DO-IT-YOURSELF WHY WAIT FOREVER FOR LOCAL OFFICIALS TO FIX THE CITY?THE larger lesson of Richard Sperber's park-in-a-day experiment will largely be missed by the city's politicians. They will hail the volunteer spirit that led Sperber to donate a day's time from his entire executive team at ValleyCrest Landscaping to turn an empty lot in Sylmar into a pocket park for the community. Indeed, that is a notable act of kindness for a community that needs it. But what they will fail to grasp about this wonderfully generous gift is that Sperber and his team of 150 managers and executives did in one day what would take an army of bureaucrats years -- if they ever got it done -- and cost about $600,000 in public money to accomplish. It's a lesson that Angelenos, however, would do well to take to heart. Sperber's example is hard proof that people with a little bit of motivation, shovels and a spare day can measurably improve the city's quality of life without the aid of the government. And if the people want to make their streets, their neighborhoods, their communities or their city a better place, they can't afford to wait for the creaky creak·y adj. creak·i·er, creak·i·est 1. Tending to creak. 2. Shaky or infirm, as with age; decrepit: creaky knee joints; a creaky regime. wheels of L.A.'s clunky government to churn. They have to do it themselves. This city is filled with vacant lots and unused space and buildings that have sat untouched for years, projecting ugliness and despair into the neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. community. Why shouldn't neighbors seize the power from the city to transform those eyesores the way Sperber did to that lot in Sylmar? Got an empty lot on your street that collects nothing but trash and empty shopping carts? Why couldn't an army of neighbors turn it into an urban oasis An urban oasis is a public open space, park, or plaza which is located in between buildings or formed by surrounding buildings in an urban setting. It can exist in any kind of culture. There are various sizes of urban oases. one day? Why, for that matter, couldn't a coordinated effort of volunteers take over other parts of the run-down run·down n. 1. A point-by-point summary. 2. Baseball A play in which a runner is trapped between bases and is pursued by fielders attempting to make the tag. adj. also run-down 1. a. civic assets that no one seems to be caring for and turn them into usable spaces -- starter homes A starter home or starter house is a house that is usually the first which a person or family can afford to purchase, often using a combination of savings and mortgage financing. for the working poor, community gardens, parks? This doesn't have to be a public insurrection A rising or rebellion of citizens against their government, usually manifested by acts of violence. Under federal law, it is a crime to incite, assist, or engage in such conduct against the United States. INSURRECTION. . City officials can and should help guide this approach to civic improvement by creating a nonprofit agency -- separate from the city -- that would oversee and encourage volunteerism across the city, from neighborhood cleanups to coordinated rehabbing of run-down property. It would be like Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity, nonprofit ecumenical Christian organization that enables low-income people to own affordable, livable housing. Headquartered in Americus, Ga., it was founded in 1976 by businessman Millard Fuller and his wife. , but one that focuses solely on making Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. a better place for everyone to live. CAPTION(S): box Box: Daily News endorsements to date |
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