Sahra Sulaiman
Sahra is Communities Editor for Streetsblog L.A., covering the intersection of mobility with race, class, history, representation, policing, housing, health, culture, community, and access to the public space in Boyle Heights and South Central Los Angeles.
Recent Posts
2017 L.A. Streetsies: Vote for Advocate of the Year
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Voting will close on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at noon.
Strategy Center Files Lawsuit Seeking Arrest, Citation, and Deployment Data from Metro, Law Enforcement Agencies
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Metro and law enforcement agencies fail to adequately respond to requests for public records
City Council Approved Several Boyle Heights Projects that Will Shape Growth of Community
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Self Help Graphics to finally own its site, affordable housing approved for three sites, and funds allocated for improvements along key streets
L.A. Metro Committee Opens Negotiations on Expo/Crenshaw Development
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Who will drive the outreach? The question came from Metro Boardmember Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker regarding the proposal for a mixed-use project on two lots at the convergence of the Expo and Crenshaw/LAX Lines in South L.A.
When Your Renderings Suggest the Black Population Has Been Abducted by Aliens, It May Be the Least of Your Problems
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The transformation of Crenshaw at Exposition - the gateway to a historic black neighborhood - apparently also includes the abduction of the entire black population by aliens... save one undoubtedly confused person who appears to be in cargo shorts.
Mobility Justice Advocates Gather in Leimert Park for Untokening California
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She had had enough of hearing her community spoken about in offensive ways by well- (and not-so-well-) meaning planners and advocates, enough of giving 110 percent of herself only to realize a fraction of what she put forward was being seen as having value, enough of how disinterested those with power over what happened in marginalized communities remained in the larger picture, and enough of being tokenized.
Interactive Zoning Map of Boyle Heights Community Plan Includes Look at “Innovative District”
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The ability to isolate specific zoning changes along the river and see the shift toward lighter industry is a reminder that the city has yet to launch a meaningful dialogue with Boyle Heights about what it means to create an "Innovation District" on its western edge.
Boyle Heights Community Plan Aims to Guard Against Displacement, Still Lacks Teeth
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The Boyle Heights plan, one of 35 community plans that make up the city's General Plan Land Use Element, is meant to lay out the goals reflecting the vision for the community, the policies that will guide land usage and development in line with those goals.
Proposed Rule Meant to Curb Stink from Animal Rendering Plants
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"We have to ask ourselves, 'If this was any in other community being impacted like this...would they have been allowed to continue [to emit] these odors [that are] going out and affecting the community?'"
Twitter Chat on #Untokening of Mobility Advocacy Explores Costs of Tokenization
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"But whatever you do," the head of the history department told me, "do not use words like 'multicultural.' Parents will call to ask what on earth we're teaching their kids."
The Bike/Ped Count and How People Relate to their Streets
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I love doing the bike/ped counts. I move through the communities I cover constantly, but rarely get the chance to stand in one place for two hours and observe how a particular corner functions.
America Walks “Walking Toward Justice” Webinar: The Color of Law & Residential Segregation
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The important and timely book, The Color of Law, addresses the myth that segregation in our metropolitan areas evolved naturally and therefore cannot be remedied through policy. No: segregation is the product of explicit federal, state, and local policy designed to both insulate whites and give them a leg up in the process.