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710 Corridor

This is part of a series examining the 710 corridor and its impact in the surrounding communities, produced in partnership with the California Endowment.

 The I-710 Corridor Project, considered the largest infrastructure project in the nation, is a modernization of the freeway stretching from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the 60 Freeway. With the expanding global economy and growing impact of truck traffic on an aging freeway system, the need to improve existing infrastructure is crucial. The 710 freeway is the backbone of Southern California commerce, as trucks travel from the ports to warehouses, rail yards, and intermodal transportation centers to distribute goods across the country.

Once named the Los Angeles River Freeway, the 710 Freeway extends the length of the river, through 15 cities and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Communities along the 18-mile stretch are already heavily impacted by the congestion, with asthma rates twice the normal, and cancer risk rates 20 times higher than the federal average according to the California Air Resources Board. Plans to improve the infrastructure range from improving its current state, to expanding lanes from 8 to 16 with dedicated lanes for truck traffic.

While planners are seeking community engagement throughout the planning process, community organizations are also taking it upon themselves to ensure that their voices are heard.

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Though the extravagant casino stands in great contrast to the surrounding working class communities, its relationship to the city is complicated
Despite dwindling numbers, the Miss Bell Gardens pageant cultivates leadership from woman to woman.
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The first-ever rock camp in Huntington Park hosted over 26 children ages 8-17, for a week of band practice and workshops that focused on local social and environmental issues to build critical thinking skills.
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In his writings, the people and places of southeast Los Angeles -- his eternal backyard -- come through with heat and lyric: the bare truth of the everyday.
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While planners are seeking community engagement throughout the planning process, community organizations are also taking it upon themselves to ensure that their voices are heard.
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Before becoming a state Assemblymember representing the areas of Southeast L.A., she had believed that success meant living somewhere better than her hometown of Bell Gardens.
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The home-grown chain of Mexican seafood restaurants was founded by the Ortiz family in Bell Gardens, two blocks from our family home.
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The first-ever Southeast L.A. Art Walk in Bell redefined the community as a destination for arts and culture, rather than a place people drive by.
Wedged between car parts and brick walls, Elvira grows various chiles, sarabando beans and marigolds. | Photo: Vickie Vertiz
More people are turning to self-provisioning in ways they had not considered before, signaling a need to reconnect with this part of our lives
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A nuanced and rich history of urban Native Americans can be found in Bell Gardens, where pow wows provided a gathering place for the community.
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The longest continuous stretch of the L.A. River bike path traverses alongside the I-710 freeway. Can the path and the neighboring river contribute to the transportation and public health goals of the I-710 corridor?
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Mississippi is miles away from California, but the challenges the film depicts are universal where community groups are grappling with similar concerns about environmental changes.
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