Urban Orchard

In the predominantly Latinx city of South Gate, 7 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, a barren expanse of postindustrial land is sandwiched between the Los Angeles River and Interstate 710. But that land is now being transformed into a vibrant community park called Urban Orchard. South Gate’s 100,000 residents have scant access to green space: just 3 percent of the city’s land is made up of parks, a fifth of the national average. Nearly 40,000 people don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home; nearly 20,000 residents live in poverty.

The future park, with 7 acres, will have a grove of 200 fruit trees, along with walking paths, native landscaping, an education garden, and a nature-based playground. And even though L.A. is often very dry, the park will feature an artificial wetland capable of capturing and filtering stormwater that inundates the land during the rainy winter months.

This project embodies Trust for Public Land’s core values by building neighborhood engagement, implementing community-driven designs, and preserving the Indigenous Tongva culture.

Urban Orchard inspires the community to embrace the outdoors. This densely populated urban community faces elevated levels of air pollution and social vulnerability. Trust for Public Land aims to see residents thrive holistically through the development of the park, which, when completed, will feature multiuse paths as well as

• over 200 fruit trees
• a 1-acre wetland
• a nature-based playground
• educational gardens
• an education building
• local job opportunities with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach

The large, constructed wetland will extract and clean runoff from the Bandini Channel. The nature-based playground and water tower mural will highlight Tongva history. Mural artists include Hector Arias (a.k.a. Tetris) and the Tongva artist River Garza.

“Urban parks and green spaces bring so much value to our communities, and we simply don’t have enough of them in Los Angeles County,” says California Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44). “The Urban Orchard park will bring great benefits to the people in South Gate and surrounding neighborhoods. It will increase opportunities for exercise and outdoor recreation in new public parkland along the lower Los Angeles River and mitigate the impacts of air pollution through urban greening—ultimately building a healthier community. I applaud the Trust for Public Land for working with local residents to design a park that will promote active lifestyles and correct environmental injustices.”