>> Para español haga click aqui! <<

From breathing in car pollution to nearly getting hit at an unmarked crosswalk, so much of how our streets are (mis)designed directly impact our health. But in Los Angeles, securing even the most basic safe street infrastructure (i.e. bike lanes, curb ramps, speed humps) can be a herculean task of constant advocacy and outreach to city officials. And especially for those without access to language of technology, the global pandemic has only made democracy more difficult in city planning and street design.

Say hello to Nancy and Gaby, our new Safe Streets Community Promotora contractors. Together they have over four decades of organizing experience in their neighborhood of Wilmington. They both are developing our PedPower* Workshops for neighborhood residents. And much like their counterparts in public health, they provide linguistically and culturally competent education, resources, and contacts to wizardly navigate city bureaucracies and effectively organize to reach officials to secure safe street infrastructure.

The future of City planning and community engagement?

For Los Angeles Walks, Gaby and Nancy are more than the perfect organizers and community trainers for LA’s safe street movement. We see promotoras like Gaby and Nancy as the future of Los Angeles City planning, where community residents with lived experience are the ones creating community design and equitably compensated for their work. 

You can learn more about our work in Wilmington by checking out our community Facebook page.

Learn more about our promotora educators

> Blog Post on Promotora Educators lead walk audit trainings

> Blog Post on Promotora Educators lead FB Live Conversation

A word by Safe Street Community Promotora Educator Nancy

A word by Safe Street Community Promotora Educator Gaby

Overview of our project in the community of Wilmington