We Are Here

Problem, research strategy, and findingsWith diversifying metropolises, American cities are being called upon to democratize heritage and recognize under-represented groups. Planners need strategies for fostering inclusive places of belonging that also build a cohesive civic polity. Our research project focused on the case of Los Angeles (CA), whose city council has evolved and managed “community naming” and other culture signage projects outside the purview of established heritage conservation programs. We created a database of 266 ethnic culture naming projects, mapped them, and interviewed the citizens and public servants involved in these projects to understand what needs this alternative cultural recognition process fills as well as the operational issues and lessons learned. We found that ethnic groups have sought official recognition of their presence and places of belonging that are not necessarily based on architectural excellence, property ownership, or historic significance. The city needed to formalize the processes for city-approved place naming and signage to promote transparency and cooperation between different groups. However, the current process involved mapping and managing symbolic space like physical property, which unnecessarily exacerbated competition and conflict. Instead, contemporary ethnic urbanism patterns have called for an alternative spatial concept and mapping that does not emphasize borders, but rather the centers of cultural gravity, and acknowledges the reality of physically interwoven communities.Takeaway for practiceCity leaders can help foster civic participation as well as multicultural cooperation by creating transparent, simple processes for ethnic groups to request symbolic cultural spaces that are officially recognized by the city through signage and maps. Planners could contribute by innovating new ways to map cultural spaces as centers of community that overlap and intersperse with other cultures rather than as exclusive territories to distribute.