CicLAvia’s Play Street

One of my favorite events in Los Angeles is CicLAVia, a bi-annual event that closes around 10 miles of streets to cars, filling them with bicycles, food trucks and fun. And every year it is equally as amazing to see Los Angeles’ wide boulevards filled with bicycles and pedestrians enjoying the streets and experiencing Los Angeles in an entirely new way.

CicLAvia in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Anna Peccianti

The origin of CicLAvia is Ciclovía from Bogotá, Colombia. Bogotá has inspired many innovative transportation planning projects here in the US but the idea of Ciclovía or “open street” projects may be most popular. These projects can be truly transformative because they allow anyone to experience what our largest public space could be like if it prioritized people instead of cars. The Open Streets Project has created a comprehensive database of projects in almost every state in the country. From New York to Fargo to San Antonio, residents can enjoy lively open streets filled with the rush of people instead of cars

For October’s CicLAvia, some friends and I from the Living Streets Los Angeles volunteer committee, decided to take over a side street along the CicLAvia route in Los Angeles’ Chinatown and turn it in to a street filled with playful activities. Our inspiration for our play street came from the incredible work of urban planner and artist Candy Chang. Ms. Chang transforms public space through engaging participatory art projects that allow residents to use their imaginations to dream of what spaces can become.

One of her wonderful projects is offering fill-in-the-blank stickers that say “I Wish this Was…” which was inspired by community ideas for vacant storefronts in her adopted hometown of New Orleans. These stickers (which can be placed on any empty structure) offer a free, fun activity that allows residents to let their voices be heard and to openly discuss these ideas with friends and neighbors.

Examples from “I Wish this Was…” by Candy Chang. Photo via candychang.com

We decide to title our project: “I Wish This Street Was” and set up four cardboard triangles that allowed anyone to imagine what this space could become if it did not prioritize cars. The results were often funny, insightful, and delightful (see photos below). On our street, we featured an interactive workshop, a bicycle decoration station, painting (large cardboard boxes were turned into building facades), games (created with masking tape on the asphalt), and photo booths (also made from cardboard boxes). The entire project was put together for a very low-budget and relied mostly on volunteers and volunteer time and we were all very pleased with the results.

Check out the fun!

I Wish This Street Was presented by Living Streets Los Angeles at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets LA

“I Wish This Street Was…” presented by Living Streets Los Angeles at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles

Children design their ideal street at "I Wish This Street Was..." presented by Living Streets Los Angels at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets LA

Children design their ideal street at “I Wish This Street Was…” presented by Living Streets Los Angeles at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles

Photo booth fun at “I Wish This Street Was…” presented by Living Streets Los Angeles at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles

Children painting with their parents for “I Wish This Street Was…” presented by Living Streets Los Angeles at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles

Photo booth fun during “I Wish This Street Was…” presented by Living Streets Los Angeles at CicLAvia. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles

Community ideas about how to transform a street in Los Angles based on "I Wish This Was..." by Candy Chang. CicLAvia, Los Angeles. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles

Community members envision a new use for a street in Los Angeles (based on “I Wish This Was…” by Candy Chang). CicLAvia, Los Angeles. Photo by Living Streets Los Angeles.