What if we transformed one of L.A.’s least used freeways into one of the county’s largest urban parks—reconnecting a historically divided community and drastically expanding affordable housing in an underserved district?
Marina Central Park, a vision co-developed by SWA and the nonprofit Streets for All, proposes a transformation of three miles of the unfinished Marina Freeway (CA-90) into a 128-acre linear park including almost 4,000 new units of affordable housing, a network of new multimodal trails, dedicated lanes for a future Bus Rapid Transit line between Lincoln and Sepulveda Boulevard, expanded retail frontage, and enhanced access to the Ballona Creek Trail and Ecological Reserve.
Altogether, the vision addresses a suite of problems shared by Angelenos citywide: declining air quality, stormwater flooding, a critical housing shortage, and Black and Brown neighborhoods rent apart by 1960s-era highway infrastructure fueled by racist planning policies—reimagining the corridor as a model for sustainability, walkability, and improved quality of life.
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Read about it in Urbanize LA.
Peanut Plaza
Reclaiming private land for public use, one of Washington D.C.’s most dangerous intersections has been targeted for vast improvements. The project kicked off with the demolition of a Wendy’s restaurant on site and implemented new road alignments to ease traffic congestion. SWA worked with NoMa community groups and the Department of Transportation on the new vi...
Panyu Central Park
Panyu Central Park breaks the boundary of the traditional gated community and promotes sharing of open space among residents and visitors. This neighborhood development is the hub for a dense urban community, raising its visibility and value and setting a high standard for open space in the area. The park provides welcoming activity space for all ages with its...
Golden Shoal Riverfront Park
Located along Chongqing’s Jialing River, this new linear public park offered unique challenges: a 30-meter annual river fluctuation, steep topography, and low-impact maintenance of a continuous riparian corridor. Adjacent new urban development, with attendant needs for green space, called for a flexible and resilient approach to the park’s landscape and infras...
Bend of the River Botanic Garden
The Bend of the River Botanic Garden Master Plan reimagines an 88-acre site in Temple, Texas, into a regional attraction. Situated at the intersection of I-35 and the Leon River, the site comprises two donated parcels, consolidated to serve Temple’s growing population of over 96,000.
SWA led a comprehensive public engagement process, facilitating conver...