Disaster Builds Community - but for how long?

A disaster - be it an earthquake, uncommon crime (or spike in the common ones!), a death or eminent death (domain) - will bring a neighborhood together. It happens all over LA every year. Hopefully, the disaster doesn't just force the preservation of the neighborhood, and then the community built (that person to person, neighbor to neighbor connection) is lost when the battle is won.

A great example of success is the Valley Plaza Neighborhood Assn, which has morphed over the last 7 years from a one-issue group fighting to keep the character and quality of their neighborhood against one development (an LAUSD school!) into one of the strongest neighborhood associations (Laurel Grove Neighborhood Assn.) in the Valley (up there with Studio City Residents Assn. & Tarzana Property Owners Assn.).

Let's hope the folks over at C.A.N. will build their community network, find a solution to their own LAUSD issue, and keep improving their community - both the physical space (getting their street paved after 17 years of asking) and those essential person to person connections - once this eminent disaster has been resolved.


See the folks over in Van Nuys are being notified that their neighborhood and homes may be the next LAUSD elementary school. The issue has understandably upset the community and given them a disaster to band together against. Hence, the community's "Anti-Eminent Domain Block Party" photographed above. More details on their position from one neighbor's eloquent perspective in the LA Times of April 1.

photo from HereinVanNuys's Flickr page.