Inglewood, California Case Study
Architecture 533, Professor Rachel Berney
University of Southern California, Spring 2011
Collaboration with Frankie Sharpe and John Delaney

Most apparent within the urban constructs of Inglewood California is a two by four block intervention within the already established street grid. It is an intrusion that fragments the city fabric and delaminates the existing and conventional city constructs. Our area of study primarily acts as a low-density residential zone servicing the larger attractions (Hollywood Park, The Forum) within the area. Market Street, just north of Hillcrest represents an ideal street scale, porosity, and walkability for any city street. South of Hillcrest, only a sad row of median trees carry any sense of street planning: at this point Hillcrest becomes La Brea avenue, a high speed arterial designed for automobile efficiency as opposed to a human scale.

Despite its downtown dilapidation, abundance of vacant parcels and surface parking lots, Inglewood supports many historic and relevant buildings and services for the surrounding neighborhoods and the greater Los Angeles Community. The lasting image is that of the Forum: its acres of unused parking represents the obvious microcosm of the region’s problem with vacancy and lost space.