Introduction for “Life After Concrete: Imagining the Future of the LA River” – Precarious Ecologies: Science and Social Justice in the Production of Environmental Knowledge

by Lauren Kelly

Once, the Los Angeles River ran a wild course across the LA Basin. During California’s long dry seasons, the river would disappear from the surface into the porous ground, only to return in the form of dramatic floods and surges during wet winters. Indigenous peoples, such as the Kizh-Gabrieleño, coexisted with the LA River for thousands of years. Native groups established a village-state named Yaangna at the section of river that runs above ground year-round, known today as the Glendale Narrows. They used the river water to cultivate a forest of oak trees, along with pruning, weeding, prescribed burning, and other methods of vegetation management. These river ecologies were transformed by Spanish settlers, who violently displaced Indigenous communities. Mexico gained control of the LA River in 1821, but lost it when the US took over through a war of conquest in 1848.

Over the last century, the city of Los Angeles dramatically transformed the river itself. Developers pushed neighborhoods further into the river’s historic floodplain. The urban sprawl edged right up to the banks of the river. These precarious development plans exposed urban residents to the river’s periodic floods, killing people and damaging buildings. To ease these issues, city officials charged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with flood control; in turn, the Army Corps of Engineers encased the river in concrete. This long process was completed in 1970, and essentially transformed the once-wending river into a concrete storm drain, which – along with the network of concrete gutters throughout the city – whisked stormwater straight to the ocean. This system prevents flooding, but it also precludes rainwater capture to supplement the city’s water supply.

Despite the unsightly nature of the river’s concrete conduit, the LA River has become an iconic landmark in the minds of Angelenos over the last several decades. Indeed, it developed a cinematic mystique when several films used its channel as a backdrop, such as Point Blank (1967) and Grease (1978). The river has also grown to symbolize a multitude of different visions for LA’s future. In the 1980s, environmental movements started advocating for returning the LA River to a more natural state. Environmental justice groups protested the disproportionate burden of pollution and lack of green space shouldered by poor communities of color living near the LA River. Other Angelenos view the LA River’s clashing aesthetic of nature and concrete as an ideal place for creating art, and still others see it as a site for recreation. In 1996, LA County released its first Master Plan for revitalizing the river, a plan that stakeholders have continued to debate for the last two decades. LA passed an updated Master Plan in 2022, although many community groups withdrew their support when they learned that the plan does not adequately address social and ecological equity issues. Many Indigenous peoples in LA also argue that the county’s planning process has deprioritized their concerns about protecting cultural resources. The question of where to go from here remains unsolved, and we look forward to diving into these themes with our panelists.