An Interactive Network of the L.A. River and Taylor Yard's Power Relations
Published as part of an environmental storytelling partnership with the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at the University of California, Los Angeles. The first storyline focuses on the past, present and possible futures of Taylor Yard, an abandoned and contaminated rail yard adjacent to the L.A. River. Find more stories about Taylor Yard here.
The interactive network visualization below traces the relationships between people, institutions, plants, animals, materials, and other forces that shape Taylor Yard and the Los Angeles River. Nodes represent actors with some influence over Taylor Yard, the G2 parcel, the river, and the planning processes for them. Lines represent different kinds of relationships these actors have with each other — dependence, power, cooperation, etc. Many nodes have descriptions and links where you can learn more about who and what will shape the future of the river.
You might wonder where the river itself is in this network. If the graph included a node for the river, that node would connect with everything else: every person, plant, plan, and place in this network is connected to the river. A visualization of an ever-changing network is always incomplete. This is intended to be an ongoing project. And it is concentrated around Taylor Yard for now. If you have suggestions to make this visualization more accurate and complete, including suggestions of actors and relationships that aren’t reflected in the visualization's current state, please email Spencer Robins at mappinglariver@gmail.com.
