From Cellblock to Classroom: Pedagogies of Repair Along the Basin

Project Statement

The proposal reframes the Los Angeles River Basin and Lincoln Heights Jail as a model for reparative urbanism, linking ecological restoration, social justice, and community investment. It argues that because racial and economic harm was produced through infrastructure, zoning, displacement, and incarceration, repair must also take spatial form. The concrete river channel is reimagined through selective deconcretization, terraced banks, wetlands, and native habitats that function as flood control, public space, and ecological infrastructure. The jail is adaptively reused as a center for education, environmental research, and civic learning, with partnerships connecting local communities to academic and professional opportunities. Housing is integrated as mixed-income, cooperatively owned, and permanently affordable, with shared courtyards, services, and pedestrian access to the river. Cultural venues, sports facilities, and public landscapes further support civic life. Altogether, the project transforms a landscape of control into a commons centered on repair, collective ownership, resilience, and inclusion.