Centrally located between downtown LA and Hollywood, just behind one of the main road arteries of the city is Los Angeles Eco-Village. An oasis of calm and greenery the two blocks of 1920’s apartment buildings have been bought and converted by the group. Established in 1996 it is a long running and permanent fixture which not only houses thirty or so people but acts as a central hub for many green activities and campaigns in the city. Its purpose is perhaps best summed up by the building manager, Lara Morrison, who said living here is about ‘improving your quality of life while reducing your resource use’.

The front of 117 Bimini Place

The two buildings themselves were brought by CRSP (Cooperative Resources and Services Project) when they had fallen into disrepair and had a low occupancy rate. Lois Arkin (CRSP Executive Director), who had long lived locally, felt it important to help rebuild the community in the wake of the 1992 riots which resulted in several buildings in the area burning to the ground. A group of people interested in creating an eco-village had been looking for a spare plot of land on which to build afresh, but it soon became evident that it was preferable to work with a community needing help and revitalisation (it is a low to middle income area). So they set about eco-renovating the apartments, careful to allow existing tenants to stay, and gradually ecologically-minded tenants moved in. It is still an ongoing process with only four apartments with solar power and five with grey-water recycling systems (which until recently was illegal in the state of California). But most have been renovated to habitable standard and lots of eco-materials used in the process like ceramic tiles, bamboo and cork floors, or the car-tyre flooring used on the stairs. No air conditioning units are used by village members though a few ceiling fans have had to be installed in the second floor apartments to cope with the summer heat. But wooden blinds and shading using plants have helped keep some places cooler. It is an old building and there are structural and financial limits to what can be retrofitted to enable natural ventilation.

A kitchen in one of the apartments and Bimini Terrace

Ecological living here is as much about changing behavioural practice as it is about green buildings where composting and recycling are encouraged, vegetarian meals shared at the weekly ‘pot luck’ dinners (where everyone brings a dish to share), water and energy use metered in the Bimini Terrace block (but not yet in 117 Bimini building), and tenants receive a US$25 monthly rent reduction if they do not own a car. New tenants have to pass a rigorous 18 month membership process whereby they prove their eco-credentials and fit with community living (there are weekly Quorum meetings where consensus is used to make group decisions).

The porch entrance and lobby

Living here is also about changing relations within community. As in many big cities it is usual for neighbours to never say hello and for community ties to be weak. Part of the goal of the eco-village is to enhance local friendships, encourage people to talk to each other, and make the community feel safer so that people allow their children to play outside.

The chairs under the magnolia tree and a mosaic door stop

The accommodation is structured around 48 individual apartments of varying sizes from roughly 400 to 1000 square foot. Several of these have been turned over to communal use – a large community (meeting) room with adjoined kitchen, a bike store and food bulk room (where members can buy shares of rice, coffee, pasta etc from large storage boxes), and laundry. Communal use is made of the large lobby (which is also used for events) and the courtyard with inviting chairs and tables sat under the shade of the magnolia tree. At the back of the blocks several garages have been converted into workshops.

The bike store room and metal gate from old bikes

For many years the blocks were owned by CRSP and let to individuals but the group are now in the process of incorporating as a limited equity housing co-operative (with a Community Land Trust owning the land, Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust) and in doing so formally buying the blocks from CRSP for perpetuity. Affordability of apartments has always been central to the project where the definition of affordable is when 30% or less of your income is spent on housing costs. This district is currently a ‘rent burdened’ area whereby many must pay more than 30% of their income for what is often sub-standard housing. Current rents are between $455 and $730 (depending on size of living space) and are several hundred dollars cheaper than equivalent places in the area. The financing for purchasing the buildings came from private supporters who have since been paid off and the rent has always covered repayment, renovation and maintenance costs. Now that these loans have been repaid they can afford to buy the buildings as a cooperative and use the rent as repayment.

Outdoor seating and hallway

What is most striking about the block is the amount and variety of greenery. The buildings are surrounded by fruit trees and flowers which edge out into the road and the newly constructed ‘bulb-outs’ (curved pavement areas advocated for by village members to the city council designed to slow traffic and green the neighbourhood). The courtyard is a forest of edible plants around a huge magnolia tree with tomatoes, herbs, peppers, chard, borridge, bananas, peaches, apples, apricots, figs, mint and comfrey. There are chickens too and plans for bees. Out on the street members recently secured permission to grow macadamia nut trees on the verge (after long health and safety discussions about people slipping on fallen fruit) and are in the process of establishing a learning garden (White House Place Learning Garden) across the road where they will run workshops for school children.

The courtyard garden, chickens and tomatoes

One of the eco-village values is to ‘engage our neighbors and broader communities in mutual dialogue to learn, teach and act’ and to ‘take responsibility for each other and the planet through local environmental and social action’ (notice on community board) and these are reflected in the number of different activities that are run from here. There are bicycle rights groups and an organic vegetable box scheme packing and distribution point. There is constant pressure on the city to improve the public transit network and the eco-village now has excellent access to public transport – with a new subway station in the last ten years and a RapidBus line. There is also a group seeking to revitalise the Los Angeles river, and as an entity the eco-village tends to get lobbied to give its support to certain initiatives or support mayoral candidates, for example. While I was visiting there was a presentation by the LA Sierra Club trying to get the members to back a campaign against coal. Finally there is lots of artwork, they have painted their street intersection and electricity pole, and there is a colourful metal gate made from old bicycle parts.

The painted electricity pole and sunflower in the courtyard

The painted street intersection and art on the courtyard wall

If you would like to visit the eco-village it is located at 117 Bimini Place, Los Angeles, CA 9004 (it also incorporates 127-133 Bimini Terrace). They run tours fortnightly on Saturdays but you must make reservations (crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254) and there is a $10 tour fee (though this is also a sliding scale depending on your income).  They are unable to accommodate drop-in tourists.

If you would like to visit for longer you can arrange to stay in one of the apartments for a few days or weeks; contact Lara Morrison, laraeco@hotmail.com. To get there by public transport take the red underground metro line to the Beverley/ Vermont stop, walk south along Vermont for two blocks and then right up 1^st Street a few metres until you see Bimini Place on your right and the intersection of White Place.

[Arizona, 6^th August 2010]