Hoop

Hoop

by Garrison Frost

A few days ago, I joined a few colleagues from my office for some basketball after work. Because we all live in various corners of the county, we opted to play somewhere near downtown Los Angeles, where our office is located. We chose Virgil Middle School, located about five minutes north of the downtown. When we arrived at the school at around 6 p.m., we found the large playground packed with people. It wasn't packed in a way that people in the South Bay might imagine. It was just plain crowded. This was a large playground with more than 12 basketball courts, a soccer field and a softball field. I would imagine that there was something between 500 and 1,000 people using this space.

In the South Bay, one never sees a schoolyard that crowded after school hours. The reason is very simple. In the South Bay, there are a lot more places to go than there are in central Los Angeles. Although some will dispute this, open space is fairly plentiful in the South Bay. People who are looking to spend time outside have a lot of choices in the numerous parks, schools and beaches. Even our streets are more fun to hang out in. But in central Los Angeles, there aren't that many places to go, thus the big crowd at Virgil Elementary. The problem downtown is aggravated by the incredible residential density in some areas. If one stands in the schoolyard at Virgil Middle and looks at the surrounding neighborhood, all one sees are apartment buildings stacked upon each other. This isn't a neighborhood of single-family homes. We think we know density in the South Bay, but we really haven't got a clue what real density looks like.

I have heard – and so I'm not sure about the accuracy of the numbers here – that Virgil Middle School was built to house something on the order of 1,500 kids. Now it educates more than 3,000 and it's the only school for several miles. It's the main reason the Los Angeles Unified School District wants to turn the old Ambassador Hotel into a school. I have also heard that in some parts of Los Angeles (and I have to think this is one of those parts), open space is at such a premium that physical education classes are rationed. Children typically get one P.E. class every two weeks.

I'm not really sure where this discussion leads me. Am I trying to say that we should be wary of increased residential density? Or am I saying that we should thank god that we have the open space that we have? I don't know. It's all just something to think about. If anything, it's good to know that no matter how limited the opportunities, people will still seek out places to exercise, play and whatever.

And yes, we should thank god for the open space that we have. It could be worse, a lot worse.

(April 17, 2004)