River Revitalization: The Story of Master Plan Gone Awry - Ep. 95

EcoJustice Radio

The 51-mile Los Angeles River, more known for its barren stretches of concrete, is undergoing a long-term Master Planned greening and revitalization. Big questions remain about how to restore biodiversity, provide water resiliency in the face of climate disruption, and protect the local neighborhoods from green gentrification that has already presented problems along sections of the river. On this show, our host Jessica Aldridge is joined by representatives from a coalition of organizations, Friends of the Los Angeles River [http://folar.org], Heal the Bay [http://www.healthebay.org], and East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) [http://eycej.org/]. The coalition has concerns with the plan’s vision, lack of community input, human rights, and environmental protections. *Liliana Griego serves as Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Engagement for Friends of the LA River. Having grown up along the Arroyo Seco in Los Angeles, she has had an intimate relationship with LA’s living waterways and uses her story and scientific background to advocate for a healthy, resilient, and equitably accessible LA River. *Katherine Pease, Director of Science & Policy for Heal the Bay, has a background in biology, receiving her undergraduate degree from Barnard and her PhD from UCLA. She became passionate about protecting our local rivers and streams through her graduate research on tadpoles in the Santa Monica Mountains and visits to the LA River. Katherine has been at Heal the Bay for nine years, working to make our coastal waters and watersheds safe, healthy, and clean. *Jessica Prieto, Community Stability Policy Organizer for EYCEJ, was born and raised in East Los Angeles and has a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA Luskin. She has extensive experience working at the grassroots level on various planning issues and their impact on communities of color. She has been an EYCEJ member since 2015, and currently leads EYCEJ's community stability efforts throughout Southeast LA cities. -Comment portal for the Master Plan: https://folar.org/county-plan/ -Link to Facebook recording of advocacy training by HtB, FoLAR, EYCEJ: https://www.facebook.com/295656805868/videos/3706811629406761 -Guardian piece highlights how CBOs like East Yard need to hold polluters and agencies accountable. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/19/citizen-regulators-epa-pollution-environment -LA Times write-up on the action at the federal courthouse after the Exide bankruptcy was announced: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-19/exide-cleanup-bankruptcy-march -Article: http://folar.org/county-plan Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/ Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge Engineer: Blake Lampkin Executive Producer: Jack Eidt Show Created by Mark and JP Morris Music: Javier Kadry Episode 95 Image: William Preston Bowling