Denker Park in South Los Angeles is a small green space big enough for a soccer field and not much else. It’s surrounded by old housing complexes, with only enough trees to count on both hands. But on a warm Tuesday morning, Robert Garcia and three of his friends still managed to find a little shade.
Garcia, in a wheelchair, and his friends formed a circle around a frying pan that smelled like a breakfast diner. The four of them said they’re experiencing homelessness.
“I’m right here for my friends, trying to kick it, enjoy, get some breakfast … scrambled eggs, beans, avocado, tortillas,” said Garcia.
Garcia said he enjoys sitting underneath the trees in the park.
“Yeah, they help a lot, you know,” said Garcia. “Stay in the shade ... when it’s hot ... Right now it’s cool, it started cold in the morning. Wait ‘til next summer, the sun’s come up, and then we’re chillin.”
Zoelli Ortiz studies urban planning at the USC Price School of Public Policy. In September, she published a report that found that the lack of trees in South L.A. affects the perception of the neighborhood and the well-being of its residents.
Ortiz worked as a research assistant studying “canopy coverage” or “tree coverage” in South L.A., which she says does not have enough trees for its residents.
“There’s an inequity in trees in South Los Angeles,” said Ortiz. “That’s not up for debate, and it’s not unknown to the community. The community actually feels this inequity and sees it every single day of their lives.”
Average tree canopy coverage is about 21 percent in the city of Los Angeles, according to the report. In South L.A., it’s 13 percent.
“People don’t have trees in the front of their mind as a priority,” said Ortiz. “Because there’s so many other priorities that they see every day. Such as people not having access to clean water, people not having access to healthy food, people not even having homes, and going homeless because they can’t afford rising rents in the area.”
Ortiz said that when it comes to the many inequities suffered by marginalized people, predominantly people of color, the need for trees and shade might not come first.
“In South L.A., there’s not as many trees, and there’s not many places for them to take shelter in,” said Ortiz. “That can lead to health issues, obviously, with things like heat stroke, mental health issues of not feeling cared about.”
The Denker Recreation Center is itself undergoing construction to install air conditioning, according to a representative from City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.
Community members could already be cooling off in this park, if only it had more trees.