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Cite the Project

• ÁùÉ«ÍøMLA Culminating Experience. (2024). Destination Baldwin Park: A Community Vision Plan for the City of Baldwin Park, California. Faculty Advisors: Brown, Kyle & Li, Weimin. Students: Rebecca Cheung, Eugenia Connelly, Hayley Stansell, Tessa Wiley. Community Partner: City of Baldwin Park. Department of Landscape Architecture, ÁùÉ«Íø, Pomona, CA, United States.
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Abstract

Baldwin Park is home to approximately 70,000 residents located on Tongva Land in the eastern portion of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The city’s walkable downtown origins, centered on the Pacific Electric (RedCar) Railway, have become embedded in an automobile-centered urban landscape as rail has fallen out of popularity in the last century. Interstates I-10 and I-605 intersect in Baldwin Park’s southwest corner, earning it the title of “Hub of the San Gabriel Valley”. While this may be an economic asset for the city, the dominance of automobile infrastructure presents several challenges common to most Southern California communities, including a lack of park and open space, poor pedestrian and bicycle connections, and pollution. Urban sprawl associated withthe transition to automobiles has also blurred the boundary between communities and facilitated the establishment of superstores and chain businesses. The impact of this is a loss of imageability and identity for the city.

Our strategy to address these challenges leverages Baldwin Park’s existing assets and anticipated opportunities through a system of activated places, safe and sustainable networks, and community districts. To develop our vision, we met with city officials and used existing plans to understand what values drive planning efforts across Baldwin Park. We also conducted community engagement and an online survey. The community’s experiences, as well as our own, inspire our concept which expands the ethos of the Downtown Specific Plan across the city. We supplemented these data with spatial analyses to identify and prioritize opportunities and develop a cohesive vision of a livable, sustainable city.

Our vision plan positions Baldwin Park as a memorable destination by highlighting local identity, fostering connectivity, enhancing experiences, and activating new, exciting places. We address community, climate resilience, and sustainability on four functional levels: place, connection, experience, and identity. We create multi-use, neighborhood spaces across the city which are connected via safe, pleasurable pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit networks, elevating the role of each neighborhood in the city as hubs of activity. Neighborhood places provide opportunities for recreation, relaxation, and engagement with local businesses, supporting sustainability and economic vibrancy by offering the community the resources it needs close to home, reducing dependency on car travel. We cultivate neighborhood identity by proposing a number of districts which highlight the unique places and experiences offered across the city while still embodying the essence of Baldwin Park. Each district has a vibrant neighborhood center which enriches the local experience of the city. The resulting vision plan ultimately aims to encourage residents to feel pride in where they live, and to explore Destination: Baldwin Park.