It's remarkable, given our climate reality, that more neighborhoods were not lost one year ago. But truly engaging with that climate reality means we have to rethink the entire city at once
Torched readers know the severity of Los Angeles's park crisis. LA recently plummeted to 90th out of 100 U.S. cities in the Trust for Public Land's annual ParkScore index. More than one-third of LA residents do not live within a 10-minute walk of a park. And the city's Proposition K expires this year, leaving a broke city with a funding gap and over $2 billion in deferred maintenance. In 2025, a supergroup of architects, planners, and strategists led by Jessica Henson, a partner at OLIN, embarked upon LA's Park Needs Assessment, the first in 15 years. And as LA prepares to host the world's largest sporting events, putting an international spotlight on the state of our parks, I wanted to hear from Jessica on how this needs assessment creates a roadmap for creating the world-class parks that LA deserves.
Jessica is one of those big-picture thinkers who is also exceptionally good at community engagement. (Seriously, I've seen her give presentations multiple times and I'm always astonished by her kindness, patience, and ability to use regular words instead of architect-speak.) As a landscape architect and planner with a focus on hydrology, she sees LA's parks not only as places for recreation, but as climate-resilience tools. (Which is why she's also working on other megaevent-relevant projects including the Los Angeles County LA River Master Plan and the Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan.) We'll talk about the gargantuan task of conducting a needs assessment for 489 park sites, what the team heard from park-users in every corner of the city, and the data-driven process for targeting where new parks should be located. And finally, we'll hear from advocates about some of the strategies for funding, maintaining, and prioritizing LA's park system.
Plan an early lunch — perhaps a desk picnic? — and let's talk about the future of our parks.
Torched Talks with OLIN's Jessica Henson Friday, January 23 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT
🎙️ Torched Talks is an ongoing series of conversations with experts on topics facing LA in its megaevent era. It's free and open to all — simply join the Zoom to participate. If you can't make it, don't worry! I'll post the recording here when it's over
