By Fatmeh Bakhit & Dahlia M. Taha | Al Enteshar Newspaper
On a hot Saturday afternoon in South Los Angeles, 16-year-old Kareem kicks a scuffed soccer ball across the parking lot behind his family’s apartment building. The pavement is cracked, the sun unrelenting. There is no grass, no shade, and no park in sight.
“This is all we have,” said his mother, Rania. “The kids deserve somewhere safe, somewhere green.”
Los Angeles has one of the lowest levels of park access among major U.S. cities. The Trust for Public Land reports that more than 1.5 million Angelenos do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. In some neighborhoods, there is less than one acre of park space for every 1,000 residents. The shortage is sharpest in low-income communities of color, including many Arab and Muslim families in South LA.
Living Without Green Space
Abu Ahmed, 68, has lived near South LA since emigrating from Egypt three decades ago. Most evenings, he sits outside his duplex, wishing for a place to walk.
“Back home, the park was where we walked, where the children played,” he said. “Here, I want to walk for my health, but there is nowhere close enough. The sidewalks are broken. There is no place to rest.”
For older residents like him, the absence of shade and benches is more than an inconvenience. It limits daily movement and social life. “We need a place with trees, with air, with safety,” he said.
For younger families, the lack of space is a constant reminder of inequity. Parents watch their children play in alleys or parking lots while worrying about traffic and safety. “Every time my kids go outside, I have to watch them like a hawk,” Rania said. “If we had a park, I could breathe easier.”
What the Community Wants
When residents are asked what they would like in a new park, their answers are clear.
Samira, a Syrian American mother of four, said parks should serve as gathering spaces. “We want a place where we can come together,” she said. “A small building for classes or community events. Cooking workshops, Quran lessons for kids, maybe health programs for elders. Somewhere that feels like it belongs to us.”
Teenagers ask for space to play without being pushed aside. “Give us a basketball court, give us soccer,” Kareem said, still kicking his worn-out ball. “Right now, we get chased away if we try to play in the alleys.”
Iman, who cares for her elderly father, emphasized accessibility. “We need paths that are smooth, benches with shade, and bathrooms. The elders in our community should be able to come too, not just the young,” she said.
Others mentioned safety. Proper lighting, crosswalks, and safe walking paths would make a difference, especially for young women and seniors. “It’s not just about having a park,” one resident said. “It’s about being able to get there and feel safe once you arrive.”
A Mandate for Action
The numbers confirm what residents describe. Los Angeles lags far behind cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C. in the amount of parkland available. In neighborhoods like South LA, Boyle Heights, and Koreatown, the shortage is severe and persistent.
The voices from South LA are consistent. Families want safe green space, shaded areas to escape the heat, sports fields for young people, and community centers where neighbors can gather. They want parks that reflect their needs, from accessible paths for elders to cultural programming for youth.
As one neighbor put it: “We just want what other neighborhoods already have.”
For Arab and Muslim families in South Los Angeles, the call for new parks is about more than recreation. It is about dignity, belonging, and ensuring the next generation has a place to play, learn, and grow.
This story was produced by American Community Media in collaboration with the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA as part of the Greening American Cities initiative supported by the Bezos Earth Fund. Read more stories like this by visiting the Greening Communities homepage.
