Open Space Guerrillas!

Let's create an initiative to turn unused paved space into useful greenways. Paved medians can have their asphault dug up and turn into native plant incubators. Fenced-off freeway enbankments can become pocket parks. Parking lots that were created too large can have part of them turned into plant havens. There's a Marshalls in Encino that had a vacant lot behind it turned into a small park complete with benches, trees, and a labyrinthine dirt walking path. Even having dirt surfaces rather than cement or asphault is more habitable and cooler, and reduces urban "heat island effect." It also can eventually have plants take root by themselves, though a tended patch will look better than a ragged unkempt one.

It would be great to work with existing community initiatives such as Arbor Day, beautification efforts, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI), TreePeople, the city, and others, to start putting some more of nature back into our cities. Books like Edible Estates and groups like Guerilla Gardening even urge us to plant vegetables in front lawns and other urban places. How can we start raising money and donating our time to this? These will be long-term investments; the organization North East Trees (see link) knows that having the community care for plants over time is just as important as planting them in the first place.

We will all be cooler and healthier as a result.