Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Location
Long Beach, CA
timeline
2022—2024
Role
Grantee
Services
More Info
With generous support from the Resource Legacy Fund, First 5 LA, and the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation through their Link Initiative, City Fabrick, Long Beach Alliance for Food & Fitness, and the City of Long Beach facilitated a community design process to reimagine Martin Luther King Park.
A vision plan for the 9-acre park in Central Long Beach was developed through an extensive community engagement process to strategically guide public and private investment over the next ten years. The plan is intended to address significant deferred maintenance of the park, while enhancing the user experience and integrating multiple public facilities in the park, including a community center, indoor pool, health center, and Boys and Girls Club. The vision plan was approved by the City Council in front of a crowd of community supporters.
Urban + Systems
Planning + Policy
Building + Interior
Landscape Architecture
The overall design emphasizes creating a place for healthy active living, cultural and historical celebration, socializing, and an environment for enrichment and learning. The vision incorporates feedback throughout the engagement process as its foundation, while taking inspiration from its namesake, Martin Luther King Jr. Park, as a site deeply grounded in community, family, and history. The design reflects a reorganization of the park and its elements to make more efficient use of the site and its features, while building from the synergies of existing amenities. A main fitness pathway loops around the site connecting programming and facilities while offering a dedicated space for walking, jogging, and running. Located along the loop path are fitness stations, seating, and native landscaping which will hold exercise equipment. The north and south ends of the park host the more active programming with the addition of basketball courts and a flexible field. Nestled between the pool building and community center is an expanded playground catering to youth of different ages and abilities, including a universal playground. The open space directly east of the community center is deliberately designed as a flexible outdoor space for youth attending after-school programming inside the building. The existing Peace Garden is expanded to enhance the tradition of the community garden while making room for outdoor learning. The center of the park and east/west axis is dedicated to community, culture, and celebration. Here, there will be a more formal entryway facing Orange Avenue creating an active and welcoming frontage towards the street. A cultural trail with weaving pathways lead you through the heart of the park amongst the existing mature trees providing visitors a space for reflecting on the community’s rich history. The parking lot is reconfigured to create a paved plaza that serves as a larger community gathering space which establishes more a direct relationship to the park namesake’s statue while further enhancing the connection between the the Central Health Facility, Community Center, and the park interior.
Graphic
Engagement
The visioning effort began with park walks and a larger community gathering where the community broke bread while facilitating crucial conversations related to historic disinvestment in their community and how to ensure future investment benefits the residents already living there. The team has launched a park user survey (online survey here) while visiting homes, events, park programs, and community meetings to meet residents and park users where they are at. There were multiple rounds of community workshops where participants grounded the team sharing the history, challenges, and opportunities for the park as well as the broader community. They were then able to identify and prioritize improvements to the park and adjacent community facilities, including deliberate conversations of what existing programs and amenities might need to be removed to make room for new elements. Ultimately two design concepts were presented to the community - both sharing where there was consensus but each exploring directions where there was divergence in the community opinion. The whole process was guided by a steering committee and co-facilitated by community members who have the nucleus for a Friends of King Park organization.
