"Please Take Off Your Shoes"

03/02/22 • 34 min

In episode 2, we hear from activists in LA’s Little Tokyo working to ensure that their community has a voice in building a sustainable future. Investment in green infrastructure is an increasingly significant strategy for achieving sustainability goals, but if communities aren't involved, it can also lead to gentrification, displacement, and cultural erasure. In this episode, Scott Oshima, Grant Sunoo, and traci kato-kiriyama, along with Paul Ong of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, discuss how “sustainability” can be redefined to include a focus on justice and to draw on the cultural histories of neighborhoods like Little Tokyo.

Previous Episode

Heirlooms of Conquest: Trees + Justice in Los Angeles

In the first episode of LENS.cast, we explore the history and future of Los Angeles's remarkable trees.
California is more than palm trees: it is, according to University of Pennsylvania historian Jared Farmer, an incredible arboretum—a collection of species from all over the world—and an "heirloom of conquest." Trees record the history of colonial destruction in California, but they could also be an important part of a more just, resilient future as LA faces the realities of climate change.
We speak with Farmer, with Rachel Malarich, LA's first City Tree Officer, and with Maria Adame and Miguel Vargas of the nonprofit group TreePeople, about the many meanings of LA's trees.

Next Episode

The Lion and the Rat

In this episode, Christopher Kelty asks, "what can you live with" in Los Angeles? It's a simple question without any good answers. It's a deeply cultural question, about why we love some animals and hate others, and how that never works out well.
This is the first episode produced as part of our collaboration with the Labyrinth Project.