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The impact of engaged communication scholarship on the re-imagination of space and place in South L.A.

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The impact of engaged communication scholarship on the re-imagination of space and place in South L.A.

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THE IMPACT OF ENGAGED COMMUNICATION SCHOLARSHIP ON THE RE-
IMAGINATION OF SPACE AND PLACE IN SOUTH L.A.

BY
GEORGE ALLEN ONAS VILLANUEVA

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN COMMUNICATION
December 2014

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Faculty Committee Approves the Dissertation of
Dr. George Allen Onas Villanueva
The Impact of Engaged Communication Scholarship on the Re-imagination of Space and
Place in South L.A.

Sandra Ball-Rokeach, Chair
School of Communication

Larry Gross
School of Communication

Doe Mayer
School of Cinematic Arts and School of Communication

July 24
th
, 2014
Defense Approval Date

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Copyright © 2014
By
George Allen Onas Villanueva
All Rights Reserved.

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ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
This study on engaged scholarship in South L.A. would not be possible without
the numerous change agents who tirelessly work in the trenches to create a better South
L.A. community for the future. I particularly thank all the South L.A. community
organizers, residents, and local businesses that took part in the various community and
research projects that I spawned from USC these past six years.
My own growth as an academic is indebted to the USC Annenberg School of
Communication and Journalism. The school has given me all the resources and networks
to make me successful. I especially am grateful to the Metamorphosis Project and my
colleagues that I am happy to call friends. Academic growth would have also been
impossible without the many professors who have guided me on my qualifying exams
and dissertation committees. For that guidance, I thank Tridib Banerjee, Manual Castells,
Myria Georgiou, Tom Hollihan, Manual Pastor, Francois Bar, Doe Mayer, and Larry
Gross.
Personal academic growth and inspiration to harness my future as a Doctor of
Communication are owed to my very special PhD adviser these last six years, Sandra
Ball-Rokeach. Her robust scholarship and fighting spirit exhibited in her life has been a
shining beacon that has shown me that a life of the mind can be applied to creating a
better social environment. Her mentorship has been priceless and it is that generosity that
continues to inspire me to become a university professor and shape the young minds that
have a voracious appetite to apply knowledge to progressive change in urban
communities.

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Lastly, taking up my PhD study in Los Angeles, the city I love, has given me the
privilege to be close to my family. Home is where the heart is, but has also proven to be
where I was able to find unconditional emotional and soulful support throughout all the
challenges of the PhD program. I thank my brother Lawrence, sister-in-law Christina,
and nephew Justin and niece Kyla, for always grounding me in the joys of a growing
family. I thank my Mom and Dad for not only their unconditional love, but their
overcoming of all the struggles they faced as immigrants to this country. Like many
immigrants, it is their everyday adaptation to and creation of a contemporary Los Angeles
that teaches me that the storytelling and research into these changes is needed if we as a
society are ever to move toward a more socially equitable nation.

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For my oldest brother Joselito Onas Villanueva, Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army,
who was K.I.A. in Iraq in 2004. Your loving spirit in our family and sacrifice to your
country will never be forgotten.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
LIST OF TABLES viii
LIST OF FIGURES ix
ABSTRACT 1
PROLOUGE—RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND SOCIAL CHANGE 2
CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION 11
CHAPTER 2—SPACE, PLACE, EMBODIMENT, AND COMMUNICATION 26
INFRASTRUCTURE THEORY

CHAPTER 3—THE SPACE AND PLACE OF SOUTH LOS ANGELES: 42
EXAMINING ITS SOCIAL AND ENGAGEMENT CONTEXT

CHAPTER 4—RESEARCH METHODS 67
CHAPTER 5—COMMUNICATION ASSET MAPPING 77
CHATPER 6—SOUTH L.A. DEMOCRATIC SPACES 95
CHAPTER 7—RIDE SOUTH L.A. 118
CHAPTER 8—CONCLUSION 136
BIBLIOGRAPHY 156
APPENDIX 167

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. A taxonomy based on five practices of engaged scholarship 16
Table 2. Food Access in South L.A., L.A. County, and West L.A. 52
Table 3. Have you ever volunteered for a community organization? By race. 58

Table 4. Are you or anyone in your household a member of a union? By race. 59

Table 5. Since moving into your current neighborhood, have you ever 59
attended a city council meeting, public hearing, or neighborhood
council meeting? By race.

Table 6. Since moving into your current neighborhood, have you contacted an 59
elected official about a problem? By race.

Table 7. Did you vote in the election on November 4, 2008? By race. 59

Table 8. Communication Assets Breakdown 80

Table 9. Interviewee demographics for communication asset mapping 82
case study
Table 10. Interviewee demographics for South L.A. Democratic Spaces 102
case study

Table 11. Interviewee demographics for Ride South L.A. case study 124

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Personal Trajectory in the Fields of Research, Practice, 6
and Social Change

Figure 2. South Los Angeles Map 46

Figure 3. Race/ Ethnicity, South L.A. and L.A. County 2006 47
Figure 4. Poverty Rates by Service Planning Areas, South L.A. 2006 48
Figure 5. Violent and Property Crimes per 1,000 persons, South L.A. 50
and L.A. County

Figure 6. Educational Attainment, South L.A. and L.A. County 2006 51
Figure 7. Belonging by race in South L.A. 56
Figure 8. Collective efficacy by race in South L.A. 57
Figure 9. Political participation by race in South L.A. 57
Figure 10. Metamorphosis translational website platform, Meta Connects. 81
Figure 11. Front of South L.A. Democratic Spaces Map. 98
Figure 12. Back of South L.A. Democratic Spaces Map. 99
Figure 13. Exhibit at USC Annenberg building that hosted photo installations 100
and videos.

Figure 14. Community organizers speak with the audience at the exhibit. 101
Figure 15. One side of Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ Map. 121
Figure 16. Other side of the Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ Map. 122
Figure 17. Example of the Ride South L.A. maps as pocket-sized folds. 123

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ABSTRACT
This dissertation is situated in the field of ‘engaged scholarship’, or scholarship
that calls for universities to apply their research and resources toward society’s “most
pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems” (Boyer, 1996, p. 11). The study
examines the impact of three engaged research projects on researcher, community
organizer, and resident participants who participated in the three case study projects that
aimed to positively re-imagine South L.A. as a space and place. Through semi-structured
interviews for each case study, the dissertation reports on particular outcomes that were
investigated for each engaged research project’s selected group of participants. The three
projects were designed and evaluated by the researcher through a communication lens, as
he was a doctoral student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and
Journalism during the implementation and evaluation of the case studies. In addition to
the impact findings for each case study, this dissertation also critically analyzes the role
of engaged scholarship and engaged researchers in the realm of academia. From the
analysis of the impacts on participants and of the methodological practice of engaged
research projects, the study provides a set of recommendations on how to best situate
engaged scholarship in the contemporary landscape of university-community
partnerships.

Keywords: Engaged Scholarship, Communication, Space and Place, South L.A.,
University-Community Partnerships

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PROLOUGE—RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND SOCIAL CHANGE

This dissertation engages the call for ‘engaged scholarship’, or scholarship that
seeks a revival of relevancy in the public and that aims to apply research to society’s
“most pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems” (Boyer, 1996, p. 11). Key
challenges discussed in the current discourse is the lack of impact studies and the need to
situate engaged research projects within local community change efforts in communities
(Nyden & Percy, 2010; Stoecker, Beckman, & Hee Min, 2010). This study takes on those
challenges and specifically examines what impact does ‘engaged scholarship’ have on
participants who take part in engaged research projects designed to positively reimagine
the negatively stigmatized space and place of South L.A. The three case studies and
outcomes on selected participant groups are discussed in the forthcoming chapters below.
It is important to note from the start, that I took lead or co-lead in designing the three
engaged research projects in this dissertation. Part of my goals in the development of the
projects was to take on an evaluative position that coincided with the investigation of
particular outcomes on the participants selected to investigate in each of the three case
studies. Furthermore, since I was a doctoral student at the USC Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism it was my intent to view the work as ‘engaged
communication scholarship’ practiced through the development of engaged research
projects that I made the focus of this dissertation. To give this study further context, this
prologue situates my own personal trajectory that brought me to involve myself in the
academic realm of engaged scholarship—and successively the study that unfolds in this
dissertation.

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This dissertation journey I embarked on was a personal body of work that fits
within the current conversations concerned with the application of academic research and
practice toward progressive social change. This year I was invited to give a lecture to my
adviser’s and senior colleague’s graduate class on ‘Research, Practice, and Social
Change’ at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (USC ASCJ).
They asked me to lecture about my current work focused on the revitalization of the L.A.
River and its adjacent neighborhoods in Northeast L.A.—a project funded by a Federal
Housing and Urban Development Partnership for Sustainable Communities grant that my
USC research center, Metamorphosis was a partner on. As part of the lecture, they had
also asked me to first talk to the students about my personal trajectory that led to the
work I’m currently involved in. At the time, I found it an odd request and something I
was not preparing for when planning the lecture. Even though the lecture topic was not
my dissertation topic, there were similar strands between the Northeast L.A. River project
and my South L.A. work that are connected to how I approached the work.
The request to talk about my personal trajectory ultimately became one of the
more beneficial tasks that allowed me to reflect on my past work and vision for the
future. More specifically, it allowed me to step back and grapple with the tensions
concerning the intersecting spaces of research, practice, and social change. These
tensions have always been personal for me as I find it a struggle to navigate between the
multiple worlds of academic research and community practice concerned with
progressive social change or change that aims to positively improve society. Similar to
many other PhD students, I was exposed to the traditional narrative that the two worlds of
academic research and practice need to be separate so that pure research is not tainted by

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the world of practice. At the same time my personal research instincts found that the
world of practice, especially within local urban communities, remained the proving
ground to develop social theories.
There certainly is a history of applied research that has produced several
discourses and terms that range from action, participatory, community-based, public, and
engaged research. The fields of sociology, anthropology, psychology, and
communication all have journals dedicated to applied research—most with the term
‘applied’ in front of each discipline’s name on the journal’s cover. At the same time,
academics have critiqued the same social science disciplines on taking forms of applied
research less seriously in the current academic environment and not building it into the
rewards system of the modern professoriate (Boyer, 1990, 1996; Burawoy, 2005). These
critical academics who call for an ‘engaged scholarship’ or scholarship that confronts
today’s most critical social problems have launched a contemporary critical discourse on
whether academia can do better to not only embrace the concept of ‘engaged
scholarship’, but also develop research methods that better engage the communities such
scholarship seeks to impact in positive manners. Forms of applied research have been
given more significance in schools of professional practice such as business, public
policy, social work, public health, urban planning, design, and public affairs programs.
These professional schools, however, borrow much of the social theories and methods
that inform professional work from traditional social science departments. Therefore I
believe it is critical that communication, anthropology, sociology, and psychology
departments create room for ‘engaged scholarship’ theorization, methodological
development, and application.

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This call for a more engaged scholarship cannot go far without institutionalization
within academic departments. Graduate courses, such as the Research, Practice, and
Social Change class within the USC ASCJ is an opportunity to put the call for ‘engaged
scholarship’ into action. It is a critical opportunity to institutionalize the field through the
examination of case studies of engaged research projects, methods development, and
ultimately theory-building for ‘engaged scholarship’.
Returning to my personal trajectory, I found it an opportunity to deconstruct my
own involvement in the field and theorize about the conditions that many engaged
researchers find themselves in when concerned about the application of their work toward
progressive social change. As a point of critical reflection on the intersection of research,
practice, and social change—I ended up applying the terms as a conceptual triptych to
capture my personal trajectory. This is illustrated in Figure 1, as it captures my personal
trajectory and professional pursuits in research, practice, and social change. Social
change is shown as the driving goal through time. Research/ evaluation is shown as one
layer of my professional trajectory and my positions in academia or program evaluation
organizations are plotted along that layer. An ‘etic’ approach is assigned to research/
evaluation for its focus on objective methods and inquiry. Practice/ program is shown as
the other complementary layer of my professional trajectory and my positions in political
administration and program development positions are plotted along that layer. An
‘emic’ approach is assigned to practice/ program for its focus on gaining a subjective
insider perspective on social change practices. My professional trajectory at the time of
this dissertation includes the intentional attempt to integrate the two layers more

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seamlessly and therefore reflects my academic research and community practice work
positions that align with the goals of ‘engaged scholarship’.

Figure 1. Personal Trajectory in the Fields of Research, Practice, and Social Change

The foundational goal of many researchers and practitioners who commit their
work to the applied, public, activist, and community organizing realm is to somehow
effect social change. This was clear to me as a researcher who finds myself traversing
the worlds of academia, foundations, non-profits, and government.
A more under-researched and under-theorized realm exists though, and that is of
how engaged researchers conceive of their work as integrated models of research and
practice. In turn this under-researched realm extends to how engaged researchers can
create methods that others can follow to engage in research and practice that aims to

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effect social change. Most critical is the need for research and theory on the outcomes of
the work that engaged researchers develop and conduct when engaging multiple publics.
The intersecting spaces of research and practice have remained the conceptual and
practical spaces where I have always found myself. This is a space that has impacted my
own personal trajectory. There is a clear tension between research and practice that I feel
has not always been productive for social change. To be clear it was not the separation of
the two that I feel should be contested, but more the opportunity for research and practice
to inform each other if effecting social change is the goal. In many of the non-academic
positions I held within government, non-profit, and the foundation world, research is
really seen as ‘evaluation’ and practice really seen as ‘program’. To me the two worlds
of practice/ program and research/ evaluation are necessary endeavors in organizations
such as government, non-profits/ foundations, and universities that seek to be engaged in
applying research in the service of contemporary social problems. Tensions, however,
exist between the two as practitioners perceive evaluators as not understanding what it is
like to deliver programming on the ground and evaluators perceive programmers as
resistant to program measurement. The problem that I see is that many within the
practice/ program or research/ evaluation camps have never worked across the lines to
understand each camps own framework, goals, and scopes of work. There remains an
opportunity to develop programs that train engaged researchers in both in order to be
effective in the realm of ‘engaged scholarship’ situated in the larger public world.
This tension between research/ evaluation and practice/ program does not need to
exist. The ideal situation to me is for the two camps to exist in a way that informs each
other. Practitioners/ programmers can benefit from researchers/ evaluators who are

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measuring and accounting for relevant indicators and phenomenon that can positively
impact social change work underway within any sector.
In order to train engaged researchers who are informed by both worlds of research
and practice, I feel the foundational social science terms of ‘emic’ and ‘etic’ (Berry,
1999; Feleppa, 1986; Harris, 1976; Headland, Pike, & Harris, 1990; Lett, 1990) should be
applied to future ‘engaged scholarship’ curriculum. An ‘emic’ account of cultural
phenomenon and behavior emphasizes a subjective view of the actor within cultural
practice. An ‘etic’ account proposes a more objective and observer role where the
researcher is able to step back from a solely indigenous understanding of the cultural
practice. The terms, especially in anthropological and sociological traditions fit neatly
within research endeavors in which social scientists embarked on when studying cultures
and groups outside of western countries in colonial times. The modern post-colonial
world has created different applications of ‘emic’ and ‘etic’ as cultures are not as isolated
as compared to the past. Globalization, transnational migration, and new information
communication technologies have created spaces of intersubjectivity that have reduced
the existence of isolated cultures that do not have some sort of contact from a world
affected by globalization. Today, it can be said that modernity has created a more
culturally integrated and networked world. At the same time uneven global development
critics would argue that worldwide social and economic inequality would make such
hopes for a homogenous global village a pipe dream (Tomlinson, 2001). I believe this
makes ‘emic’ and ‘etic’ research approaches more needed today compared to any era.
Researchers, especially engaged researchers need to be equipped with both so they can

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understand subjective experience and objectively represent the structural underpinnings
of the modern social world.
The same can be said about research/ evaluation and practice/ program. Both
realms should not be left to be separate endeavors and both should be taught and
developed in ways that inform each other. This is where an ‘emic’ view which can be
equated with knowledge from within a culture of practice and an ‘etic’ view, or a more
systematic observational knowledge from outside the culture of practice can be integrated
to benefit the goals of progressive social change (see Figure 1). If researchers/ evaluators
spend some time in the world of practice/ program, the experience can help benefit the
design of research and evaluation measures that matter to the practice and program for
social change. Similarly, practitioners and programmers should also receive training or
take part in research/ evaluation in order to see the benefit of systematic quantitative and
qualitative accounts of outcomes and impact. This learning exchange can inform both
research and practice and potentially lead to the types of impact that both camps may be
looking for when progressive social change is the concern.
My personal trajectory has presented an opportunity to be in both an emic and etic
position. The exchange within the intersecting spaces between research/ evaluation and
practice/ program has impacted my own research practice and outcomes that I anticipate
for any social change endeavor. A focus on impact and the ‘so what’ of engaged research
projects across academia, government, and the foundation/ non-profit world is critical. It
is particularly critical in a time when university departments consider programs for
‘engaged scholarship’ that encourage universities to become more engaged, innovative,
collaborative and networked. The discourse on ‘engaged scholarship’ has led to an

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exciting time as more academic departments consider innovative programs to develop
engaged research projects that fall within aspects of practice, advocacy, design, and
participatory culture. What gets lost and what is needed even more today is a stronger
research and evaluation effort that poses the questions: Research for what? Design for
what? Practice for what? If the ‘what’ is progressive social change that seeks to improve
local communities, then researchers and evaluators are needed to develop engaged
research projects that measure the outcomes and impacts that practitioners, programmers,
and designers pronounce they deliver. This dissertation investigates this very notion of
‘the what’ through the investigation of the proposed impacts of three engaged
communication research projects. It considers what effects do the projects have on the
participants who engage in projects aimed at positively re-imagining one of the country’s
most infamous and negatively communicated urban spaces, South L.A.

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CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION
Still, our outstanding universities and colleges remain, in my opinion, one of the
greatest hopes for intellectual and civic progress in this country. I’m convinced
that for this hope to be fulfilled, the academy must become a more vigorous
partner in the search for answers to our most pressing social, civic, economic, and
moral problems, and must reaffirm its historic commitment to what I call the
scholarship of engagement. (Boyer, 1996, p.11)

This study is situated within the academic literature of ‘engaged scholarship’ that
calls for universities to apply their research and resources toward society’s “most
pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems” (Boyer, 1996, p. 11). Ernest
Boyer who had become a leader in the field of ‘engaged scholarship’ penned the quote
above in 1995 right before he passed away. Much of the literature that has proliferated in
the last two decades on ‘engaged scholarship’ originates from Boyer’s work Scholarship
Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate (1990) sponsored by The Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Barker, 2004; Burawoy, 2005; Butin &
Seider, 2012; Fitzgerald, Burack, & Sarena Seifer, 2010; Keshen, Moely, Holland, &
more, 2010; Nichols, 2007; P. W. Nyden, Hossfeld, & Nyden, 2011; P. Nyden &
Wiewel, 1992; Saltmarsh, Giles, Ward, & Buglione, 2009; Sandmann, Thornton, &
Jaeger, 2009; Shultz & Kajner, 2013; R. Stoecker, 1999; Van De Ven, 2007). In
Scholarship Reconsidered, Boyer came to the conclusion that universities had evolved
into institutions that create irrelevant scholarship that no longer serve the needs of
humanity’s pressing problems. He pointed to a waning public confidence in universities

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when it came to the university’s role in the social problems of humanity on local,
national, and global scales. As a corrective to higher education becoming a private
benefit and not a public good, Boyer suggested that universities needed to focus on
enacting policies and a professoriate culture that valued ‘engaged scholarship’ organized
around a scholarship of discovery, integration, sharing knowledge, and the application of
knowledge.
Boyer especially highlighted the ‘application of knowledge’ as an important
feature of ‘engaged scholarship’. He encouraged that professors become “reflective
practitioners” concerned with “moving from theory to practice, and from practice back to
theory, which in fact makes theory, then, more authentic” (Boyer, 1996, p. 17). This
dissertation study is rooted in this research challenge as it embodies my own foray into
becoming a ‘reflective practitioner’ of ‘engaged scholarship’ in the discipline of
communication. Discussed in the chapters to follow, this study investigates my own
development of engaged research projects with colleagues at the USC Annenberg School
of Communication and Journalism where I was a doctoral student. As a point of
reflective and evaluative practice, the dissertation is concerned with the investigation of a
set of proposed outcomes that resulted from the participation of a select group of
participants in three engaged research projects concerned with the improvement of the
South Los Angles (South L.A.) community. This study specifically examines what
impact does ‘engaged scholarship’ have on participants who take part in engaged
research projects designed to positively reimagine the negatively stigmatized space and
place of South L.A. The research questions and case studies are briefly discussed in more

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detail below, but first a discussion of the state of ‘engaged scholarship’ follows in order
to situate this dissertation’s proposed research contributions to the field.
The State of Engaged Scholarship
The overall claim of a decreasing relevance of the university within the realm of
the problems of the public comes from engaged scholar observations that universities
played a more involved role in previous generations. Scholars point to the early and mid
20
th
century and argue that universities, their administrations, and professors were more
concerned with the pressing problems of society at that time (Boyer, 1990; R. Stoecker,
1999). Engaged scholarship academics point out that professors were encouraged by
university administrations to contribute to public discourse on social problems such as the
application of the New Deal in the 1930’s or the civil rights discourse of the 1960’s. The
same academics also acknowledge the history of applied research and participatory action
research in the social sciences, but argue that this form of research has lost favor in the
current climate that privileges ‘pure science’ research and abstract theorizing that has lost
any real-world empiricism and application (Burawoy, 2005; Chevalier & Buckles, 2013).
Engaged scholarship proponents particularly highlight ‘land-grant’ universities and how
their missions were designed to encourage their professors, students, and academic
community to serve the concerns of the surrounding and greater community. The
mission of ‘land-grant’ universities aimed to 1) provide upper-level education for the
masses, 2) generate new knowledge by addressing questions and problems of society, and
3) encourage a strong outreach mission, which would provide intellectual leadership by
applying the tools of science and technology to address the problems of society (Van De
Ven, 2007, p.7). The mission is commonly believed to be the origins of the three

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dimensional role of the professor who is involved in the mission of teaching, research,
and service. ‘Engaged scholarship’ scholars believe this tripartite mission of the
professor has decreased as the rewards systems in academia have privileged research and
publication among a small self-contained academic audience that has become more
detached and irrelevant to the general public.
The call for ‘engaged scholarship’ that gained national attention through Boyer’s
work with the Carnegie Foundation of Advanced Teaching has produced an initiative in
which universities go through a self-assessment protocol in collaboration with the
Carnegie Foundation in order to be placed on a ‘Community Engagement Elective
Classification’ (“Carnegie Foundation”, 2014). The classification definition is defined
by the Carnegie Foundation on their website as “collaboration between institutions of
higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/ state, national, global) for
the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership
and reciprocity.” The classification that takes place on a five-year cycle has created a
formally recognized process for university administrations to consider academic
environments and professorial rewards systems that value engaged scholarship. The
institutionalization of ‘engaged scholarship’ has been one of the more critical debates in
the field, as most academics who write in the field point to ‘engaged scholarship’ as a
fragmented effort supported by individual faculty and student efforts instead of a fully
endorsed institutionalized practice at the university administration level. Models of
institutionalization at a systematic level have gained attention through literature that
addresses the ‘engaged campus’ and formalized minors and majors on community
engagement. These efforts advocate for the formal investigation of ‘engaged scholarship’

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as a field of study similar to formal Ethnic, Gender, and Women studies programs that
came out of the sixties (Butin & Seider, 2012; Saltmarsh et al., 2009; Sandmann et al.,
2009).
Regardless of the lack of institutionalization into the professorial rewards system,
the proliferation of case studies and emerging practices in ‘engaged scholarship’ continue
to grow (Fitzgerald et al., 2010; Keshen et al., 2010; Nichols, 2007; P. W. Nyden et al.,
2011; Van De Ven, 2007). In an article in the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and
Engagement, Derek Barker presented a taxonomy of emerging practices of 'engaged
scholarship' that I duplicated in Table 1. It is widely agreed upon by ‘engaged
scholarship’ academics that the definition of ‘engaged scholarship’ is still emerging.
There is however a general understanding that certain practices fall within engaged
scholarship, especially if the practices concern a goal of effecting progressive social
change or applying methods that are generally based on public, collaborative, and
participatory approaches. Even though the categories overlap, I find Barker’s taxonomy
of emerging practices of ‘engaged scholarship’ a basic platform to discuss the state of
engaged scholarship and its practices.

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Table 1
A taxonomy based on five practices of engaged scholarship

Note. Source: (Barker, 2004, p. 132)
First, Barker points to public scholarship and its orientation toward a ‘deliberative
democracy’ model based on Jurgen Habermas’ (Calhoun, 1993; Habermas, 1991)
conception that emphasizes public deliberation to address public problems. Most public
scholarship practice takes on complex social problems and tries to raise the level of
public discourse and involve deliberation about the scholarship that aims to address a
public problem. The second practice, participatory research, also commonly known as
‘action research’ and ‘participatory action research’ stresses the involvement of the actual

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participants that the research and scholarship intends to assist through participatory
research design and problem solving. Participatory research practices is generally
informed by the work of Paolo Freire and his beliefs that society’s ills such as global
poverty can only be solved through the actual participation of the oppressed in the social
change work whether the forms are research, workshop, or direct actions (Freire, 1985).
The third practice, community partnership describes the ‘service-learning’ and
partnership work that many academic faculty and departments take part in when
partnering up with local community organizations in the towns and cities that universities
are located. The theory of social change and democracy behind these practices
emphasize a systematic approach that works through inter-mediary and meso-level
groups embedded within communities. Academics who employ community partnership
practices will attempt to work on a goal that the particular community group is attempting
to change in their community. The practice of public information networks is a resource-
driven type of 'engaged scholarship' that works to establish broad access to information
and data that can be used to inform public decision-making on public problems. Lastly,
civic literacy scholarship takes the stand that there are a foundational set of civic skills
that the public needs in order to participate as citizens within local democracies. There is
no particular larger social change goal as compared to the first three practices but there is
a focus on equipping individuals with civic skills that can potentially assist them in local
democracies.
The five emerging practices of engaged scholarship addressed by Barker point to
the general dimensions of 'engaged scholarship' taking place in most universities in the
United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Most of the literature that describes models

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of practices and case studies will typically take the form of the practices described within
the table.
Another important aspect of the emerging field of ‘engaged scholarship’ are the
debates that question whether such forms of scholarship is needed in the social sciences
(Clawson, 2007; Nichols, 2007) and the rise of critical studies literature on ‘engaged
scholarship’ (Shultz & Kajner, 2013). These debates are not the focus of this dissertation
study but it is important to point out that the social science academics that question the
practice of engaged and public scholarship posit the potential harmful effects that such
scholarship can have on the validity and purity of traditional social science disciplines
such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology. On the other hand, the critical studies
scholars are generally in support of the turn to ‘engaged scholarship’ but desire a critical
scholarship of the politics of ‘engagement’ and ‘disengagement’ in relation to the
possible corporatization of ‘engaged scholarship’ by universities that seek to market their
university programs versus serve the ends of solutions to society’s problems.
What is Missing in the Study of Engaged Scholarship?
There remains optimism that the field of engaged scholarship will grow and that
universities and its publics will push for institutionalization. For this to happen, scholars
point out that there are two major dimensions missing in the academic discourse and
literature on ‘engaged scholarship’. These two under-researched dimensions can be
generally understood as: 1) a lack of outcome and impact studies on the effects of
engaged scholarship on not only the problems addressed, but also effects on the
participants of the projects, especially community participants, and 2) a stronger focus

19

and emphasis on community change when engaged scholarship is practiced within local
communities (Philip Nyden & Percy, 2010; Randy Stoecker et al., 2010).
In Evaluating the Community Impact of Higher Education Civic Engagement
(Randy Stoecker et al., 2010, p. 180), the authors see the lack of outcome and impact
studies concerning and attribute this lack to: 1) a focus on student development rather
than community development, 2) the lack of time in engaged research projects dedicated
to outcome studies, 3) lack of knowledge of community development literature and
practices, 4) theories that have informed civic engagement have not emphasized
community change, and 5) the difficulty of doing community evaluation in urban
contexts. Similarly, in Documenting Impacts: Engaged Research Centers and
Community Change (Philip Nyden & Percy, 2010, p. 312) the authors point to similar
reasons for the lack of impact studies but also point to the need to appreciate the
importance of interdisciplinary approaches and participation by university and
community partners across multiple disciplines. The authors also point to the need for a
demonstrated willingness to combine “university knowledge” with “community
knowledge”.
The significance of the need for more outcome and impact studies on ‘engaged
research’ projects cannot be understated as the field is in need of studies that demonstrate
the potential impacts of engaged scholarship. Just as important is the need to make sure
that engaged research projects are designed and evaluated based on goals that serve
community change in either local, national, or global contexts. Both of these under-
researched dimensions of the field of ‘engaged scholarship’ are valuable for assessing

20

whether engaged scholarship is a worthwhile endeavor for universities, faculty, students,
and the public to consider as future university institutionalization.
Purpose of Dissertation Research
The point of departure for this dissertation takes on the key challenges to
‘engaged scholarship’ discussed earlier regarding the lack of impact studies and the need
to situate engaged research projects within local community change efforts in local
communities. More specifically, this dissertation examines what impact does ‘engaged
scholarship’ have on participants who take part in engaged research projects designed to
positively reimagine the negatively stigmatized space and place of South L.A. The three
case studies and outcomes on selected participant groups will be discussed briefly in the
introduction below. It is important to note that I took lead in designing or co-designing
the three engaged research projects in order to take on an evaluative position that
coincided with the investigation of particular outcomes on the participants selected to
investigate in each of the three case studies. Furthermore since I was a doctoral student
at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism it was my intent to
view the work as ‘engaged communication scholarship’ practiced through the
development of engaged research projects that I made the focus of my dissertation. It
takes on the same mission of engaged scholarship that is concerned with the “most
pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems” (Boyer,1996, p. 11)—but from a
communication studies lens.
Before discussing the case studies and outcomes, it is important to define and
point out that the focus on the space and place of South L.A. was in response to the
second challenge mentioned above by academics that call for projects to focus on local

21

community change. To do this, all the engaged research projects that I developed
possessed a goal that sought to involve participants in the positive re-imagination of the
space and place of South L.A., an area that has historically been negatively stigmatized
(Matei & Ball-Rokeach, 2005; Sides, 2003, 2012). Chapter 2 presents a longer
discussion of theories of space and place, while Chapter 3 discusses the social and
engagement context of South L.A. that I propose demonstrates the need for engaged
research projects that improve the community. For the purposes of this introduction, I
touch on quick definitions of space and place in order to situate the dissertation’s
framework on engaged research projects aimed at local community change within the
specific spatial geography of South L.A.
The dissertation takes on definitions of space and place that expand the use of the
terms from strictly physical locational uses to conceptions informed by social, cultural,
and humanistic geographers. Geographer Nigel Thrift writes:
As with terms like ‘society’ and ‘nature’, space is not a commonsense external
background to human and social action. Rather, it is the outcome of a series of
highly problematic temporary settlements that divide and connect things up into
different kinds of collectives which are slowly provided with the means which
render them durable and sustainable. (Thrift, 2003, p. 95)
What is important here is that contemporary social theorization of space rejects that it is a
static physical phenomenon but instead sees it as a product of complex social relations
that produce varied individual and collective perceptions of space. Similarly, the
dissertation conceives of place beyond a physical locational phenomenon. Place is
understood through a ‘sense of place’ or the particular ways in which humans invest their

22

environments with meaning (Duncan & Ley, 2013; Hubbard & Kitchin, 2010; Tuan,
2001). The critical point here is that place, like space is constructed in its social
dimensions and can be communicated through different experiences, perspectives,
research findings, and media.
All the engaged research projects that participants took part in took into
consideration the goal of investigating the possibility of positively re-imagining South
L.A. through engaged research methods that asked the participants to uncover potential
positive spatial aspects of South L.A. The reason that South L.A. was selected as a
geographic space and place to engage was because of its current social realities that
indicate instability such as higher rates (when compared to other regions of the city and
county) of poverty, unemployment, crime rates, immigrant transition, ethnic tension, low
civic engagement levels, urban disinvestment, and a history of mainstream media
stigmatization—among many others that are discussed more in depth in Chapter 3. The
potential perception change of South L.A. as a positive space in participants who
participated in the engaged research projects became one of the outcomes investigated
throughout the three case studies.
In order to investigate participant perception change of South L.A. as a space, in
addition to other outcomes, I examined three case studies. I briefly describe the engaged
research project, the selected participants that I choose to investigate outcomes as a result
of their participation in the project, and the primary outcomes I investigated. A more in-
depth discussion of the research methods and outcome questions are discussed in Chapter
4.

23

In the first case study, I investigated the outcomes on USC researchers as a result
of their participation in a ‘communication asset mapping’ project. The researchers were
required to identify key ‘communication assets’ or positive sites of neighborhood
communication that could be activated for community mobilization through a field
mapping engagement within a specific South L.A. study area. The primary outcomes that
were investigated in this case study were: How did the engaged research project affect
the researcher’s perception of South L.A. as a more positive space and place? Did the
project affect their sense that USC was part of a larger social ecology of institutional
actors that can have an effect on local neighborhood issues? Did the researchers
experience an increase in motivation to become more involved in university engaged
research projects in South L.A. and/or other locales? Did the participants experience an
increase in their network of engaged researchers or community practitioners in South
L.A.? Was there any sustained use of Community Asset Mapping as a concept, method,
or practice?
In the second case study, I investigated the outcomes on community organizers
from South L.A. social change focused organizations that participated in a project called
South L.A. Democratic Spaces. The goal of South L.A. Democratic Spaces was to
investigate democratic spaces or sites that encourage positive social change, promote
advocacy efforts, and serve as building blocks for community-based social movements—
through the eyes of community organizers in South L.A. The primary outcomes
investigated were: Did the community organizers’ connection and use of the South L.A.
spaces they highlighted as democratic spaces increase in salience and use in their
organizing work? Did the community organizer experience an increase in the community

24

pride in the work they engage in and the neighborhood spaces they work in? Was there
an increase in the community organizers’ sense of collective efficacy in regards to being
able to take control of the symbolic construction of South L.A.’s neighborhoods from the
perspective of residents and outsiders? Was there an increase in their working
relationships with other community organizations/ organizers that were involved in the
South L.A. Democratic Spaces project? Was there an increase in their working
relationship with USC in their social change work to make South L.A. a better space and
place?
In the third case study, I investigate the outcomes on members of South L.A.
bicycle clubs as a result of their participation in a project called Ride South L.A. The
goal of the project was to develop a participatory mobile phone mapping and bicycle
engagement project that maps, highlights, and advocates for alternative transportation
routes, healthy activities, and cultural landmarks in South L.A. The outcomes
investigated were: Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive as a
result of participation? Did participants experience an increased sense of belonging to
South L.A. based on their participation in the engaged research project? Did the
participant experience increased levels of civic participation based on their participation
in Ride South L.A.? Did participants experience an increased sense of collective efficacy
based on their participation in Ride South L.A.? Did the participants expand their social
networks related to their community interests as a result of the project? Did participants
experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with USC in their community
participation as a result of the project?

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Study Organization
The following presents a snapshot of the chapters of this study. Chapter 2 broadly
discusses the current theoretical trends in space, place, embodiment, and communication
infrastructure theory that informed the engaged research projects developed by the
researcher. Chapter 3 situates the study more specifically in the geography of South L.A.
through the discussion of the social and engagement context of the space and place of
South L.A. The chapter sets the stage to establish why South L.A. can benefit from
engaged research projects. Chapter 4 presents the research methods to the study and the
research outcomes that were investigated in each case study. Chapter 5, 6, and 7 report
on the outcome findings for each of the case studies: 1) Communication Asset Mapping,
2) South L.A. Democratic Spaces, and 3) Ride South L.A. Each case study chapter starts
with a brief description of each engaged research project’s goals, design, participation,
and spatial knowledge produced. Lastly, Chapter 8 presents a broader analysis that
discusses the findings in relation to the theories and practices of engaged scholarship,
space, place, and communication infrastructure theory. The chapter also discusses the
contributions of the study, recommendations for the future development of engaged
scholarship within universities, the limitations of the study and what future directions of
research and practice are needed.

26

CHAPTER 2—SPACE, PLACE, EMBODIMENT, AND COMMUNICATION
INFRASTRUCTURE THEORY
We are thus confronted by an indefinite multitude of spaces, each one piled upon,
or perhaps contained within, the next: geographical, economic, demographic,
sociological, ecological, political, commercial, national, continental, global. Not
to mention nature’s (physical) space, the space of (energy) flows, and so on.
(Lefebvre, 1992, p.8)
Space is not an empty void. It is always filled with politics, ideology, and other
forces shaping our lives and challenging us to engage in struggles over
geography. (Soja, 2010, p. 19)

Past works on the formations of space and place in urban cities have privileged
either a Marxist political economy position focused on the ‘growth machine’ (Logan &
Molotch, 2007) model that is economically deterministic or a position of ‘social
production’ (Gottdiener, 1994; Lefebvre, 1992) that opens up spatial formation to other
social and cultural forces but does not emphasize communication and civic engagement.
A focus on communication and civic engagement in the production of space and place is
particularly important in the age of globalization that has affected the spatial and
temporal structures of human settlements because of unprecedented urbanization,
transnational immigration, explosion of new information communication technologies,
and economic change. These larger social forces are rightfully attributed to the spatial
formations of the larger regional geographies, but they also affect micro neighborhood
geographies such as South L.A.

27

It remains insufficient, however, to analyze neighborhood change solely based on
larger social forces, regional change, and demographic shifts. What is needed to
complement the analysis of larger structural forces is a focus on agency within everyday
urban neighborhoods. A focus on agency within a local geographic context lends itself to
how the practice and study of engaged scholarship from a communication lens can
contribute knowledge about how the space and place of South Los Angeles can be re-
imagined in the service of progressive social change.
This chapter discusses how three main bodies of theories, 1) space and place, 2)
embodiment, and 3) communication infrastructure theory informed the design of the
engaged research projects that were examined for impacts in the case studies. Before the
discussion of the theories, the three design criteria that the researcher used to develop the
three engaged research projects are discussed in order to set the stage for the discussion
on how the three theoretical bodies were applied to the projects.
Design Criteria for the Engaged Communication Research Projects
The researcher applied three particular design criteria in the planning and
implementation stages of the engaged research projects. The three criteria were social,
place-based, and public dissemination and are defined below according to the
researcher’s application.
Social was the starting point of the projects as the researcher prioritized social
relationships, experiences, and outcomes. A social ethos challenges the glorification of
spatial practices that emphasize successful urban development solely based on the
construction of capital infrastructure such as buildings and freeways. The emphasis on
the social as a project criterion argues that the social is largely ignored in many urban

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planning and development projects that privilege capital infrastructure as indicators of
success. Therefore, the engaged scholarship design criteria for this study’s projects were
informed by social theories of space, embodiment, and communication infrastructure
were intent on the prioritization of outcome investigations that affect the social aspects of
participants of the projects.
To consider a place-based criteria, it was the position of the researcher to design
the engaged communication research projects with an emphasis on field-based methods
and interactions. Specifically, this meant a focus on local concerns about space and place
in South L.A. The methods intended to develop a sense of place in two ways. One way
was by ensuring the spatial inquiries in the engaged communication research projects
built off and sourced local community knowledge from residents, organizations, and
fieldwork in the study area. A second way was to develop engaged research methods that
can develop new senses of place for participants who may not have seen aspects of the
South L.A. built environment in positive manners previously. The case studies unfold the
particular dimensions of the place-based methods and investigate whether participants
gained positive perceptions of South L.A. as a result of their participation in the projects.
Public Dissemination was a key design criteria that considered the
communication of the knowledge gathered by the engaged research projects to multiple
publics. The academic world has become comfortable with forums of publication that are
often not consumable by the general public. By the general public, I mean venues
outside of academic journals and conferences. This includes the lay public in
communities where engaged scholarship projects are deployed. The public can benefit
from the expertise and knowledge produced by academics that engage in research and

29

practice aimed at effecting positive social change in underserved urban communities. A
necessary step in the engaged communication research projects that was designed was the
creation of public dissemination strategies of the spatial knowledge gathered from the
three projects. The criterion of public dissemination was applied in the hope of making
the knowledge more accessible to social change practitioners and the communities within
South L.A. Public dissemination and planning for it through multiple communication
strategies that go beyond academic papers, such as public art exhibits, multi-media
production, graphically designed maps, and online interactive maps became a practice
built into the development of the projects under examination.
To reiterate, the three design criteria were informed by theories of space, place,
embodiment, and communication infrastructure theory. The remaining discussion
addresses these theories while interweaving aspects of how the theories informed the
engaged research projects in this study.
Space, Place, Embodiment, and Communication Infrastructure Theory
To retread the definitions of space and place pointed out in the
introduction, this study takes on definitions of space and place that expand the use of the
terms from strictly physical locational uses to conceptions informed by social, cultural,
and humanistic geographers. Geographer Nigel Thrift writes:
As with terms like ‘society’ and ‘nature’, space is not a commonsense external
background to human and social action. Rather, it is the outcome of a series of
highly problematic temporary settlements that divide and connect things up into
different kinds of collectives which are slowly provided with the means which
render them durable and sustainable. (Thrift, 2003, p.95)

30

What is important here is that contemporary social theorization of space rejects viewing
space as solely a static physical phenomenon and instead sees it as a product of complex
social relations that produce varied individual and collective perceptions of space.
Similarly, the dissertation conceives of place beyond a physical locational phenomenon.
Place is understood through a ‘sense of place’ or the distinct ways in which human beings
invest their environment with meaning” (Duncan & Ley, 2013; Hubbard & Kitchin,
2010; Tuan, 2001). Social theorists see space and place constructed in its social
dimensions as phenomenon that can be communicated through different experiences,
perspectives, research findings, and media. The engaged research projects follow the
social approaches to space and were designed to engage participants to think of
themselves as not just active interpreters of space but potential actors who could build a
more positive sense of place in South L.A.
In modern society, there has been a concern about the erosion of local senses of
place. The work that advanced a thesis that pointed to an erosion of a sense of place and
a condition of ‘placelessness’ comes from Joshua Meyrowitz’s work No Sense of Place:
The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior (1986). Even though he has recently
moved to the identification of new senses of place in the ‘global mobile communication
age’ (Meyrowitz, 2005), his 1986 thesis had a significant effect on the argument that
electronic media due to its ability to transcend physical boundaries and develop global
audiences was leading towards the decreased social significance of place in the everyday
lives of people. His argument is based on a strictly physical and one-dimensional
understanding of place, but its merit is in conceptualizing how local human populations
and senses of place were deteriorating during a time of social change that involved the

31

electronic technological revolution that displaced immediate rootedness to physical place.
Concerns along these lines are not absent today, as local communities fear the effects of
how global media and technological innovation focused on the personal self can
destabilize social and family order in immediate physical places.
On a global scale, the material social changes attributed to the contemporary
informational and technological revolution is expressed by globalization theorists such as
Manuel Castells who have introduced the concept of the ‘space of flows’ to represent
how practices of the social can take place without physical territorial proximity due to
electronic information technology (Castells, 1996). In his argument, he does point out
that in order for the ‘spaces of flows’ to be socially relevant to human interaction, social
projects need to ‘grassroot the space of flows’ in order to create humanistic spaces and
‘spaces of places’ (Castells, 1999). In the engaged research projects in this dissertation, it
was the conceptual intention of the researcher to ‘grassroot’ the projects through place-
based research inquiry and methods in the hope that it would create a stronger connection
to South L.A.’s positive aspects in the participants as a result of the participation in the
projects.
Observations of the reduction of space, place, and time are also relevant in
theories of globalization such as David Harvey (1991) with his theory of ‘time-space
compression’ and Anthony Giddens’s theory on ‘time-space distanciation’ (Giddens,
1991). What these theorists of globalization point out is the danger of standardizing
social interaction in place due to the proliferation of electronic media, communication,
and technology that can limit physical social interaction and therefore a sense of place.
These theorists do not fall into the same dystopia of Meyrowitz’s ‘no sense of place’

32

thesis, as they have offered new forms of agency and place, but it is critical to point out
that global media and technology possesses the characteristics that can suppress local
senses of place and identity.
Expanding on contemporary concerns, Marc Augé has proposed the current age of
‘supermodernity’ or the excesses of time, space, and the individual ego in the age of
increased reliance on media and communications have created ‘non-places’ or places
absent of meaning. He writes:
If a place can be defined as relational, historical and concerned with identity, then
a space which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with
identity will be a non-place. The hypothesis advanced here is that supermodernity
produces non-places, meaning spaces which are not themselves anthropological
places and which, unlike Baudelairean modernity, do not integrate the earlier
places: instead these are listed, classified, promoted to the status of ‘places of
memory’, and assigned to a circumscribed and specific position. (Augé, 1995, p.
63)
Whether a moral panic without context or not, there are human sentiments that must be
extrapolated from concepts of ‘placelessness’ and ‘non-places’ in a world that has seen
accelerated social change and an increased disembodiment from physical places where
social relations often were given precedence. What scholars indicate is a loss of
grounded human meaning that was often confronted in terms of physical place. This loss
of a sense of place is not being accounted for or produced in contemporary social life that
is standardized through what Augé would consider ‘non-places’, places such as freeways
and airports. If place is tied to, as Augé argues, relations and memory, or the

33

anthropological place saturated with meaningful symbols and rituals, then his argument
holds weight in the contemporary age that is often devoid of such human relations. This
critique would view contemporary life as peppered with standardized gestures and
interactions that support the logics of capitalism that tie humans to the necessity of
external validity, emptiness of consumer products, and an inability to develop a true self
or sense of place.
Perhaps the strongest case and most relevant critical theory of the erosion of a
sense of place in the contemporary world comes from the theorists on ‘cultural
imperialism’ (Tomlinson, 2001) and ‘media imperialism’ (Boyd-Barrett, 1977, 1982;
Park & Curran, 2000). The gist of these arguments describe how the contemporary
media and communication processes have been created and operated in a manner to
expand and maintain domination and dependence on a world scale. Such theories
account for history, colonialism, Marxism, and uneven development frameworks to
consider how the media and communication technologies consumed on a global scale
often privilege the west and maintain systems of power that keep the third world and
lesser developed countries dependent to politically powerful nations and economically
powerful multi-national corporations. The idea can also extend to local cultures and
place that can be argued as becoming homogenized because of the penetration of global
media and culture that is not reflective of the actual values of everyday people who live
in local neighborhoods. In a sense, this political economy and structural approach to the
media can be well-justified by demonstrating how the cultural industry and media
networks are owned by a handful of multinational media conglomerates that have great
reach into local urban communities that have no access to their own means and relations

34

of media production. Therefore, a sense of local place that reflects a particular
community’s own image is often lacking and substituted with media representations that
are easily accessible and programmed into media platforms that communities are more
exposed to.
This sense of local place that reflects a community’s own image was extended to
the design criteria that the researcher applied to the engaged research projects in this
study. First, the projects in varying degrees prioritized involvement of local community
members, community organizers, and researchers to participate in knowledge gathering
about the area of South L.A. Second, the public dissemination design had in mind the
circulation of the community sourced spatial knowledge of South L.A. through multiple
communication forms. This was particularly important to the researcher who viewed the
engaged research findings as forms of communication and media itself that could
potentially counter the negative stigma of South L.A. circulated through mainstream
media.
The creation of communication discourse and narratives from the perspectives of
people who live the reality of particular places is key to grounded collaboration between
researcher and the communities that are engaged. This is where approaches to
embodiment and the senses brought into space, place, and media can shed light and
present theoretical foundations for engaged research projects that support local
constructions of space and place.
Most contemporary social scientific writing on the body has set out to rectify
Cartesian dualism, which separated mind and body by privileging the mind as executer of
moral and social value. Contemporary critics set out not only to bring the body into

35

academic discussion, but place it as the central foci for human knowledge production and
existence (Calhoun, 2005; Cregan, 2006; Csordas, 1994; MacDougall, 2006; Silverstone,
2007; Waskul & Vannini, 2006). This radical agenda attempts to expand beyond
structural theories that solely focus on behavior determined models and instead advocates
for embodied scholarship that integrates grounded experience. In addition, scholars
become more open to agency and the body as performed in relation to dominant
discourses instead of just subjugated or determined by what is dominant. An example of
this that applies to the case studies is the work of the community organizer participants
who point to their active use of the democratic spaces they highlight as key aspects of
their organization’s work to counter negative stigmas about South L.A.’s image as an
area void of community and democracy building.
Additionally, a focus on embodiment performed through agency, or where
individual and collective entities possess a capacity to act in the world, has its origins in
Pierre Bourdieu’s theories on symbolic power and the constitution of social space.
Symbolic power to Bourdieu involved the power of ‘world-making’ and the power of
constitution through social systems of relations and symbolic systems such as art,
religion, and language (Bourdieu, 1979, 1989). Bourdieu asserted that such a conception
could only be understood through research that advanced a ‘social phenomenology’ that
focused on subjective perceptions of reality and the world, in other words, research into
the embodiment of the social world. He writes, that “sociology must include a sociology
of the perception of the social world, that is, a sociology of the construction of visions of
the world which themselves contribute to the construction of the world” (Bourdieu, 1989,
p. 18). This is not only important to asserting the critical significance of human

36

embodiment and physical place, but influences the relationship of symbolic power and
communication in order to conceive forms of knowledge production to challenge
mainstream narratives that stigmatize a space. Again this is particularly important in the
engaged scholarship case studies in this dissertation as it assumes that local community
knowledge production on positive spaces in South L.A. can construct positive re-
imaginations of the area’s stigmatized narrative.
Bringing in theories of embodiment that stresses social relations interacting on
several different physical and social dimensions has major implications on the conception
of space and place. As discussed above, a sense of place has been emphasized as positive
because this is the assumed site of human interaction and the production of meaning.
However, theories of embodiment propose that the body and humanity can be performed
and interjected in not only physical forms, but also symbolic forms such as practice. If
the body can be literally put into practice as suggested by Bourdieu, then the human
senses and ‘senses of place’ can be designed into the practice of engaged scholarship that
seeks to co-constitute urban neighborhoods and senses of place. Such a formulation,
however, requires a radical break from how we conceive of space and place, and how we
privilege place as creating human meaning. What is required is a reconceptualization and
radicalization of space that imagines its production in relation to and not in opposition to
the human body and experiences bounded by physical place.
Such an alternative approach that incorporates the co-existence of multiplicities
and complexities of space is the work of Doreen Massey who advocates for an alternative
approach to space that argues that:

37

1. We recognize space as the product of interrelations; as constituted through
interactions, from the immensity of the global to the intimately tiny
2. We understand space as the sphere of the possibility of the existence of
multiplicity in the sense of contemporaneous plurality; as the sphere in which
distinct trajectories coexist; as the sphere therefore of coexisting heterogeneity
3. We recognize space as always under construction—imagine space as a
“simultaneity of stories-so-far (Massey, 2005, p. 9)
This radical and ambiguous approach to space opens up not only space and place, but
also engaged scholarship practiced in local communities. What I argue is that Massey’s
theories of space opens up a conceptualization that community existence can be
constituted, re-imagined, embodied, and sensed within practices in communities. The
practices in which I argue Massey’s conceptualization of space can be applied are the
engaged research projects I developed for this study. It was the assumption that the
projects would take on a position that space is not static and that it can be reworked
through research and communication practices that engaged participants to re-imagine the
spaces and places of concern. Without this conceptualization of space, narratives of
South L.A. are susceptible to being held hostage to the effect of past narratives that label
the area violent and stuck in a cycle of poverty. The research goal and design of this
study’s projects took on the position that the narratives of South L.A. as a space are
“always under construction”. Research that engaged communities to positively re-
imagine South L.A. could be conceived as the “simultaneity of stories-so-far” that could
not only counter negative stigmas but contribute to the work of progressive social change.

38

The question for me as the researcher who spearheaded this project was where the
theories of space, place, embodiment, and engaged scholarship fit within the field of
communication studies. This question was particularly important given the position I
took that viewed the re-imagination of the space of South L.A. for progressive social
change as an evolving narrative of “stories-so-far” that could benefit from an engaged
scholarship from my communication department at USC—as long as it was embedded
within the community of South L.A.
As a resolution to this question, the point of departure for the case studies that I
developed in this dissertation took root within the USC ASCJ’s Metamorphosis Project
and its application of ‘communication infrastructure theory’ in urban communities. As a
communication research project that explores local indigenous urban community
inhabitants’ communication patterns, Metamorphosis’ fit was suitable to me because of
the potential to explore local senses of place. The Metamorphosis project is a ten-plus
year empirical communication study based on ‘communication infrastructure theory’ or
CIT (Ball-Rokeach, Kim, & Matei, 2001; Kim & Ball-Rokeach, 2006) and explores the
local communication infrastructures of urban communities in Los Angeles, which
includes the neighborhoods in South Los Angeles. CIT proposes the significance of
Neighborhood Storytelling Networks (STN’s) consisting of three important nodes;
residents and families, community organizations, and geo-ethnic media or local media
aimed at particular geographies or ethnicities (Kim, Jung, & Ball-Rokeach, 2006). The
term and the study of geo-ethnic media is important for this dissertation because of my
positioning of engaged scholarship as communication research that produces spatial
narratives that interact with urban inhabitants’ construction of a sense of place. The

39

emphasis of the engaged communication scholarship knowledge produced as a form of
alternative media and its circulation through public dissemination strategies serves as a
counter to mainstream media narratives that have a history of producing a stigmatized
image of South L.A. Furthermore, the focus on a local geography or ethnic population
within CIT supports an indigenous sense of place that is proposed to exist within local
STN’s. The CIT approach can be applied to urban communities to assess impact studies
such as this dissertation that asks the question of whether or not engaged scholarship can
strengthen local participants’ senses of place as a result of their participation in engaged
research projects. What the Metamorphosis Project has found is that geo-ethnic media in
the form of local newspapers or ethnic media television does consistently come up as
important media resources in how everyday urban community residents stay connected to
their local neighborhoods. The researcher applied the concept of geo-ethnic media to the
materials produced by the engaged research projects that consisted of spatial knowledge
sourced from local participants. The design of the engaged research projects looked to
the public dissemination of the materials such as printed maps, multimedia videos, and
the public exhibit to play the role of geo-ethnic media that could be circulated within the
local storytelling networks of the participants who live and work in South L.A.
One other important aspect of the Metamorphosis project is its focus on
‘storytelling’ as paths to community and neighborhood (Ball-Rokeach et al., 2001). The
critical importance of emphasizing storytelling is its focus on the symbolic resources such
as a local communication infrastructure that is often ignored by the mainstream public
that focuses on political, economic, and physical infrastructures. Such an orientation to
storytelling follows aspects of symbolic and media power that prove to be the important

40

features of contemporary society that emphasizes the role that narratives can play in
human struggles over politics, land, identity, among other social issues. In the projects
under examination in this study, storytelling about the positive re-imagination of South
L.A. as a space was a key factor of the materials produced. Even though research and
data collection were priorities of the engaged research methodological designs—the
projects integrated forms of presentation that valued storytelling narrative strategies that
could be more publically consumable.
In order to build on the foundation of communication infrastructure theory that
considered notions of space and place the engaged research project designs built off
aspects of the ‘communication action context’ component of CIT. The ‘communication
action context’ are features of the communication environment, such as working
conditions, schools, parks, public safety, among others that promote or inhibit strong and
healthy STN’s (Kim & Ball-Rokeach, 2006). Previous examinations of space and place
through Metamorphosis methods focused on surveys, focus groups, social observations,
demographic and GIS mapping of the South L.A. area. It was the position of this
researcher to expand on these methods through the development of engaged research
methodology that could produce more textured examinations of space. The engaged
research methodological contributions that will be elaborated on in this dissertation’s
case studies include: a) ‘communication asset mapping’ that involved the participation of
Metamorphosis researchers to got out into the field and systematically document
communication assets or sites for potential community mobilization b) textured
interview, multimedia, and public exhibit accounts of democratic spaces from community
organizers who are actively mobilizing these spaces for community and democracy

41

building in South L.A., and c) a participatory mobile mapping project that engaged local
bicycle club members in a bicycle route through one of South L.A.’s most infamous
neighborhoods, Watts.
The methodological developments were all focused on dimensions of mapping the
spaces and bodies that communicate the re-imagination of South L.A. More specific
discussion on the social and engagement of South L.A. that set the stage for engaged
research projects, the engaged research methods deployed, the study of the engaged
research projects impact on participants, and the theoretical implications are discussed in
the remaining chapters.

42

CHAPTER 3—THE SPACE AND PLACE OF SOUTH LOS ANGELES:
EXAMINING ITS SOCIAL AND ENGAGEMENT CONTEXT
South Los Angeles has historically occupied a negative space within the national
consciousness because of the collective perception of cyclical poverty and violence that
has stigmatized the area. The 1965 Watts Riots and the 1992 Civil Unrest linger as
mental scars that conjure up a South L.A. symptomatic of conflict versus the harmonious
Westside of Los Angeles that accompanies the beachside visual rhetoric of popular L.A.
tourist guides. There is no question that South L.A.’s history and current material
conditions are plagued by poverty and violence—but many of these negative conditions
have been caused by patterns of urban disinvestment and policies enacted to limit
minority progress such as racial covenants (Sides, 2003). Coupled with polices of
disinvestment have been the creation and maintenance of a communication discourse that
has supported a culture of fear. This communicative construction of fear has been
detrimental to certain neighborhoods over others, such as Watts that has occupied the
perception as the ‘epicenter of fear’ in the minds of the residents of Los Angeles (Matei
& Ball-Rokeach, 2005).
The negative state of South L.A.’s material and symbolic conditions present two
frontiers for the potential application and benefits of engaged research projects—
especially from the region’s economic and intellectual powerhouse, the University of
Southern California. This research study was guided by this engagement challenge and
the case studies under investigation in the subsequent chapters seek to evaluate the
impact of engaged research projects I developed for South L.A. as a doctoral student at
USC ASCJ.

43

This chapter first discusses the changing demographic landscape of South L.A.
and argues that these changing conditions demonstrate a need for social inquiry and
engagement projects. Secondly, the chapter presents a discussion about levels of civic
engagement of the majority Latino and African-American population based on a 2009
survey by the USC Metamorphosis Project. The chapter also touches on the reality that
USC’s engagement initiatives that engage local communities toward positive social
change do not exist in a vacuum. The discussion considers the multiple non-profit and
foundation efforts that have emerged post 1992 Civil Unrest to create a cultural ecology
of engagement for social change in South L.A. that shares the goals of the case studies
under investigation in this study. Lastly, the place-specific tense relations between USC
and the surrounding communities are discussed as factors that contribute to the context
that further situates the need for engaged research.
The Geographic and Social Context of South Los Angeles
South L.A. at its most geographically expansive is considered the area south of
the 10 Freeway, north of the 91 Freeway, east of Crenshaw Boulevard, and west of Long
Beach Boulevard (see Figure 2). Neighborhoods such as Watts, Compton, and Leimert
Park have gained the most fame locally and nationally due to popular culture
representations in mainstream media. Perhaps the most infamous neighborhood name
attached to the area’s image is ‘South Central’. So infamous and charged with
connotations of violence, the City of Los Angeles decided to rename the area South L.A.
in hopes of re-branding the neighborhood and the associated stigma.
The most significant social change that has affected the geography of South L.A.
in the last century is its transformation from a White dominated area, to a Black

44

dominated area, to what is now a Latino dominated area. Figure 3 shows the 2006
demographics for race and ethnicity in South L.A. compared to L.A. County as a whole.
Even though Latinos are inching toward becoming the majority in the county, they
already are the majority in South L.A. At the same time, the African-American
population has declined but still triples its presence in South L.A. when compared to the
county.
This demographic change in the racial and ethnic mix in South L.A. is significant
because of the Black and Brown tensions that the area needs to confront. The reality that
the historically known Black stronghold of South L.A. is demographically changing
means that there will be tensions between youth who are growing up in the
neighborhoods and who have to now struggle with life experiences that require inter-
racial, multiethnic, and cross-cultural sensitivities. South L.A. also continues to struggle
with poverty and employment issues (Ong, Firestine, Pfeiffer, Poon, & Tran, 2008). The
new face of South L.A. as a Latino and immigrant region creates debates on whether this
new demographic face is taking jobs that were typically reserved for the Black
population. The tension over jobs has only become exacerbated because of the most
recent recession that has made it even more difficult for people of color countywide, and
especially South L.A. to secure gainful employment (Ong et al., 2008). Lastly, the
demographic change creates tensions over political power. As the region becomes more
Latino, the Black population becomes more concerned about their political seats on the
L.A. City Council and L.A. County Board of Supervisors (Healey, 2013). Currently the
L.A. City Council has three Black city councilmembers, but there was widespread belief
that the last election in 2013 ushered in the last Black councilmember for one of the

45

historically African-American city council seats represented by Council District 9. Even
though an African-American, Curren Price, won the seat, a Latina, Ana Cubas came in a
strong second. Many political experts citywide believe that the next non-incumbent
election in that district will usher in a Latino representative because of the changing
demographics that are projected to favor the Latino vote. This demographic change
indicates the need for a new collective understanding of the area and civic engagement of
the population in order to understand shifting values of the ethnic communities that now
live in South L.A.

46

Figure 2. South Los Angeles Map (Sides, 2012, p. 1)

47

Figure 3. Race/ Ethnicity, South L.A. and L.A. County 2006. Source: American
Community Survey 2006 (Ong et al., 2008, p. 5)

Poverty still plagues South L.A. as its poverty rate of 30 percent in 2006 is two
times the rate of L.A. County at 15 percent (Ong et al., 2008, p. 6). A spatial analysis
map (see Figure 4) of poverty rates by L.A. County ‘Service Planning Areas’ in 2006
shows the high concentration of poverty in South L.A., especially in the eastern portion.
This is significant because it establishes South L.A. as an area of economic need when
compared to other areas of Los Angeles such as the Westside. Resources from the
government at the local, state, and federal level need to be delivered to South L.A. more
effectively. The deployment of federal funds to ameliorate areas with high poverty
became a current issue when the Department of Education’s poverty reduction
implementation program, ‘Promise Zones’, was awarded to areas just northwest of South
L.A. in 2014 (Finnegan, Zahniser, & Smith, 2014). Even though South L.A. did not pre-
qualify because of its non-status as a ‘Promise Neighborhood’ before the ‘Promise Zone’

48

designation, many critics believed the funds were not allocated to the area in most need,
South L.A. This widespread belief that South L.A. is in need of social and programming
support to reduce the conditions of poverty has not stopped the area from receiving funds
from other government or foundation support. The conditions of poverty and need in
South L.A. have only amplified the need for engagement on behalf of institutions with
power and resources to find ways to work with local communities to improve the
economic and social conditions of South L.A.’s communities.

Figure 4. Poverty Rates by Service Planning Areas, South L.A. 2006. Source: American
Community Survey (Ong et al., 2008, p. 7)

49

A sense of public safety impacts neighborhoods and regions in significant ways.
When residents feel safe in their neighborhoods there is an increased chance that they
will feel inclined to have a positive attachment to their neighbors and community.
Additionally, a sense of public safety increases the chances that public amenities such as
parks, libraries, schools, and the streets are seen as secure and open to use by the
communities that live in the area.
It has already been stated that South L.A. suffers from a negative stigma as an
unsafe area when compared to other parts of Los Angeles (Matei & Ball-Rokeach, 2005;
Ong et al., 2008; Sides, 2003). In many ways, one can claim these perceptions to be
manufactured by unfair stereotypes. Unfortunately, when one looks at the rates of violent
crime in South L.A. when compared to L.A. County at a whole, there remains significant
work that needs to take place in the area to reduce violent crime and increase a sense of
public safety. Even though South L.A. mirrors the rates of property crimes with L.A.
County, the rates of violent crimes are more than doubled from 6.3 to 14.7 per 1,000
persons who are affected by violent crimes in the area (see Figure 5). The analysis of
violent crimes consisted of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter
(willful killing of another person), forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault (Ong et
al., 2008, p. 24).

50

Figure 5. Violent and Property Crimes per 1,000 persons, South L.A. and L.A. County
(Ong et al., 2008, p.26)

What further makes violent crimes in South L.A. a hot button issue to its current
population is that the majority of the victims are Black, 45 percent, and Latino/ Hispanic,
49 percent less than 30 years old (Ong et al., 2008, p. 28). This supports claims that the
state of youth of color and their own safety in South L.A. is at a moment of crisis. If
violent crime affects the neighborhood in this way, one can imagine that youth will not
have a positive sense of public safety when attending the daily ritual of school (Ozer &
Weinstein, 2004; Warren, 2005). A decreased sense of public safety will also manifest in
terms of youth perceptions about living in their neighborhoods and personal beliefs that
they can have the same positive opportunities that other youth in more privileged
neighborhoods may have (Dobbie & Fryer Jr, 2011; Whitehurst & Croft, 2010).
Closely linked to the state of youth in South L.A. is the state of educational
attainment of its residents. Educational attainment is linked to higher rates of

51

employment opportunities and growth. More affluent neighborhoods in L.A.
demonstrate high levels of educational attainment and consequently more residents with
high quality jobs. When considering all the general educational attainment categories,
South L.A when compared to L.A. county shows a lower achievement rate in persons 25
years of age or older (see Figure 6). Of most concern is that almost twice as many
residents, 43 percent, lack a high school diploma (Ong et al., 2008, p. 11). Another major
concern is the low rates of higher education. The state of educational attainment in South
L.A. must be seen as an issue and space in need of engagement to change these numbers
for the better. An improved state of educational attainment can only improve the chances
that the residents will receive quality education in order to feel empowered enough to
demand positive changes in their neighborhoods, while serving as models for the youth in
South L.A (Glaeser, Ponzetto, & Shleifer, 2007).

Figure 6. Educational Attainment, South L.A. and L.A. County 2006. Source: American
Community Survey (Ong et al., 2008, p. 11)

52

Arguably the most macro of social dimensions, the social and historical context of
South L.A. should be comprehended as a story of urban disinvestment in the last half
century. The riots in South L.A. in 1965 and 1992 have less to do with an inherent
violent nature of its population. Instead, one must look more at the urban environmental
and material conditions that continue to frustrate and inhibit the residents who live in the
area.
One factor is the accessibility of healthy food, which is important in terms of the
reinforcement of positive nutrition and the reduction of chronic disease in communities.
Where more affluent neighborhoods can find accessible healthy food, South L.A.
possesses a disproportionate number of liquor stores, fast food chains, and poor quality
restaurants. Table 2 comes from ‘South L.A. Health Equity Scorecard’, a report
produced by the Community Health Councils in 2008. The striking figures that show
high numbers of liquor stores per square mile when compared to L.A. County, and in
particular West L.A. illustrate social and food inequity.
Table 2
Food Access in South L.A., L.A. County, and West L.A.
Indicator South L.A.
L.A.
County
West L.A.
Liquor retail stores per square mile 8.51 1.56 1.97
Supermarkets (44,000 sq. ft.) per square mile 0.10 0.05 0.14
Percent limited services restaurants 71.80 47.70 40.80
Food facilities rated below “C” per square mile 0.21 0.05 0.03

Note. Source: (A. Park, Watson, & Galloway-Gilliam, 2008, p. 53)

The disproportionate numbers of liquor stores that exist in South L.A. expose its
residents to the negative effects of alcohol in poor urban communities. Furthermore,
liquor stores and the small markets that dot the South L.A. landscape typically sell highly

53

processed foods instead of fresh foods that you will find more accessible in farmers
markets or high quality supermarkets such as Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or Gelsons that
exist at higher rates in the more affluent neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
Urban disinvestment also rears its head in the lack of real estate development that
supports diverse commerce, family recreation, and entertainment choices. South L.A. as
a region lacks the choices for movie theatres, museums, cultural arts complexes,
gymnasiums, and well-maintained and safe recreational facilities when compared to more
affluent neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Where areas in Los Angeles such as Downtown
L.A. are experiencing a so-called renaissance due to private investment assisted by public
subsidies that have financed Grand Park, Disney Hall, ‘Brining Back Broadway’, and the
Broad Museum—South L.A. remains ignored by such public-private ventures. This
pattern of urban disinvestment only fosters a sense in South L.A. that the city does not
care about investing in neighborhoods of South L.A. and that the city is willing to see
South L.A.’s public amenities deteriorate (Bullard, 1994; Johnson, Farrell, & Oliver,
1993; Sides, 2004).
One of the major signs of urban disinvestment touched on earlier in regards to
educational attainment is the poor quality of public schools in South L.A. It has been well
documented that low income and minority neighborhoods face an education gap that
leads to poverty, crime, and disorder (Kozel, 1991; Noguera & Wing, 2006). Once a
pillar of pride and a stepping stone to a better life for American citizens, public schools in
inner-city areas such as South L.A. are not properly invested in when compared to the
more affluent neighborhoods that can invest in their schools and that often have access to
more heavily resourced private primary and secondary schools. Not only does the poor

54

material and monetary conditions of South L.A. schools indicate urban disinvestment, but
the state of educational reform through experimental charter schools in South L.A. also
indicates a desperate attempt by the community and non-profit sector to ameliorate the
situation (Ong et al., 2008, p. 30). The charter school philosophy allows an autonomous
group or group of individuals to submit an alternative educational plan for state
sponsored schools in Los Angeles. Susceptible to reform because of the state of public
schools, South L.A. in 2006 possessed over a third of charter schools countywide (Ong et
al., 2008, p. 35). This initiative for school reform shows activism on behalf of
communities, but the jury is still out on whether charter schools are really making a
difference. Since it is a new movement, there has not been enough evidence to show
whether charter schools will make a positive impact on South L.A. and its
neighborhoods. Furthermore, some charter schools have turned out to be more interested
in business and profit development—resulting in charter schools that have closed down
because of their lack of success in the actual education of the students (Ong et al., 2008,
p. 35). Signs of improvement have been more promising in the charter schools that have
been led by groups of teachers from the public schools who have taken initiative to lead
the local school reform themselves and who have shown true commitment to the students
and families of the neighborhoods (Bracey, 2005; McGhan, 2002).
Urban disinvestment in South L.A. continues to be a significant contributing
factor to the area’s need for engagement of its own residents through community
organizing, engagement by community organizations seeking positive social change, and
engagement by institutions that look to harness their resources toward the positive social
change of South L.A.

55

The Civic Engagement Context of South Los Angeles
The geographic and social demographic context remains a foundational piece
toward understanding South L.A. To expand on the picture that secondary data analysis
presents about the changing social and economic conditions of South L.A., it is also
important to understand the engagement context from the very residents who live in the
area.
To understand the engagement context of South L.A. residents, this section
discusses results from a 2009 resident survey conducted by the USC Metamorphosis
Project that explored the levels of civic engagement in South L.A. The survey was
administered in the Crenshaw and South Figueroa Corridor neighborhoods of South L.A.
that represents about 45 percent of the geographic area of the map in Figure 2. A total of
861 residents were surveyed and the sample targeted African-Americans and Latinos who
represented the top two ethnicities in South L.A. Civic engagement is defined along
three dimensions: belonging feelings and behaviors; collective efficacy or the belief that
residents can come together to solve shared problems, and political participation. To
understand the levels of engagement, the survey analysts developed three scales to
analyze the engagement levels based on the three dimensions of civic engagement as
defined by the USC Metamorphosis project (S. Ball-Rokeach, Moran, Heather, & Frank,
2010, p. 3).
Of great relevance to this dissertation is to understand the levels of engagement of
the combined survey sample in terms of race and ethnicity. As the previous discussion
on the social demographic changes of South L.A. examined, the racial relations between

56

Blacks and Latinos are critical issues to address if projects seek to engage the local
communities.
When the survey analysis of the three dimensions of civic engagement is broken
out by race and ethnicity (see Figures 7-9), one is able to understand the greater levels of
engagement within the African-American population that has historically lived and held
power in the area. These are important findings as it creates a clearer picture of the fact
that many African-Americans may still view South L.A. as their neighborhood, and that
many Latinos, whether first or second generation, may feel disconnected to the area as
more recent newcomers. These possible scenarios and the given social demographic
change provide justification for government and university institutional engagement
practices such as civic outreach and engaged research to better understand the civic
conditions of the area and how best to allocate resources.

** Statistically significant difference at the p < .01 level

Figure 7. Belonging by race in South L.A. (S. Ball-Rokeach et al., 2010, p. 6)

20.01

18.12

17

17.5

18

18.5

19

19.5

20

20.5

African
American**
Latino**

Belonging
by
Race

57

Figure 8. Collective efficacy by race in South L.A. (S. Ball-Rokeach et al., 2010, p. 6)

** Statistically significant difference at the p < .01 level

Figure 9. Political participation by race in South L.A. (S. Ball-Rokeach et al., 2010, p. 7)

The significant difference in political participation between African-Americans
and Latinos in South L.A. is most informative when examining a selection of variables
from the survey about their civic and political participation activities as indicated in
3.36

3.25

2

2.4

2.8

3.2

3.6

4

African
American
Latino

Collective
Ef3icacy
by
Race

1.30

0.56

0.00

0.40

0.80

1.20

1.60

2.00

African
American**
Latino**

Political
Participation
by
Race

58

Tables 3-7
1
. The selection of key variables below that asked about community
organization volunteerism, union membership, government hearing attendance, city
council member contact, and presidential voting in 2008 paint a picture that further shows
a need for engagement in the area because of the demographic changes. All variables
show a higher rate of participation by African-Americans in South L.A. The low rates of
the Latino participation in aspects of civic life such as voting, meeting attendance, and
volunteerism is a concern. This does not bode well for an area such as South L.A. that
needs a strong civic presence that can collectively demand better services from
institutional powers.
Table 3

Have you ever volunteered for a community organization? By race.

Race Yes No

African-Americans 50% 50%
Latinos 30% 70%

Note. Source: Metamorphosis 2009 Survey.

1

The
selection
of
survey
variables
is
from
the
2009
Metamorphosis
survey.
The

researcher
of
this
dissertation
accessed
the
data
and
conducted
the
analysis

reported
in
the
Tables.

59

Table 4

Are you or anyone in your household a member of a union? By race.

Race Yes No

African-Americans 29% 70%
Latinos 11% 89%

Note. Source: Metamorphosis 2009 Survey.

Table 5

Since moving into your current neighborhood, have you ever attended a city council
meeting, public hearing, or neighborhood council meeting? By race.

Race Yes No

African-Americans 39% 61%
Latinos 15% 85%

Note. Source: Metamorphosis 2009 Survey.

Table 6

Since moving into your current neighborhood, have you contacted an elected official
about a problem? By race.

Race Yes No

African-Americans 59% 41%
Latinos 13% 87%

Note. Source: Metamorphosis 2009 Survey.

Table 7

Did you vote in the election on November 4, 2008? By race.

Race Yes No

African-Americans 87% 13%
Latinos 34% 66%

Note. Source: Metamorphosis 2009 Survey.

60

Of particular note is the large number of African-Americans, 87 percent, who
voted in the 2008 primary election that marked the historical victory by African-
American candidate Barack Obama. It shows that the election catalyzed the African-
American voting block in South L.A., as it did in most cities nationwide. At the same
time, the data shows only 35 percent of Latinos in South L.A. voted in that election
which shows that the Latino voting block remains an opportunity for voter education,
registration, and engagement. The Latino population continues to rise nationwide and
they are quickly becoming the majority in Los Angeles. In fact, Los Angles has elected
mayors of Latino descent in the last two elections. For South L.A.’s civic engagement
context, these changing demographics and voting challenges are an area of social inquiry
and engagement practice.
The transformation of the space and place of South L.A. to a more Latino area
with strong African-American roots is the engagement future—and should be seen as the
local framework to ensure that the communities build a healthy social, economic,
political, and communication infrastructure. Because of the changing racial
demographics this will take sensitivity to the inter-racial relations that an engagement
approach needs to consider. Engagement from community organizations and universities
will need to approach their work and research from a multi-racial perspective that stresses
bridging versus an approach that favors one race over the other.

61

The Cultural Ecology of Progressive Social Change in South Los Angeles and USC
Relations Implications
The demographic change that has taken place in South L.A. in the last three
decades has been accompanied by a cultural ecology of community-based organizations
focused on work around progressive social change. Cultural ecology can be understood
as human adaptation to social and physical environments. This environment of change in
South L.A. is no doubt due to macro-level social change because of the ethnic
demographic changes and pervasive conditions of poverty. At the same time change can
be interpreted through the agency demonstrated by individuals and community
organizations that have organized together to become collective movements of
progressive social change.
The one event highlighted as a catalyst for the robust cultural ecology of
community-based organizations that have focused on progressive social change is the
1992 L.A. Civil Unrest. Many academics have pointed to this event as a turning point for
many of the activists who make up the community organizing history and leadership of
many of the progressive South L.A. based community-based organizations such as
Community Coalition, Strategic Concepts on Policy Education, Strategic Actions for a
Just Economy, and L.A. Community Action Network (Brodkin, 2007; Gottlieb, Freer,
Vallianatos, & Dreier, 2006; Pastor, Prichard, Ito, & Carter, 2012; Regalado, 1994). It
should also be mentioned that the same academics who write on this cultural ecology of
progressive social change in South L.A. come from the local universities of USC, UCLA,
and Occidental College. So the explosion of community organizations concerned with

62

progressive social change in South L.A. have also been accompanied by university
programs and research endeavors by particular faculty.
This explosion of community organized approaches and collective strategies in
the service of positively impacting South L.A. is a primary driver for conditions of
community engagement and engaged research itself from universities such as USC and
other regional colleges. Progressive community-based organizations have been the hubs
of social innovation and strategic community partnerships that have considered potential
collaboration from large institutions such as universities. Many community-based
organizations are consumed with programming aspects of their social justice campaigns
and lack research and evaluation capacity. These conditions within many organizations
have created an opening for researchers interested in engaged research projects when
community organizations agree and have the capacity to partner up with engaged
researchers.
The dimensions of the engaged research conducted by university researchers has
been characterized by qualities that are attributed more to the realm of applied social
science and research. Typically this has included evaluation studies of certain programs
that community-based organizations develop, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the
programs. In terms of more action-oriented engaged research, researchers also provide
research and analysis that contribute directly to a policy campaign and community action
that the organizations are involved in at the time of collaboration between the
organization and researcher.
Progressive social change, engagement, and the justification for engaged research
takes on a particular circumstance in terms of USC’s relationship with South L.A. USC’s

63

geographic location at the north end of South Central L.A. that borders Downtown has
always been perceived as ironic—but not totally different from other privileged
institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University which are also
both embedded in zones of poverty within their respective cities. Where South L.A.’s
history has been full of racial and ethnic demographic change and a story of gripping
poverty and racial tension compared to the rest of the city—USC since its inception in the
1800’s continues to be a space for privilege, while expanding to become one of the
region’s most powerful institutions and largest private employer. While South L.A. and
adjacent neighborhoods have thrown themselves into the inner-city struggles for equity,
the general perception of USC has questioned the university’s concern about the
problems of the surrounding communities and whether the university and its personal will
direct their resources behind projects that improve the lives of the communities around
the university.
The tension between USC and the surrounding communities have been brought to
newer heights recently because of events that have unfolded in terms of public safety
concerns as documented by the journalistic articles below. In the last two years, USC
students have been the victims of crimes that resulted in the death of two Chinese
international students and a shooting at a party on a campus that injured partygoers. In
response to these unfortunate incidents, USC administration decided to erect fences
around its campus and establish a campus security protocol that requires students to show
their ideas and register guests before entering the campus at night.
A collection of news headlines from the L.A. Times, USC publications, and local
community publications gives one a sense of the culture of fear permeated by USC’s

64

security responses; ‘USC Rolls out the Unwelcome Mat’, ‘USC’s New Security Measures
Further Compromise Relationship With Community’, and ‘How Far is Too Far?:
Fortress USC and the Struggle to Keep Students Safe’ (Jackson, Jaqueline, 2013;
Jennings & Xia, 2013; Sulaiman, Sahra, 2013). There is no question that student safety
should be a top priority of the university, but it has been the response of fence
construction and increased security officers that has been questioned. Instead of a
culture of neighborliness that attempts to build bridges between the campus community
and the surrounding community, a culture of distrust continues to be fanned. What has
been truly puzzling is that USC has an official Office of Civic Engagement, a Good
Neighbor’s Campaign, and several initiatives by professors and research centers that have
embarked on research projects aimed at ameliorating situations of poverty faced by the
surrounding South L.A. community. The university could have used these initiatives as
starting points for dialogue and engagement between the campus and the community in
regards to the unfortunate crimes that took place in 2013. These tensions have further
signaled a need for engaged research and service by university personal.
In addition to the public safety and tense university-community relations, the
substandard economic conditions of South L.A. continue to drive the need for engaged
research projects from USC that aims at improving the communities. Recent L.A Times’
articles highlight the emerging trends of community frustration with the economic
conditions and changing conditions in South L.A, especially in relation to USC’s
economic impact on the community. This year, the L.A. Times in ‘Anti-Poverty Zone
Leaves Out L.A.’s Poorest’ (Finnegan et al., 2014) profiled the recent Federal designation
of the Promise Zone in L.A. that left out South L.A. from the boundaries for resource

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allocation. The L.A. Times also ran an article this year on the gentrification and rising
home prices around USC in its article ‘Soaring Home Prices Spur a Resurgence Near
USC’ (Khouri, 2014).
Both articles touched on community concerns from the existing poorer Black and
Latino population that are concerned about decreased state assistance that address their
economic conditions. This persistent concern is now intensified by the fear of
displacement as younger professionals move into the USC university area to take
advantage of the revitalization spurred by USC’s Master Plan to develop a university
village. Even though a few of the land-use equity community-based organizations were
able to secure community benefit agreements that secured a percentage of affordable
housing and local hiring policies in the USC Master Plan, many in the progressive
community did not perceive the measures as enough to stave off what looks to be the
rapid gentrification of the South L.A. communities around USC.
Engaged research stands as an opportunity for universities such as USC to
respond in a collaborative, innovative, and equitable manner to the problems faced by its
surrounding communities of South LA. The need is clear as the area’s historic struggles
with its poor economic and tense social conditions create an area that can benefit from
research projects aimed at ameliorating its problems. Engaged research efforts by USC
in the South L.A. communities can benefit from a seasoned cultural ecology of
progressive social change in South L.A. as the area’s own progressive community-based
organizations have matured since one of the city’s most infamous civil rebellions in 1992.
These organizations cannot do it themselves and can benefit from partnerships created
through engaged research and collaboration. Most critically, the need for engaged

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research comes at a time in university-community relations that need a counter to the
negative social impacts of fences and walls that have been erected between the USC
campus community and surrounding neighborhoods. The space and place of South L.A.
and its relationship to USC remains a phenomenon that does not need to be characterized
as one of distrust. It can evolve into a phenomenon of collaboration, partnership, and
community. This research study investigates whether these positive outcomes can result
from engaged research and its participants. The next chapters explore the research
methods and outcome findings from three engaged research case studies in South L.A.

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CHAPTER 4—RESEARCH METHODS
This study’s investigation into the impact of the engaged research projects
employed primarily the qualitative method of interviews with a selected group of
participants from each of three case studies. The interview protocols were designed to
address the primary research inquiry—what impact does ‘engaged scholarship’ have on
participants who take part in engaged research projects designed to positively reimagine
the negatively stigmatized space and place of South L.A.?
Semi-structured interviews were administered as a primary method because they
afforded the participants the opportunity to elaborate on their answers to the researcher
lines of inquiry. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for subsequent analysis.
Interviewees were participants in multiple senses. They were involved in the design and
implementation of each project. The researcher was a participant observer in the design
and implementation of each project. During the design and implementation process, the
researcher took notes and collected materials produced in the process. These notes and
materials are additional sources of data.
In all cases the materials produced from the engaged research projects were also
used as documents for the interview participants to jog their memory about the project
and reflect on when the researcher interviewed them about project outcomes. These
offline and online documents were crucial pieces of data themselves that were often tied
to each project’s sustainability and dissemination outcomes. A short description of the
project and the materials used for participant reflection in the interviews are described in
the following paragraphs. More in-depth descriptions of the project design and examples
of the materials produced are included in the case study chapters.

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The ‘communication asset mapping’ project required USC researchers to identify
key ‘communication assets’ or positive sites of neighborhood communication that could
be activated for community mobilization through a field mapping engagement within a
specific South L.A. study area. The material used to reflect on during the participant
interviews was an online interactive map of communication assets highlighted by the
university researchers who participated in the project. The map was hosted on the USC
Metamorphosis project’s community research translational website Meta Connects
(www.metaconnects.org).
The goal of South L.A. Democratic Spaces was to investigate democratic spaces
or sites that encourage positive social change, promote advocacy efforts, and serve as
building blocks for community-based social movements—through the eyes of community
organizers from social change focused organizations in South L.A. The materials used to
reflect on during the participant interviews were a print map of the 15 democratic spaces
and online videos that profiled each of the individual organizers and the spaces they
highlighted. The online videos were hosted on the USC Metamorphosis project’s
community research translational website Meta Connects and the online news website
www.intersectionssouthla.org produced by the USC ASCJ journalism department.
The goal of the Ride South L.A. project was to develop a participatory mobile
phone mapping and bicycle engagement project that maps, highlights, and advocates for
alternative transportation routes, healthy activities, and cultural landmarks in South L.A.
The materials used to reflect on during the participant interviews were a print map of the
Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ and an online website (www.ridesouthla.com) created for
the project.

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Interviewee Selection Criteria
The interview subjects were participants in one of the three engaged research
projects. In order to get a variation in perspectives about the impact, the researcher
selected one particular group of participants from each project to interview. The
interviews for this study took place after each project’s implementation. The time of the
project and the interview time for this study are established in each discussion of the
selected interview participants.
For the Communication Asset Mapping project, the researcher selected the
Metamorphosis Project researcher participants to interview. The selection rationale for
the researchers was because they were the primary participants trained in communication
asset mapping and who conducted the mapping in the field. The researchers took part in
the project during the Summer and Fall months of 2011 and were interviewed for this
study in February of 2014.
For the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project, the researcher selected the
community organizers from the community organizations that participated in the project.
The selection rationale for the community organizers was because they were the primary
participants that the project worked with in order to produce knowledge about the
democratic spaces highlighted in the project. The organizers took part in the project
during the Summer and Fall months of 2012 and were interviewed for this study in
February of 2014.
For the Ride South L.A. project, the researcher selected members from two South
L.A. bicycle clubs that participated in the project, East Side Riders and Los Ryderz. The
selection rationale for the bicycle club members was because the Ride South L.A project

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was designed to primarily develop a participatory mapping activity to engage everyday
community members such as residents and local bicycle club members of South L.A.
The bicycle club members took part in the project during the Spring of 2012 and were
interviewed for this study in February of 2014.
A total of eighteen participants from the three projects combined were
interviewed; five researchers from Communication Asset Mapping, seven community
organizers from South L.A. Democratic Spaces, and six bike club members from Ride
South L.A. The researcher recruited as many participants that were available in the Los
Angeles area for face-to-face interviews. Participants were given a gift card ($10 for the
researchers and $50 for the community organizers and bike club members) incentive for
their participation.
Interview Instruments
The researcher created a semi-structured interview protocol for administration to
selected participants for each case study (see Appendix for full interview protocols).
Each protocol’s set of outcomes was tailored for the selected participants of the projects.
The only consistent lines of inquiry across all case studies were the investigation of any
positive perception change of South L.A. as a space, future engagement with USC
community engaged project, and any sustained use of the materials produced for each
project. Specific interview questions were grouped according to proposed outcome
research questions for each case study.

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For the Communication Asset Mapping case study, the outcome research
questions were:
1. Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive or negative as a
result of participation?
2. Did participants come to situate USC in a larger South L.A. geography after the
experience of mapping in the field?
3. Did participants come to perceive USC as part of a larger network of institutions
and/ or an organization that can apply research for progressive social change in
South L.A.?
4. Did the participants experience an increase in motivation to become more
involved in future university engaged research projects in either South L.A. or
other locales?
5. Did the participants experience an increase in their network of engaged
researchers or community practitioners in South L.A.?
6. Was there any sustained use of Community Asset Mapping as a concept, method,
and practice?

For the South L.A. Democratic Spaces case study, the outcome research questions
were:
1. Did participants increase the use of the highlighted democratic space in their
community organizing work as result of the project?
2. Did participants experience an increase in the sense of pride in the social change
work they engage in South L.A. as a result of the project?

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3. Did participants experience increased collective efficacy in their sense that they
can shape the perception of South L.A. from its mainstream negative image
toward a more positive image?
4. Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with
other community organizers and organizations in their South L.A. social change
work as a result of the project?
5. Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with
USC in your South L.A. social change work as a result of the project?
6. Was there any sustained use of South L.A. Democratic Spaces as a concept,
method, and practice?

For the Ride South L.A. case study, the outcome research questions were:
1. Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive as a result of
participation?
2. Did participants experience an increased sense of belonging to South L.A. based
on their participation in the engaged research project?
3. Did the participant experience increased levels of civic participation based on
their participation in Ride South L.A.?
4. Did participants experience an increased sense of collective efficacy based on
your participation in Ride South L.A.?
5. Did the participants expand their social networks related to their community
interests as a result of the project?

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6. Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with
USC in their community participation as a result of the project?
7. Was there any sustained use of Ride South L.A. as a concept, method, and
practice?
The researcher also designed a section within the interview protocol that asked
interviewees if they viewed the project they participated in actualizing the engaged
research design criteria that the researcher developed for each project’s implementation.
Discussed earlier in Chapter 2, theories of space, place, embodiment, and communication
infrastructure informed the design criteria for the three case studies as the projects aimed
to engage participants to positively re-imagine the space of South L.A. The design
criteria for the engaged research projects were: 1) ‘social’ or a focus on community
relationships and social constructions of space, 2) ‘place-based’ or a focus on and field
interaction with a specific urban geography that is concerned with a local community’s
identity and concerns, and 3) ‘public dissemination’ or an expansion to share research
knowledge beyond traditional academic venues (e.g. academic journals) through the
consideration of multiple communication forms such as maps, multimedia, and public
events.
To assess whether the project actualized the design criteria through the eyes of the
participants, the researcher created a definition of engaged research that encompassed
four characteristics informed by the design criteria used to develop the projects. The
characteristics were: 1) the project is community-based, 2) the project focuses on a social
problem in a local community, 3) the project builds off community or community
organization relationships, and 4) the project explores different ways to present the

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knowledge to the public. The researcher handed the definition on a document to the
interviewees so they could read each of the four characteristics. The researcher then
asked each interviewee whether they saw the project consisting of each of the
characteristics. The specific questions were:
1. Did you feel the project was community-based? Why or why not?
2. Did you feel the project focused on social problems in the local communities?
Why or why not?
3. Did you feel the project built off community or community organization
relationships? Why or why not?
4. Did you feel the project explored different ways to present the knowledge to the
public? Why or why not?
Data Administration and Collection
The Metamorphosis research participants were interviewed at USC, the
community organizer participants were interviewed at the location of their organizations,
and the bike club member participants were interviewed at a community center in South
L.A. that they frequent for their bicycle club activities. Interviews ranged from 25-40
minutes in length and were audio-recorded.
Transcription
Due to time considerations, the recorded interviews were uploaded as audio files
and sent to an audio transcription professional service to be transcribed. During the
analysis of the transcriptions the researcher did play back the audio recordings to give
further context to the interview during the analysis process.

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Data Analysis
The analysis of the interview data was guided by the research outcome questions.
For each set of transcripts, the researcher assigned quotes according to outcome research
questions for each case study listed earlier in this chapter. For each quote assigned to the
outcome categories, the researcher noted the following in order to organize the data:
Case Study Name: The title of the case study that the quote was for.
Interviewee ID: Each quote included an interview participant identification label.
Quote Number: A number was assigned to each quote from each particular
interviewee of the case study was recorded.
Quote: The actual quote extracted word for word from the transcript was
recorded.
To inform the discussion and analysis of the findings of the study—the researcher
recorded ‘analytic memos’ for some quotes that stood out to the researcher. The
objective of ‘analytic memos’ is “researcher reflexivity on the data corpus, thinking
critically about what you are doing and why, confronting and often challenging your own
assumptions, and recognizing the extent to which your thoughts, actions, and decisions
shape how your research and what you see” (Saldaña, 2013, p. 42). The researcher
developed an emergent set of criteria to think about when recording analytic memos for
quotes that stood out to the researcher. The criteria for the analytic memos included:
1) researcher personal relationship to the phenomenon that the interview subject
shared through the quote that was recorded
2) emergent patterns, categories, themes, concepts, and assertions that the
researcher noticed during the analysis process

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3) connections to other case study observations and outcomes
4) relationship to existing theories on space, communication, community, civic
engagement, and engaged scholarship that the recorded quotes supported or
challenged
5) problems and limitations with the study
6) future directions for the state-of-the-field.
The researcher used the analytic memos to inform the writing of the findings for each of
the following case study chapters.
Discussion of Findings
The findings from each case study are addressed in the following three chapters.
Each chapter first gives a brief background of each case study’s overall significance to
community change efforts in South L.A., goals, design criteria, process, spatial
knowledge gathered, and materials produced. The remaining discussion in each chapter
reports on the outcomes and engaged research design criteria were met in the eyes of the
participants. After the case study chapters, a conclusion chapter discusses the broader
relationship of the findings to engaged scholarship, space, place, and communication
studies.
Discussion of Limitations
A critical analysis of the limitations of the methods employed and the conditions
of the research are discussed in the last chapter. Since many engaged scholarship
projects are non-traditional academic endeavors, it was important for the researcher to
reflect on how the challenges of engaged research potentially impact the findings of the
research. These important limitations are discussed in the concluding chapter.

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CHAPTER 5—COMMUNICATION ASSET MAPPING
This case study investigates the participation of USC researchers in an engaged
research project called ‘communication asset mapping’. ‘Communication assets’ are
defined as positive aspects of the neighborhood communication environment that can
potentially be accessed for progressive social change. The concept takes on an ‘asset-
based’ approach to community development and progressive social change that
prioritizes community building off strengths and community networks that already exist
in neighborhoods that interventions seek to change. This ‘asset-based’ approach is
opposite from ‘deficit’ approaches to community development that focus on identifying
neighborhood problems and brining in external resources to improve communities as the
primary approaches (McKnight & Kretzmann, 1993). Communication asset mapping’s
focus on the local communication environment and networks comes from
Communication Infrastructure Theory that indicates the role of the conditions and aspects
of a local community’s communication action context or communication environment
that strengthens or prohibits the healthy function of local storytelling networks (S. J. Ball-
Rokeach et al., 2001; Kim & Ball-Rokeach, 2006b).
The identification of communication assets potentially play a key role in
progressive social change in local communities because it can present the specific
neighborhood places and communication networks that can assist community change
campaigns. For example, in areas such as South L.A. that are considered lower voter
turnout areas, communication asset mapping can identify places in the area that are
highly frequented by local residents in order to assist local voter registration and
education campaigns. Secondly communication asset mapping’s asset-based approach

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can potentially assist in a counter-narrative to South L.A.’s negative narrative tradition
that portrays the area void of spaces of positive community life. The identification of
communication assets can contribute documentation of spaces where positive
community, school, and family life takes place versus the media portrayals of gangs,
drugs, and deteriorating residential spaces.
The overall significance of communication asset mapping discussed above leads
to this particular dissertation’s intent on the examination of the impact on USC
researchers who participated in the project’s mapping. It was important to find out
whether the participating researches found it a worthwhile project that could potentially
contribute knowledge and practices to engaged research projects that seek to positively
re-imagine South L.A. It is important to note that the subject of this case study focuses
on outcomes in regards to the researcher participation in the communication asset
mapping project and less about the specific assets they mapped. The assets exist in a
database and curated online maps on the Meta Connects translational website. After a
brief discussion about the project’s goal and design, the investigated outcomes and the
analysis of the findings follow.
Project Goal, Design, and Spatial Knowledge Produced
Communication asset mapping primarily included the criteria of ‘place-based’
and ‘public dissemination’ as elements of the engaged research project design. The
project involved the development of a place-based field mapping method designed to
specifically identify communication assets—defined as a systematic process for the
identification of positive aspects of the neighborhood communication environment that
can potentially be accessed for progressive social change. The project was informed by

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the USC Metamorphosis Project’s phone survey responses on the aspects of the
communication environment in the South Figueroa Corridor of South L.A. that residents
identified as either “communication hotspots” -- places where residents naturally gather
to talk – or “comfort zones” -- community institutions to which residents feel closely
connected (Wilkin, Stringer, O’Quin, Montgomery, & Hunt, 2011, p. 203).
The phone survey questions and data analysis were administered in a way that
only identified general categories such as parks, coffee shops, and barber shops, amongst
others—without any textured place-based specificities of identified spaces. With the
criterion of ‘placed-based’ in mind, the ‘communication asset mapping’ protocol required
Metamorphosis Project research team members to actively engage the physical built
environment of the study area by going out into the field to map communication assets.
The research team was required to walk sections of the study area in order to specifically
identify places of the South L.A. study area that corresponded to the resident categories
gathered through the phone survey. To accomplish the mapping in a manageable
manner, the study area was sectioned off into 28 subareas that one or two researchers
could explore. The researchers were also asked to identify any other ‘communication
assets’ that may emerge from the field mapping of the area.
In the communication asset mapping that the researchers documented, they
identified a total of 1167 communication assets according to the general categories of
retail establishment, religious association/ churches, community association, public
service, school, medical/ dental clinic, public/ common space, culture/ arts & recreation,
and other (see Table 8 for a number and percentage breakdown). The researchers noted
the specific names of the communication assets along with observational notes and

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pictures they took. The written observations were recorded onto mapping forms they
took out into the field and entered into a database after the mapping.
Table 8

Communication assets breakdown

Communication Asset Type Number Percentage

Retail Establishment 721 62.0
Religious Association/ Churches 213 18.4
Community Association 49 4.2
Public Service 49 4.2
School 41 3.5
Medical/Dental Clinic 32 2.8
Public/ Common Space 23 2.0
Culture/ Arts & Recreation 16 1.4
Other 17 1.5

Total 1161

Note. The table represents a breakdown of communication assets by category after the
asset mapping fieldwork. These were general categories from the 1161 specific assets
that were mapped in the field. For each asset mapped, a database of the specific names,
addresses, and pictures exist.

The researchers were then asked to prioritize up to five communication assets
they felt stood out in their mapping so that this could be represented on an online map.
As a practice of the ‘public dissemination’ criteria, the researcher-prioritized
‘communication assets’ were published on an online interactive map (see Figure 10) on
the Metamorphosis public translational website focused on research, practice, and social
change called Meta Connects. The intended audience for the website were social change
practitioners that work in the South L.A. area in the field of social change research and
practice.

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Figure 10. Metamorphosis translational website platform, Meta Connects. The site
hosted an online interactive map of the top communication assets identified by
researchers during their communication asset mapping of the South L.A. South Figueroa
Corridor area.

To investigate the outcomes in this case study, five semi-structured interviews
were conducted with the researchers involved in the engaged research project. Social
demographics of the interview participants are displayed in Table 9. The interviewed
researchers were all female. Two were Mexican-Americans who grew either in or aware
of the South L.A. study area, while the remaining three researchers were international

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PhD students from the countries of Korea, China, and Taiwan. The fact that three were
international students presented an experience of Los Angeles that they had not
previously been exposed to.
Table 9
Interviewee demographics for communication asset mapping case study
Interviewee ID Year of Birth Gender Ethnicity
CAM 1 1981 Female Latina (American)
CAM 2 1980 Female Taiwanese (International)
CAM 3 1985 Female Korean (International)
CAM 4 1983 Female Latina (American)
CAM 5 1986 Female Chinese (International)

The primary outcome questions below investigate whether or not communication
asset mapping and participation in engaged research projects can potentially contribute to
positively re-imagining South L.A. The outcome research questions guide the report of
the findings:
1. Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive or negative as a
result of participation?
2. Did participants come to situate USC in a larger South L.A. geography after the
experience of mapping in the field?
3. Did participants come to perceive USC as part of a larger network of institutions
and/ or an organization that can apply research for progressive social change in
South L.A.?
4. Did the participants experience an increase in motivation to become more
involved in future university engaged research projects in either South L.A. or
other locales?

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5. Did the participants experience an increase in their network of engaged
researchers or community practitioners in South L.A.?
6. Was there any sustained use of Community Asset Mapping as a concept, method,
or practice?
Positive Change in Perception of South L.A.
Before discussing positive and negative changes of perception experienced by the
researchers, it is important to point out that researcher held perceptions of South L.A.’s
negative stigma depended largely on where the researcher grew up. For the three
researchers that grew up outside of the United States, even if they had heard through
media, academic publications, or their own networks that South L.A. possessed a
negative stigma—they did not have defined frame of reference. Instead, the three
international researchers saw the mapping as a method to identify communication assets,
but they also saw the project as an exercise that presented new information about a
community in Los Angeles. For example, one researcher from Taiwan said:
It’s interesting because South L.A. was never a stigmatized area to me because I
was not from here [United States]. So for me, South L.A. is just like another area
in the United States. But I’ve seen some research talking about how the media
has marginalized or stigmatized South L.A. as an area. So, I think from my
experience of actually visiting the community, I can see how certain people or
certain places might be stigmatized in certain ways, but I also feel like it’s
actually just like any other community. (CAM 2)

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This was not the case for the two Latinas who grew up in Los Angeles and expressed
familiarity with South L.A.’s negative stigma. The differences in researcher backgrounds
demonstrated that negative perceptions of South L.A. have a regional dimension to its
narrative construction.
In terms of the outcomes an increase in a positive perception of South L.A. did
occur in the researchers as a result of their participation. This manifested because the
researchers all followed the asset-based approach to the mapping and identified what they
felt were communication assets. Two examples of this are evident in observations noted
first by the researcher from China who highlights a barbershop and then the researcher
from Taiwan who highlights a park as potential communication assets that made them
feel positive.
Definitely the barbershop. I had a very strong impression of it because I felt it
was such a happy place. There were people laughing and I’m pretty sure that the
customer already knew the barber in that place. (CAM 5)
There was one park that I can bike to and it was really good. There were people
sitting on the grass, there were people walking their dogs, and then it’s green. It
felt like a very friendly and comfortable space. (CAM 2)
These are important field observations that impact perceptions of disinvested areas like
South L.A. As discussed in the chapter on the social and engagement context of South
L.A., mainstream media narratives of the area have not been overly positive. Public
spaces in South L.A. such as parks in particular have remained sites of violence in the
heads of many people who live in the entire City of Los Angeles. In fact, the City’s Gang
Reduction and Youth Development program has targeted numerous parks in South L.A.

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as sites to hold their Summer Night Lights programs to curb violence. The point that
researchers can go out into South L.A. and document a park as a communication asset
demonstrates the potential of spaces in the area to become activated for positive social
change.
Change of Perception In Terms of USC’s Relationship to South L.A. Geography
As a result of their participation in communication asset mapping, the researchers
did come to see USC’s relationship to the larger South L.A. physical geography. But this
relationship was mainly in terms of physical proximity to the region and the researchers
all observed a gap in the investment that benefited the immediate surrounding area of the
campus versus the rest of the sub-areas that the researchers mapped. This is evident in
such observations below by a Chinese researcher and followed by a Korean researcher.
I think the biggest surprise for me after I came to know more about the [South
L.A.] community, I kind of feel like there is a surprising contrast between the
University and the real community life…And specifically, I mean there are new
buildings for housing around USC that are like really shiny Hollywood and for
the rich folks. (CAM 5)
I think the distance definitely plays a role, the closer [to the campus] with the
restaurants, I see some of connection. But the other subarea [further from
campus], I don’t think you would assume that there is a college if you didn’t
know the area. (CAM 3)
Since the study area for the mapping project included USC in the northern part, the
researchers who mapped the southern areas of the study area definitely felt the visual and

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investment disconnection when it came to the urban development that was benefitting the
immediate areas around the campus versus the more southern areas.
At the same time, as a result of their participation in the communication asset
mapping, the researchers felt they were participating in a project and with a research
center that was interested in applying research and university resources toward effecting
positive social change in South L.A. Examples of these observations from two of the
Latina researchers when asked about whether the project participation contributed to
seeing USC as part of a larger South L.A. geography are expressed below:
It reinforced the school, the institution’s desire to kind of work within the
community...not really coming in as the experts, but more just trying to explore
and really learn, and to see, you know, and to identify what are the resources that
exist, what kind of community building is happening here. (CAM 1)
Yes, definitely my continuous involvement in these types of projects helps me see
USC as an institution that can help be part of the change that is needed in
disinvested areas like South L.A. (CAM 4)
The important point here is that the participation in the mapping project affected the
researchers’ perception of USC as part of the South L.A. larger geography in two ways.
One effect is that it confirmed the proximity of the campus within the South L.A. region
but crystallized the differences in investment and affluence that have become the basis
for the class tensions between the university community and the community at-large. A
second effect is that the participation in the mapping project created a sense that the
researchers were actually engaging in the space and place of a community in need. This

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engagement positively affected their view that they are attempting to collect information
that can help the community through an engaged research project.
Perception Change on USC’s Role in Effecting Positive Social Change in South L.A.
As a result of participating in communication asset mapping, all the researchers
affirmatively did come to see USC as part of a larger network of institutions that can
potentially effect positive social change in South L.A. In fact, the researchers especially
the international researchers were perplexed about why USC as a heavily resourced
university did not have a greater presence when it came to helping the disinvested areas
of South L.A. they mapped. The researcher from Taiwan stated:
I feel like USC can actually provide certain facilities there [South L.A.
neighborhoods], like a space for people to maybe utilize computers and
technology. USC has a lot of resources, and because they are buying up a lot of
land around campus to create housing and commercial spaces, but I don’t know if
they are also doing that to provide spaces for the local residents to utilize. So I
feel like there’s definitely more USC can do in terms or actually giving back to
the community and engaging with the residents, not just focusing on the students.
(CAM 2)
This indicates a belief that universities that are in the disinvested parts of their cities like
USC, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and Chicago University can be a
better institutional citizen to their neighboring inner-city communities. The point that
researchers can come to believe this through engaged research projects that expose them
to the physical spaces of the community is beneficial in terms of the creation of research
programs for universities that desire to become more publicly engaged.

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There was acknowledgement of a history that USC has and continues to attempt
to assist the neighboring communities through outreach programs and through some
departments that do have researchers who try to conduct applied research within South
L.A. Additionally, even though some of the researchers acknowledged that it was
challenging to solve all the social issues in South L.A., there were consistent beliefs
within the researchers that USC can better follow-up with the applied and community-
based research undertaken within urban communities. One Latina researcher expressed:
Well, I think there should be more follow up to projects when we go in and we do
research in communities. There should be an intervention strategy or how can we
provide funding or facilitate approaching a funder so that we can implement
certain projects that will create capacity within the community. Or help develop a
community after we find out certain things. (CAM 4)
This supports the view that engaged research can make participants see USC among a
larger network that can affect positive social change in South L.A. The fact that this
researcher points to funding or the facilitation of funding for communities recognizes a
perception of USC as a powerful institution. The power alluded to is not solely actual
capital, but also a form of influence that USC can wield amongst the larger network of
institutions to potentially effect positive social change when compared to smaller
community organizations. The outcome of researchers viewing their institution as a
larger piece of the social change puzzle is beneficial if more researchers who are exposed
to engaged research start carrying it over to communication with university
administration to change the direction of USC’s more unjust security policies that target
the neighboring communities. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the outcomes carry

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over and lead to the encouragement of university administration to support the
institutionalization of engaged research projects.
Motivational Change to Become Involved in Other Engaged Research Projects
The researchers did gain motivation to become more involved in other engaged
research projects with communities in the Los Angeles region, especially within the
Metamorphosis research center they were working with at USC ASCJ. An example of
this sentiment among the researchers is illustrated by this response from the Taiwanese
researcher on whether the project provided motivation to become involved in other
engaged research projects in other communities:
Yeah, definitely. I think it is very interesting and I feel like it’s not until you go
out to the street and actually see the places yourself and talk to the people
yourself—that you can get an actual sense of what a community is like. Before
you might feel like you know the place because you’ve done all the research on
census and demographic data, but it’s very different when you go out and see it
yourself and then feel it yourself. (CAM 2)
This quote again reinforces a motivation to embed communication asset mapping within
a suite of research methods for understanding community. As researchers, its critical that
more engaged research projects such as communication asset mapping can add
methodological insights to community, but also motivate the researchers to become
involved in other projects.
Another aspect that arose from the researchers’ responses to the inquiry about
motivation to become involved in other engaged research projects, is that the
communication asset mapping project helped establish increased levels of comfort going

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out in the community to conduct field research. One of the Latina researchers explains
this:
I think it made it just easier to participate. I mean I enjoyed being part of the
project and this type of research is what I enjoy. Going out into the field and
seeing the community more…made it easier to do other projects out in the
community. Because you’re building a level of comfort each time you go out.
(CAM 4)
This comfort built through fieldwork exposure and repetition is an important motivational
outcome of the engaged research project. It allows not only knowledge accumulation
through field data collection but also builds the capacity of the individual researchers to
be trained and feel comfortable in field research within urban communities.
Effect on Participant’s Social Network of Community Practitioners
The communication asset mapping project did not lead to an increase in the
researcher social networks of community practitioners and members. The researchers felt
the mapping engaged them in the physical place of South L.A. but felt the main
relationships they formed were with the researchers that were already part of their
Metamorphosis research center. The observation from the researchers that their social
networks were not expanded through the project did inform their suggestions for a more
improved engaged communication research method that is discussed in the discussion
section below.
Even though the researchers felt their social networks of community members and
practitioners were not directly increased by this particular project—they did feel the
project acted as a reference point for them to understand the community that their

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research center was engaging. Furthermore, they saw their participation in the project as
a launching point to build future networks with community members and practitioners.
This is evident through an account below by a Latina researcher when asked if her
networks and relationships were increased:
The communication asset mapping experience gave me a better understanding of
the South L.A. region as a whole. It was important because a lot of the
organizations through Metamorphosis and Meta Connects that we reached out to
were based in South L.A. And being in the landscape amongst the community—
it made me have a better understanding of their missions, of who they were
serving, who their residents were, and who their youth were. (CAM 1)
The social networks within those spaces would need more of a focus in the future
development of the method in order to build more relationships amongst community
practitioners.
Effect on Sustained Application of the Method
The participation of the researchers in the communication asset mapping project
did result in sustained application of the method in two main manifestations by the
researchers.
One avenue that resulted in the sustained use of the method were the researchers
participating and applying the method in other community-based research projects that
were taking place within the Los Angeles area that Metamorphosis was part of.
Application of the methods by the researchers resulted in workshops that were given to
community participants in different respective projects. On a health communication
project that was working on the cervical cancer prevention within the Latina community,

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some of the researchers took part in training community health promotoras (health
promoters) to map health communication assets in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in
the City of Los Angeles. The goal here was to create a health communication asset map
of local neighborhood spaces to access from the perspective of the health promotoras in
order to spread health information about cervical cancer prevention. On another project,
some researchers took part in training community journalism contributors to document
communication asset maps for the hyper-local website that they were working on in the
City of Alhambra.
The other avenue in which the researchers sustained the method and replicated
aspects of its concepts was within classrooms at USC ASCJ. Researchers who were
developing classes for undergrads integrated the method into their curriculum, taught the
method, and created opportunities for their undergraduate students to communication
asset map selected communities in the Los Angeles region. This is particularly a critical
outcome that resulted from the researcher participation in the communication asset
mapping project. The fact that the researchers felt comfortable enough with the concept
and a motivation to teach others presents a case that it can be sustained and replicated as
an engaged research method.
Perception on Project Actualizing the Engaged Research Characteristics
The researchers felt the project was community-based in regards to the project’s
direct field mapping of the community in the field. However, the researchers all agreed
that in order to make the project more community-based and the data more robust, it
would be ideal to have the asset mapping done by community organizations and members
of the community. The researchers felt this would make it more of a mapping project

93

that arises from the community and adds layers of perspectives on what different
segments felt were communication assets in South L.A.
Because most participants saw the project as taking an asset approach instead of a
deficit approach to urban communities, the majority of researchers did not feel there was
a focus on social problems in the community. One researcher, however, saw how the
method could address a pathway toward focusing on social problems in a disinvested
community like South L.A. This female researcher from Taiwan stated:
It focused on trying to highlight positive aspects of the community rather than just
focusing on all of the negative issues that I mentioned earlier. So, it addresses a
social problem of how can you connect and engage with the community so that
you can have stronger communities potentially. (CAM 2)
She correctly understood the concept of asset mapping as a strengths-based approach to
problems that may be plaguing a community. Communication asset mapping like other
asset-based approaches to community development is supposed to be a shift from a
deficit-centered approach to an asset-based approach to neighborhood problems and
community development efforts. This deficit approach is entrenched in mainstream
applied research approaches to communities. The goal of communication asset mapping
is to urge researchers to re-think this deficit approaches to research in the service of
social change projects in local communities.
In terms of whether the project built off community organization relationships, the
researchers generally felt the mapping did not directly do this. The researchers
understood that the mapping approach built off a Metamorphosis resident phone surveys
that identified community organizations within the responses, but did not point this out as

94

something that builds off community organizations. They did feel, however, that the
communication asset mapping project provided a launching point to learn more about the
community organizations in South L.A. identified through the mapping process that
could potentially lead to future organizations to collaborate with and develop future
engaged research projects.
The researchers did all positively affirm that the communication asset mapping
project engaged in different ways to present research knowledge to the public. They
believed that the presentation and dissemination of the knowledge through an interactive
map on the Meta Connects website was an innovative way to visually present mapping
data.
Conclusion
The research on the researcher outcomes as a result of their participation in
communication asset mapping revealed that the project could change their perception of
South L.A. positively, expand their perception of USC as part of the wider South L.A.
geography, encourage ideas in them about the role that USC can play to effect positive
social change in South L.A., motivate them to become involved in other engaged research
projects, and educate them on new methods of engaged communication scholarship and
mapping for future implementation in their own work. The participation in the project
did not increase their networks of other engaged researchers and community members as
the project solely focused on the researchers of an established research center team as the
implementers of the work. The expansion of engaged communication scholarship to the
community through the work and participation of community organizers takes center
stage in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 6—SOUTH L.A. DEMOCRATIC SPACES
This case study examines the participation of local community organizers from
South L.A. community organizations who participated in an engaged research project
called South L.A. Democratic Spaces. The project investigated democratic spaces in
South L.A.—or sites that encourage positive social change, promote advocacy efforts,
and serve as building blocks for community-based social movements—through the eyes
of the community organizers who participated.
The project is significant because it examined the existent democracy and
community building taking place on the ground in South L.A. This was important as it
provided forms of evidence that suggested there were positive community spaces that
countered much of the mainstream media that covers the negative activity that have
stigmatized South L.A. in the collective consciousness of the city. The project also
presented an important positive investigative frame for the collective work of the fifteen
community organizations that participated. This was important as it presented an
opportunity for the community organizers to reflect on their own organization’s work and
how it potentially fit within a larger collective movement of democracy building in South
L.A. These opportunities for reflection about the social change work taking place in
South L.A. is important as community organizers do not typically have the time or
research capacity to step back and evaluate their work.
This case study therefore investigates outcomes listed below that resulted from
community organizer participation in the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project. It is a
particular important study because it seeks to understand how engaged research can
potentially contribute to the social change activity that community organizers push

96

forward in South L.A. After a brief discussion about the project’s goal and design, the
outcomes that were investigated and the analysis of the findings follow.
Project Goal, Design, and Outcomes Investigated
This case study included all of the three design criteria with a heavy focus on
‘public dissemination’. The goal of South L.A. Democratic Spaces was to investigate
democratic spaces—or sites that encourage positive social change, promote advocacy
efforts, and serve as building blocks for community-based social movements—through
the eyes of community organizers in South L.A. Fifteen community organizers from
social change focused organizations participated in in-depth research interviews about the
meaning of democratic spaces in South L.A. and in their community organizing work.
The ‘social’ and ‘place-based’ criteria were designed into the project through the
establishment of a network of organizers that guided the selection of spaces and places
that support their work to create a more democratic South L.A. In essence, the
community organizers are prime examples of change agents who are working to re-
imagine South L.A. as a space and place for progressive social change. The engagement
of the community organizers added a necessary spatial perspective to not only the
existing social and physical environment—but more importantly how such spaces are
actively being shaped by their organizing work. This case study examines the outcomes
related to the community organizers’ participation in the engaged research project. It is
an important investigation into strategic partnerships that can potentially sustain the work
of engaged research at USC.
The ‘public dissemination’ piece was amplified because the project was designed
to involve the community organizers in multimedia productions that communicated their

97

knowledge of the South L.A. Democratic Spaces through videos, hyper-local news
websites, a print map, and a public exhibit installation and reception at USC. Examples
of the map produced and pictures from the exhibit are shown in Figures 11-14.

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Figure 11. Front of South L.A. Democratic Spaces Map.
South Los Angeles Democratic Spaces — Front — Round 4.
Prepared by Osato Design on: 09.14.12
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W 25th St
Tuxford St
W 9th St
E 6th St
N Euclid Ave
Lincoln Ave
W Whittier Blvd
S Beach Blvd
W Whittier Blvd
Jefferson Blvd
Bolsa Chica Rd
N Puente Ave
N Soto St
W Arrow Hwy
E Katella Ave
E 1st St
Puente Ave
W Arrow Hwy
S Brookhurst St
E Ramona Blvd
S Gar!eld Ave
S Azusa Ave
Fullerton Rd
Imperial Hwy
N Main St
Western Ave
E Rosecrans Ave
Colorado Blvd
S La Cienega Blvd
N Western Ave
N Azusa Ave
Bristol St
E Mission Blvd
Live Oak Ave
Victoria St
Ramona Blvd
Arrow Hwy
E Ocean Blvd
W Foothill Blvd
San Fernando Rd
N Harbor Blvd
N Long Beach Blvd
E Badillo St
Ellis Ave
S Hacie nda Blvd
W Katella Ave
E Slauson Ave
Costa Mesa Fwy
Long Beach Blvd
S Harbor Blvd
W Mission Blvd
E Lincoln Ave
S Azusa Ave
W Coast Hwy
Los Feliz Blvd
E Willow St
Artesia Blvd
Harbor Blvd
N Garey Ave
W Commonwealth Ave
Valley View Ave
Lincoln Ave
S Bristol St
Carson St
E Colima Rd
E Imperial Hwy
Bolsa Ave
Oso Pky
N Harbor Blvd
Imperial Hwy
Harbor Blvd
W 1st St
La Mirada Blvd
Slauson Ave
Of!cer Daniel T Fraembs Memorial Hwy
E Chapman Ave
Bolsa Chica St
Trabuco Rd
Vineland Ave
Arrow Hwy
S Euclid Ave
Colima Rd
E Coast Hwy
Sunland Blvd
S Norwalk Blvd
Bus Ln
Artesia Blvd
S Coast Hwy
E Orangethorpe Ave
Van Nuys Blvd
Euclid Ave
Gar!eld Ave
E Arrow Hwy
Palos Verdes Dr S
W Lincoln Ave
S Alameda St
N Grand Ave
N Coast Hwy
Venice Blvd
Huntington Dr
Beach Blvd
Marguerite Pky
Paci!c Coast Hwy
Foothill Transportation Corridor
Whittier Blvd
W Rosecrans Ave
E Paci!c Coast Hwy
Victory Blvd
Valley Blvd
Valley View St
Laurel Canyon Blvd
W Slauson Ave
Jamboree Rd
Reseda Blvd
Imperial Hwy
Balboa Blvd
Topanga Canyon Blvd
Lincoln Blvd
Sherman Way
Devonshire St
Katella Ave
Warner Ave
Lakewood Blvd
Historic Route 66
Whittier Blvd
Sepulveda Blvd
Wilshire Blvd
El Toro Rd
S Alameda St
Santiago Canyon Rd
E Valley Blvd
Irvine Blvd
Paci!c Coast Hwy
Beach Blvd
Firestone Blvd
Roscoe Blvd
Rosemead Blvd
Crown Valley Pky
Hawthorne Blvd
Corona Expy
Corona Expy
Chino Valley Fwy
S Western Ave S Western Ave
Brookhurst St
Brookhurst St
Angeles Crest Hwy
Paci!c Coast Hwy
Paci!c Coast Hwy
Paci!c Coast Hwy
Fox St
Main St
E 1st St
Holt Ave
26th St
Vail Ave
Palm Ave
Main St
E 17th St
E 16th St
W 19th St
E Palm Dr
N East St
E 108th St
W 1st St
D St
Day St
W 6th St
Otis Ave
Cannon St
Madre St
Hadley St
Grant Ave
4th St
Dale St
Foster Rd
S 7th Ave
S Knott Ave
E 2nd St
Fair Dr
Hilgard Ave
W 80th St
Malvern Ave
Beryl St
Knott Ave
Duarte Rd
Taft Ave
Airport Blvd
Plummer St
Bullis Rd
Arrow Hwy
N Brand Blvd
N Citrus Ave
Colima Rd
S East St
Mission Dr
Glenwood Dr
S 6th Ave
E Hill St
Selva Rd
190th St
Via Verde
E Gage Ave
N Main St
Mission St
E Broadway
Compton Blvd
Vine St
Yosemite Dr
Park Ave
Bear St
Centinela Ave
Abbott Rd
W 19th St
E Albertoni St
Fair Oaks Ave
Highland Ave
Camarillo St
Honolulu Ave
Towne Ave
Alamitos Ave
W Anaheim St
Hyperion Ave
Honolulu Ave
Crest Rd
Rose Ave
Del Mar Ave
Ventura Blvd
1st Ave
N Hewes St
S Euclid St
W Valley Blvd
20th St
Biola Ave
Zoo Dr
W Broadway
W 190th St
West St
Cypress Ave
S Orange Ave
W 4th St
W Holt Blvd
W 8th St
Kimball Ave
N Azusa Ave
W Gladstone St
W 8th St
S B rand Blvd
Oxnard St
Fletcher Dr
Platt Ave
7th St
Sesnon Blvd
Goldenwest St
Wilmington Ave
Padua Ave
E Merced Ave
Canada Blvd
N Valinda Ave
N Durfee Ave
Rinaldi St
S Prospect Ave
Lake Ave
E Lambert Rd
N Fairfax Ave
N Tustin Ave
Bloom!eld Ave
Del Amo Blvd
San Fernando Rd
Mills Ave
S Norwalk Blvd
N Paramount Blvd
E Victoria St
Bradley Ave
Centralia St
Telegraph Rd
Trask Ave
Los Alamitos Blvd
N Avalon Blvd
N Grand Ave
N La Brea Ave
N Cambridge St
Roxford St
W Jefferson Blvd
Exposition Blvd
Ocean Ave
Cannon St
Sherman Way
Gardendale St
E Chapman Ave
Saticoy St
Fern Ave
W Compton Blvd
W Baseline Rd
W Wardlow Rd
W Gage Ave
W 120th St
Huntington Dr
S Gaffey St
Longden Ave
Mills Ave
W Anaheim St
W Central Ave
S Grand Ave
166th St
Dover Dr
Civic Center Dr W
W Olive Ave
E 1st St
Vermont Ave
S Greenwood Ave
S San Gabriel Blvd
Sunset Blvd
Canoga Ave
S Santa Fe Ave
Holt Blvd
E 3rd St
La Tijera Blvd
Crown Valley Pky
Forest Lawn Dr
W Burbank Blvd
Lakeview Ave
W Holt Ave
S Del Mar Ave
W Duarte Rd
E Rush St
S Prairie Ave
W Alondra Blvd
Rose Dr
S Euclid St
N Wilton Pl
E 7th St
E Holt Ave
Felipe Rd
Baseline Rd
Garvey Ave
East Rd
N Normandie Ave
Michelson Dr
W Imperial Hwy
Serrano Ave
S Mountain Ave
Burbank Blvd
Bonita Ave
Euclid St
E Riverdale Ave
W 17th St
14th St
W Mission Rd
Newport Ave
S Idaho St
E Compton Blvd
Stonehill Dr
N Vincent Ave
Roscoe Blvd
S Anaheim Blvd
N Peck Rd
Talbert Ave
Lindley Ave
Lambert Rd
Rock!eld Blvd
Old River School Rd
Stocker St
S Reservoir St
W 16th St
Colorado Ave
Central Ave
N Los Robles Ave
Polk St
N Gaffey St
E Anaheim St
S Eastern Ave
N Fair Oaks Ave
S Myrtle Ave
W La Palma Ave
El Monte Ave
Aviation Blvd
S Paci!c Ave
E Alosta Ave
E Vernon Ave
Atlanta Ave
E South St
Strathern St
Westwood Blvd
Silver Lake Blvd
W Verdugo Ave
Terra Bella St
Pico Blvd
E Foothill Blvd
W MacArthur Blvd
Yale Ave
Paci!c Ave
Aviation Blvd
Burton Way
La Palma Ave
Edinger Ave
E Orangethorpe Ave
Hauser Blvd
Path!nder Rd
Esperanza Rd
E Broadway
E Olympic Blvd
Main St
S Raitt St
Orange Ave
W Ball Rd
Stage Rd
W Magnolia Blvd
Tweedy Blvd
W Beverly Blvd
Mulholland Dr
Los Angeles St
Mar Vista St
Valencia Ave
Western Ave
E 223rd St
S Robertson Blvd
Hubbard St
E Del Mar Blvd
Sawtelle Blvd
Sheldon St
Mulberry Dr
Paci!c Blvd
W Glenoaks Blvd
S Santa Fe Ave
Hermosa Ave
Ocean Park Blvd
Valley Blvd
E Willow St
Baker St
State St
Peyton Dr
S Grand Ave
N Euclid St
E Meats Ave
N Gilbert St
W Arrow Hwy
W Chapman Ave
S Sunset Ave
E Artesia Blvd
Cahuenga Blvd
E Birch St
Painter Ave
E Path!nder Rd
Hawthorne Blvd
W Edinger Ave
Plummer St
Louise Ave
Orangethorpe Ave
W Redondo Beach Blvd
Branford St
E Stearns St
Zelzah Ave
Grif!n Ave
Amar Rd
Rancho Viejo Rd
Ball Rd
Fairview Rd
S Centinela Ave
E Sepulveda Blvd
N Durfee Ave
N Tustin St
Balboa Blvd
Paxton St
Valley Blvd
Colfax Ave
Santa Fe Ave
E University Dr
Westchester Pky
W Temple St
Downey Ave
S Santa Monica Blvd
California Ave
S Bundy Dr
Riverside Dr
N Placentia Ave
Arleta Ave
N Glenoaks Blvd
Wells Dr
La Puente Rd
N Batavia St
W 54th St
Palms Blvd
Placentia Ave
Slauson Ave
Santa Fe Springs Rd
Linda Vista Ave
E Garvey Ave
Gage Ave
E 4th St
Paci!c Ave
New York Dr
Moody St
Passons Blvd
Main St
Compton Ave
Wentworth St
Montana Ave
W Vernon Ave
Euclid St
Tustin Ranch Rd
Franklin Ave
S San Pedro St
Cherry Ave
E Bastanchury Rd
S State College Blvd
Redondo Ave
E Anaheim St
S Fairview St
W Orangethorpe Ave
Roscomare Rd
E Atherton St
E Carson St
Baldwin Park Blvd
E Cypress St
Overland Ave
W Florence Ave
S Flower St
E Gale Ave
E Chevy Chase Dr
W Ball Rd
University Dr
Temple City Blvd
N Towne Ave
E El Segundo Blvd
S Main St
S Soto St
W 190th St
Gar!eld Ave
Pershing Dr
Main St
E 17th St
Santa Gertrudes Ave
Fallbrook Ave
E Washington Blvd
Rinaldi St
E Cameron Ave
York Blvd
Walker St
N White Ave
Osborne St
S Barrington Ave
Riverside Dr
N Euclid Ave
E Orange Grove Blvd
Haskell Ave
E 7th St
Vista Del Mar
S Atlantic Blvd
Hayvenhurst Ave
White Oak Ave
Campus Dr
Santa Susana Pass Rd
Somerset Blvd
E Wardlow Rd
W Foothill Blvd
Street Of The Golden Lantern
N Hollywood Way
Irvine Ave
E Del Amo Blvd
Edison Ave
Moulton Pky
N Glassell St
Bonita Canyon Dr
W Carson St
S Van Ness Ave
Bryan Ave
N Santa Anita Ave
Beverly Blvd
Lef!ngwell Rd
Golden Springs Dr
Plummer St
Muirlands Blvd
E Olympic Blvd
Crescent Ave
Westminster Blvd
Figueroa St
Hollywood Blvd
La Palma Ave
Lomita Blvd
La P
a
z Rd
Harvard Ave
Workman Mill Rd
Cabot Rd
Adams Ave
Lankershim Blvd
Gar!eld Ave
W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
S Wilmington Ave
Cerritos Ave
E California Blvd
Canoga Ave
Chino Ave
Seal Beach Blvd
S Diamond Bar Blvd
S La Cienega Blvd
Manhattan Beach Blvd
Lampson Ave
E Cesar E Chavez Ave
Bloom!eld Ave
Lower Azusa Rd
Anza Ave
Bandini Blvd
San Fernando Mission Blvd
Walnut Ave
Van Nuys Blvd
Jeffrey Rd
Normandie Ave
Inglewood Ave
S Sepulveda Blvd
Trabuco Rd
Brea Canyon Rd
N Bell"ower Blvd
Jamboree Rd
Sepulveda Blvd
Moorpark St
E Nohl Ranch Rd
E East Fork Rd
Central Ave
Riverside Dr
Eagle Rock Blvd
Butter!eld Ranch Rd
Studebaker Rd
Atlantic Ave
Avalon Blvd
Artesia Blvd
Whitsett Ave
Goldenwest St
Aliso Creek Rd
S Broadway
La Paz Rd
Washington Blvd
Ramona Ave
Los Alisos Blvd
Melrose Ave
Prairie Ave
E Temple Ave
La Tuna Canyon Rd
W El Segundo Blvd
Culver Blvd
Bake Pky
W Imperial Hwy
Palo Verde Ave
Knott Ave
Sherman Way
Norwalk Blvd
W Adams Blvd
Westminster Ave
Torrance Blvd
W Jefferson Blvd
Sand Canyon Ave
South St
E Amar Rd
Chatsworth St
Ventura Blvd
Oxnard St
W Washington Blvd
Valley Circle Blvd
Del Amo Blvd
Monterey Rd
Jeronimo Rd
Springdale St
Magnolia Blvd
Marine Ave
San Fernando Rd
Portola Pky
Jamboree Rd
Yorba Lin
da Blvd
Winnetka Ave
S La Brea Ave
Wilshire Blvd
Carmenita Rd
E Spring St
Irvine Center Dr
Mulholland Hwy
Venice Blvd
W Century Blvd
Nordhoff St
Bell"ower Blvd
Historic Route 66
Coldwater Canyon Ave
Grand Ave
Mt Baldy Rd
Laurel Canyon Blvd
Beverly Blvd
Hawthorne Blvd
Chapman Ave
Chino Hills Pky
San Joaquin Hills Rd
Garden Grove Blvd
De Soto Ave
Avalon Blvd
Telegraph Rd
Red Hill Ave
W 3rd St
Orange Ave
Long Beach Blvd
San Vicente Blvd
Atlantic Ave
W Sunset Blvd
Saticoy St
Culver Dr
Barranca Pky
Carbon Canyon Rd
Woodman Ave
E Washington Blvd
Niguel Rd
Palos Verdes Dr N
N Studebaker Rd
S Central Ave
Woodruff Ave
Tampa Ave
Lassen St
Newport Coast Dr
Woodley Ave
Edinger Ave
Angeles Forest Hwy
Glenoaks Blvd
Burbank Blvd
Paramount Blvd
Victory Blvd
Alondra Blvd
Magnolia St
Lake Forest Dr
W Pico Blvd
Glendora Ridge Rd
Big Tujunga Canyon Rd
Pioneer Blvd
E La Palma Ave
Florence Ave
W Olympic Blvd
Mulholland Dr
S Normandie Ave
Historic Route 66
S Figueroa St
Rosecrans Ave
Glendora Mountain Rd
S Main St
E Santa Ana Canyon Rd
Alton Pky
Vanowen St Vanowen St
S Vermont Ave
S Vermont Ave
Alicia Pky
Crenshaw Blvd
Crenshaw Blvd
Foothill Blvd
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About the Project:
South LA Democratic Spaces
is a collaborative multimedia
storytelling investigation that
reveals 15 democratic spaces and
places in South LA, all through
the eyes of local community
organizers and advocates. !ese
sites encourage positive social
change, promote advocacy
efforts, and serve as building
blocks for community-based
social movements.
!e project is a collaboration
between these community
organizations, along with
community-based researchers
from the Metamorphosis Project
and community journalists from
Intersections South LA. !e
project is grounded in the belief
that universities should act as
productive citizens within the
neighborhoods in which they are
embedded. We are committed to
working with local community-
based organizations to express
stories of struggles toward social
change. Ultimately, the project
promotes public scholarship that
not only produces research for
the university environment, but
also finds creative multimedia
distribution strategies to tell the
stories of South LA Democratic
Spaces to multiple publics.
To View Stories:
!e physical exhibit will be
displayed at the USC Annenberg
building from September
27-December 2012. It will then
travel to a community-based
location after this display. It is
also available online.
To view the the mapped
stories, go to metaconnects.org.
To view the video stories, go to
intersectionssouthla.org.
Democratic spaces in South LA are not set in time or in place. They take the
active work of community organizers and organizations who struggle to
create, use, and maintain these sites of community action. Each democratic
space on this map was selected by local organizers, all of whom are
featured on the back. Check out which organizer selected which space —
look at the corresponding numbers by turning the page!
Where Change Takes Place

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Figure 12. Back of South L.A. Democratic Spaces Map.

South Los Angeles Democratic Spaces — Back — Round 4.
Prepared by Osato Design on: 09.14.12
Credits: Project Director, George
Villanueva
t Humanities Project Advisor,
Professor Sandra Ball-Rokeach
t Metamorphosis
Project Team, Garrett Broad, Tandia Elijio,
Evelyn Moreno, Katherine Ognyanova, Tania
Picasso, Benjamin Stokes
t Intersections South
LA Team, Willa Seidenberg (Director), Molly
Gray, Veronica Villafane
t Video Editor,
Aaron Schrank
t Photographers, Carlo Acenas,
Andrew Ramirez, Carly Santiago
t Photo
Exhibit Design, Spectrum Design: Dane
Martens & John Cheng
t Map Program Design,
Osato Design: Teri Osato
!is project was made possible with support from Cal Humanities, an independent non-profit state
partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, visit calhum.org.
Community
Organizers
Peace Over Violence
Trina Greene, Program Manager
peaceoverviolence.org
South LA Youth Action Council at
LA Child Guidance Clinic & POV HQ
Vermont and Exposition (LA CGC) and
1015 Wilshire Blvd., LA, CA 90015
24th Street Theatre
Jay McAdams
Executive Director
24thstreet.org
24th Street !eatre
1117 W. 24th St., LA, CA 90007-1725
Strategic Actions
for a Just Economy (SAJE)
Gabriela Garcia
UNIDAD Community Organizer
saje.net
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)
152 W. 32nd St., LA, CA 90007
Strategic Concepts in Organizing
and Policy Education (SCOPE)
Manuel Henandez
Lead Organizer
scopela.org
William & Carol Ouchi High School
5356 S. Fifth Ave., LA, CA 90043
Community Coalition
Aurea Montes-Rodriguez
Vice President for
Organizational Growth
cocosouthla.org
Community Coalition
8101 S. Vermont Ave., LA, CA 90044
Los Angeles Community
Action Network (LA CAN)
Pete White
Founder and Co-Director
cangress.org
Los Angeles Community Action Network
530 S. Main St., LA, CA 90013
CD Tech
Benjamin Torres
President and CEO
cdtech.org
LA Trade Tech College
Community Planning Class
400 W. Washington Blvd., LA, 90015
Esperanza Community
Housing Corporation
Monic Uriarte, Community
Organizer/Health Promoter
esperanzacommunityhousing.org
Mercado la Paloma
3655 S. Grand Ave., LA, CA 90007
Community Financial
Resource Center
Rudy Espinoza, Sr. Program
Officer, Local Economic
Development Initiatives, cfrcla.org
Night Mobile St. Food Vendors/Entrepreneurs
320 W. Slauson Ave., LA, CA 90003
Advancement Project
Janice Burns
Research Analyst and Community
Research Lab Manager
advancementprojectca.org
Watts Mafundi Mural
1827 E. 103rd St., LA, CA 90002
Children’s Nature Institute
Kelly Decker
Executive Director
childrensnatureinstitute.org
Marine Touch Tank at the
Children’s Nature Institute
1910 Magnolia Ave., LA, CA 90007
T.R.U.S.T. South LA
Tafarai Bayne
Community Affairs Manager
trustsouthla.org
!e Streets/CicLAvia South LA Hub
S. Central Ave. and E. 14th St.
Community Services Unlimited
Neelam Sharma
Executive Director
csuinc.org
Earth Day South LA,
Normandie Avenue Elementary School
4505 S. Raymond Ave., LA, CA 90037
LA Black Worker Center
Pearl Loehnig
Community Organizer
lablackworkercenter.org
Los Angeles Black Worker Center
6569 S. Vermont Ave., 2nd Floor,
LA, CA 90044
The Trust for Public Land
Tori Kjer, Project Manager
Ronald “Kartoon” Antwine,
Community Organizer
tpl.org
Monitor Avenue Park (in process)
Monitor Ave. and 114th St., Watts, CA
Get Involved! Go to each community organization website or visit metaconnects.org to learn how the general public can get involved in a campaign or
program to make South LA more democratic and livable.

100

Figure 13. Exhibit at USC Annenberg building that hosted photo installations and
videos. Photo Credit: Carlo Acenas

101

Figure 14. Community organizers speak with the audience at the exhibit. Photo Credit:
Carlo Acenas

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To investigate the outcomes in this case study, semi-structured interviews were
conducted with community organizers involved in the engaged research project. Not all
fifteen community organizers were available for interviews during the data collection
period for the study. Social demographics of the interview participants are in Table 10.
The seven who were interviewed have worked for their organization in South L.A. for
multiple years, so they had a solid foundation in terms of their familiarity with South
L.A. The ethnicities for all fifteen community organizers who took part in the project
ranged but were mainly Latino and Black—therefore reflecting South L.A.’s current
population. The participants who were available for this study covered all four major
racial groups; four were Latino, one was Black, one was Asian, and one was White.
Table 10
Interviewee demographics for South L.A. Democratic Spaces case study
Interviewee ID Year of Birth Gender Ethnicity
DEM 1 1965 Female Asian
DEM 2 1964 Female Latina
DEM 3 1964 Male White
DEM 4 1982 Female Latina
DEM 5 1982 Male Latino
DEM 6 1975 Female Latina
DEM 7 1982 Male Black

The primary outcome questions investigated in this case study that guide the
report of the findings are:
1. Did participants increase the use of the highlighted democratic space in their
community organizing work as result of the project?
2. Did participants experience an increase in the sense of pride in the social change
work they engage in South L.A. as a result of the project?

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3. Did participants experience increased collective efficacy in their sense that they
can shape the perception of South L.A. from its mainstream negative image
toward a more positive image?
4. Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with
other community organizers and organizations in their South L.A. social change
work as a result of the project?
5. Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with
USC in your South L.A. social change work as a result of the project?
6. Was there any sustained use of the materials produced for South L.A. Democratic
Spaces?
Effect on Future Use of Highlighted Democratic Space
All of the interviewed participants indicated that the spaces they highlighted as
democratic spaces continued to play a significant role in their community change work.
Whether the highlighted democratic space was a highlighted physical place in the
community, an event they organize in South L.A., or forms of local entrepreneurship and
civic activity in the streets of South L.A.—the community organizers continued to see the
value of the spaces they highlighted within the sustainability of their work.
One Latina female organizer found more confidence in sharing her democratic
space with others after she highlighted it within the project. She stated:
For me, I invite more people to join the Mercado La Paloma. I have the
opportunity to share this place with people from church and from people at other
organizations. I invite them to have meetings right here, to have lunch, retreats.

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I’m more open to offer this place after South L.A. Democratic Spaces. I feel
more confident to present this place. (DEM 2)
The confidence this organizer gained from highlighting her space suggests community
participants of engaged research projects can benefit from engaged researcher inquiries
into what spaces contribute to progressive social change. The organizer’s increase in
confidence can also be interpreted as a form of validation about the spaces she uses in her
community work as she was encouraged to share it more frequently with others after her
participation in the project.
Another aspect expressed by a different Latina female organizer about her
continued use of her highlighted democratic space is that the project preempted her and
her organization to think about how to make the space she highlighted even more open
and democratic. This organizer had highlighted her community organization
headquarters as a democratic space. In response to the question of how the South L.A.
Democratic Spaces affected the use of her highlighted space in the future she responded:
So last night for instance, we had a meeting around the local control funding
formula and I was in the meeting with decision makers… The room was just
packed. There were people standing throughout the conference room. And I
thought that it was interesting because we were talking today that most of our
meetings have looked like that, you know, in the last year. And so, we are
actually working on a project to renovate the building now because we feel like
it’s great that we have this democratic space but the democratic space is not
reflecting the functions of what we do—which is hosting all these community
meetings whether with education or public officials. And so we actually want to

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tear the building down from the inside and remodel it so that it’s much more
conducive to the type of community meeting that we had last night where three
quarters of the building is really space for the community to meet and one quarter
for the actual organizers and staff who work on campaigns and organizing. (DEM
6)
This organizer’s response is particular interesting because it points to how social and
community activity is driving the future construction of the physical space of their
community organization. Her response that connects her observation of the community
frequenting the highlighted space more often and the democratic potential of the physical
space illustrates the impact that engaged research inquiry can have on how organizer
participants can positively re-imagine the spaces they use for their everyday community
change work.
One Black male organizer who works on transportation and mobility issues in
South L.A. illustrated how the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project and the space he
highlighted contributed to his campaigns to bring public infrastructure and civic activity
changes to South L.A. This organizer highlighted the ‘streets’ of South L.A. as his
democratic space and his response below speaks of his campaign work to bring CicLAvia
to South L.A.—a public open space project that closes down miles of L.A. streets for
multiple hours on a Sunday and only allows non-motorized use of the streets in order to
encourage healthy mobile activity and local tourism. He stated:
We’ve been working for the last two to three years on CicLAvia, working with
them to establish a South L.A. route. Finally this year, we’ll have a CicLAvia
exclusively in South L.A. produced by CicLAvia. And some of that space and

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some of that conversation had definitely been formed by this project [South L.A.
Democratic Spaces] in terms of opportunity to highlight streets in this
conversation. I mean, we do our work in terms of street improvements,
infrastructure, bike infrastructure, and pedestrian infrastructure. What it means to
look at that space and make it accessible to look at complete streets as a frame for
how we’re looking at street development in communities like South Los Angeles.
That’s definitely evolved and had been formed in some way by our engagements
in projects like South L.A. Democratic Spaces. (DEM 7)
His response that South L.A. Democratic Spaces as a project contributed to his mobility
campaign work to bring CicLAvia to South L.A. points to how engaged research projects
can further support not only existing physical spaces like a community organization
building, but how it can also contribute to communication discourse about bringing social
spaces such as CicLAvia to South L.A. This is important because CicLAvia has typically
been programmed for neighborhoods in Los Angeles such as Downtown and Venice,
areas commonly perceived as safe, vibrant, and desirable places to live. Engaged
research projects that inquire about the potential democratic spaces of South L.A. through
the eyes of community organizers can contribute to the organizing work to bring city
festivals such as CicLAvia to South L.A. and potentially contribute to the positive re-
imagination of the area South L.A.
Effect on Sense of Pride in their Social Change Work
All the organizers indicated an increased sense of pride in the change work they
are involved in as a result to their participation in South L.A. Democratic Spaces. Even
though they felt this sense of pride partly due to their individual recognition within in the

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project, most of the organizers pointed to the fact that they were recognized amongst a
group of organizers that they highly respected in South L.A. as the major factor for their
increased sense of pride in their community change work. A few of the responses below,
first from an Asian female organizer, second from a White male organizer, and third from
a Latina female organizer illustrate this:
To be included with the folks that we were included with was really an honor
because these are all organizations doing great work. That’s how it felt. It felt
very much like a validation. (DEM 1)
And I was proud to be, you know, counted amongst those folks. There is a lot of
people there doing lots of good work… So seeing myself up there with all those
people, you know, I kind of was like “Oh, God, we don’t ever deserve to be up
here with some of these folks,” you know, because of the hard work they’re
doing. So, I felt proud. (DEM 3)
I really liked the integrity of the organizations that we’re selected because there
are so many in South L.A. and I think just being able to be on the map was really
great. Also knowing that most of my professional relationships are within this
map produced. We all have respect for each other. I know that folks have a deep
commitment to creating these spaces. (DEM 4)
The increased sense of pride that resulted from the organizers’ participation in the project
was apparent but the collective recognition of 15 organizers that each organizer respected
definitely amplified their sense of pride. These responses speak to the potential of
engaged research projects acting as not only research methods that seek to discover
phenomenon, but also mechanisms for collective storytelling that validate the community

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organizing work of many organizers that may feel isolated within their own everyday
community change work.
Effect on Collective Efficacy To Change Negative Perceptions of South L.A.
All the organizers were very aware of the negative perception that South L.A.
possessed as a neighborhood due to its history and current distressed social conditions.
For many of the organizers, they choose to enter the field of social change work with
their specific community organization in order to improve the conditions of the South
L.A. community. Therefore many personally felt they were making some sort of
difference in changing the negative perception of South L.A. What their participation in
South L.A. Democratic Spaces did add upon their own individual efficacy to change the
negative perception of South L.A. were feelings of collective efficacy.
These feelings of collective efficacy primarily manifested through their
experience as a curated selection of organizers within the South L.A. Democratic Spaces
project. They were able to see their work within a positive collective frame primarily
sourced from community organizers and this made individual organizers feel a part of a
larger collective effort to change the negative perception of South L.A. This is illustrated
by a response from one of the Latina female organizers:
There were people who were working in the service sector and who had not
looked at South L.A. in the way that the South L.A. Democratic Spaces exhibit
was highlighting. So they were intrigued by the fact that, you know, could talk
about the community in an asset-based frame… And so, I definitely think that it
changes the perceptions for people, but more importantly it allows for people to
dialog with the groups that were highlighted and think about whether they want to

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connect in a deeper way to the communities because their perceptions have been
challenged. Their knowledge about the community has been challenged. And it
really allows them to connect in a more authentic way. (DEM 6)
This organizer’s specific reference to an ‘asset-based frame’ is important here as it can
refer back to the specific inquiry of the engaged research question for the South L.A.
Democratic Spaces project. The project developed out of the goals of the
‘communication-asset mapping’ project that involved university researchers. In South
L.A. Democratic Spaces, the terms were adjusted to seek out democratic movement-
building spaces in South L.A. At the same time many organizers who are familiar with
building community through an asset-based approach intuitively see projects like South
L.A. Democratic Spaces as a project to collectively build community and counter
negative perceptions of South L.A. This collective efficacy was reinforced through their
participation in this project.
Effect on Collaboration with Other Organizers
There was no strong effect on collaboration with other organizers in their work as
a result of the organizers’ participation in South L.A. Democratic Spaces. This was not
for a lack of interest in collaboration but mainly because of two factors. Many of the
organizers possessed some relationships and familiarity with each other already and may
have already been collaborating with each other through other collaborative projects due
to their funding sources or agendas of their community organizations. Secondly,
collaboration is also a stress on resources. As one White male organizer mentioned:

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We’re all kind of in our own little ecosystem and it’s really hard for non-profits to
work together in this big philanthropic world, you know? And so, non-profits can
be tired to partner because you’re on your own first of all, you’re limited in
resources and capacity all of the time. (DEM 3)
The capacity issue among non-profit community change organizations and organizers is a
recurring challenge to community change collaborative initiatives. Given the strain on
resources, community organizations focus on their missions and organizing campaigns.
Collaboration and points of social innovation such as participating in an engaged research
project like South L.A. Democratic Spaces typically requires funding resources—and
more importantly leadership from outside of their organizations. Collaboration has been
spurred in South L.A. through funding initiatives like Building Healthy Communities
funded by the California Endowment or First 5 LA’s place-based family initiative in
South L.A. Similarly South L.A. Democratic Spaces was partially funded by a grant by
Cal Humanities. The other source of funding and more importantly coordination efforts
came from the USC ASCJ’s Metamorphosis Project in which I took leadership in the
project. For future collaboration among organizers to be sustained around the work of
South L.A. Democratic Spaces, the effort would either need to be continued by the
Metamorphosis Project or a lead community organization that mustered the resources and
funding to continue collaboration among the organizers.
Effect on Collaboration with USC
The effect on collaboration with USC did partially increase or continued to
increase as a result of participation with the South L.A. Democratic Spaces. Some
organizers already had previous relationships with USC through university neighborhood

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funding initiatives, program partnerships with departments that focused on the
community organization missions, or with research centers that focused on research that
supported the community organization missions. These points of collaboration continued
during and after South L.A. Democratic Spaces.
In the new forms of collaboration that resulted from participation in South L.A.
Democratic Spaces, one form manifested in the collaboration of Metamorphosis, the
Annenberg Innovation Lab, and two of the participating organizers on a USC University
Neighborhood Outreach grant to map healthy food and transportation around the
University neighborhood area. The collaboration was successful in receiving the grant
and conducted the work in 2012.
All 15 organizers and their organizations were included in the network of
organizations that the Metamorphosis Project contacts through their community
translational website MetaConnects.org. The Metamorphosis Project is currently
assessing the work and planning future activity that will attempt to spur on more
networking and collaboration with the organizations that were involved.
Another general point related to collaboration with USC as a university that
should be accounted for is that all the organizers mentioned the oftentimes-tense
relationship that the neighborhood of South L.A has with the university. The organizers
were all quick to point out how USC as an institution has not always been seen in a light
that speaks to the improvement of the distressed conditions of the everyday residents of
the surrounding neighborhoods near the campus. Many organizers point out that the
university administration seems to care mainly about keeping their students safe instead

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of considering safety a public safety issue for the community as a whole. One Black
male organizer illustrates this dynamic through the following statement:
On a macro level, the university could take a stance around helping preserve
affordability in the community for non-students to see the value of a mixed-
income community for our residents, to work with its police departments and
relationships with the police to help work in the community’s interest around
community violence. Because I believe nobody likes violence and I think the
university treats the issue as a us versus them dynamic; and takes on the “we need
to protect ourselves from them. So, we’ll gate our community and we’ll protect
out students.” The university should be a partner in protecting everybody. (DEM
7)
This organizer’s sentiment was indicative of all of the organizers responses about the
relationship of the university with the South L.A. community. This tense relationship in
the eyes of the organizers was only amplified when the university erected the new fences
last year as a result of the student murders. The organizers find that this was a blow to
the years of progress that the university was making through their other neighborhood
outreach and engagement work. They felt that the university could have handled the
situation differently and involved the surrounding community in work to consider the
public safety of the campus and the community as a whole.
The tense relationship can also drown out the engaged research projects and
outreach practice conducted by individual faculty, students, and departments. Engaged
research is fruitful for positive forms of collaboration but needs to be fully
institutionalized and led by university administration in order for collaboration to be most

113

effective. Institutionalization could potentially signal that local community change and
improvement concerns of the larger South L.A. area that surrounds USC are taken
seriously.
Sustained Use of the Materials Produced
The materials produced from the South L.A. Democratic Spaces continued to be
used by the organizers after their participation in the project. The organizers as a whole
indicated a high frequency of use at the start of the public exhibit and immediately after.
After the initial months of the public exhibit and release of the map and videos, most of
the sustained use took the form of organizers who shared the South L.A. Democratic
Spaces website and videos to people who the organizers felt needed to be exposed to the
positive work being done by community organizations in South L.A. For example, an
Asian female organizer stated:
I’ve definitely used the online link to send people to. Just when I’ve been in
conversation with people about South L.A. and both stupid conversations about
how there’s nothing good happening in South L.A. and people looking for what’s
happening. It’s been a great space to point people to. (DEM 1)
This indicated that having the materials in many different forms through print maps and
online videos of the organizers were helpful resources for the organizers to spread in their
continued community change work.
A Latina female organizer responded that their organization used the materials for
archiving purposes and as a way to have conversations with the residents they organize.
She stated:

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We did archive some of the materials like the disc that was given to us…
Actually a few of us sill have the flier because our mural was featured in the cover
of the event of the event flier and so most of us still have it…We’ve archived the
material because we’re also trying to go into that process, like, how do we
memorialize our work and I think this a good, and important way to do it, like
when we partner with projects like this… We also had residents go to the exhibit
launch and then we had them come share when we had a community meeting.
We had them share what the project was about and their experiences there. (DEM
4)
Two points are important here on the materials produced through the project. One is that
the project materials offer a way for community organizations to account for their history
when they don’t have time to do it themselves. Again, this points to lack of capacity for
evaluation and documentation functions in community change organizations that are
primarily focused on programming. A second point that this organizer points to is that
the project materials served as discussion pieces for the residents they organize. This
indicates a critical function that engaged scholarship potentially can play within the
cultural ecology of community change work in South L.A. and other urban communities.
Engaged researchers can develop projects that not only serve research questions but also
scholarship that the community can continue to use for reflection about the social change
work taking place in their communities.
Perception on Project Actualizing Engaged Research Characteristics
All of the organizer participants affirmed that the South L.A. Democratic Spaces
actualized all four of the engaged research characteristics. They saw the project as

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community-based because of its focus on South L.A. spaces. Participants viewed the
effort as a project that attempted to focus on social problems in the community because it
worked to challenge the negative stigma of South L.A.’s mainstream image. They saw
that the project built off community and community organizer relationships because of its
collaboration with a network of social change focused community organizations they
respected within South L.A. Participants also viewed the project as an attempt explore
different ways to present knowledge to the public because of the use of print maps,
videos, multimedia websites, and a public exhibit to engage the public in the knowledge
sourced from the organizers.
As a point of reflection, there were two interesting points that were mentioned by
the organizers that indicate how future iterations of South L.A. Democratic Spaces could
be improved.
One point that all of the organizers mentioned that could benefit not only the
project but also the goal of improving South L.A.’s image is that all the organizers felt
that the physical exhibit could be installed in other venues beyond USC. They
appreciated that the exhibit was hosted at the university and served as a point to educate
the university community about the positive aspects of the South L.A. neighborhoods that
surround the campus. At the same time, they also expressed a desire to see it travel to
other venues in the South L.A. community and more importantly to other neighborhood
venues across the City of L.A. They were particularly interested in the exhibit being
shown in other areas of the city because they felt that many residents outside of South
L.A. continue to have a negative image of South L.A. and they feel the exhibit can
contribute to combatting this negative image. Additionally, the organizers mentioned

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more promotion of the exhibit, the website, and the print materials could benefit the
project to maximize the fourth characteristic which was to explore different ways to
present the knowledge to the public.
A second point of reflection from one Latina female organizer was her interest to
have residents of South L.A. she organizes be the subject and face of a project such as
South L.A. Democratic Spaces. In her interview she stated:
For me, in my own reflection, I could have brought forward a community resident
because who is more able to talk about the space within the work that we do than
a resident right? Than someone who is really struggling out there—who we’ve
invested time to develop, a leader who we’re building the capacity of to really
shift things and really understand the bigger picture and vision of my organization
and the other organizations involved… Because I think our organization may
always exist. I may not always be here and what better way to memorialize
something like a democratic space than with our community residents we
organize. (DEM 4)
This is an important point that contributes to the potential impact of engaged research
projects and the goal of community change addressed by academics. If a positive impact
on community change is going to be realized, the residents who stand to benefit the most
from the change need to be more involved. As this organizer suggests the leadership
capacity of everyday residents need to be developed so that they can be the face of future
projects. The field of engaged scholarship in general stands to benefit from this broader
point to involve the publics that such projects seek to positively impact.

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Conclusion
The research on the community organizer outcomes as a result of their in South
L.A. Democratic Spaces revealed that the project increased their use of the space they
highlighted for the project, increased their sense of pride in the social change work they
do, increased their collective efficacy as organizers to change the negative perception of
South L.A., and presented them with materials and a positive framing for their work that
they could share with their networks. The participation in the project did not necessarily
increase their collaboration with the other organizers and USC. Increased collaboration
took shape in specific instances where there were already established funding for
collaborative projects or if there were funding that was sought for a future project. In the
case of collaboration with USC and applying for funding for future projects, this did
happen but only with a small set of organizers because of the issue area of the grant
pursued and a lack of capacity to make it more inclusive of all the organizations that took
part in South L.A. Democratic Spaces. One important aspect pointed out by an organizer
is the desire to place the residents they organize as the focus of engaged scholarship
initiatives such as the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project. The expansion of engaged
communication scholarship to the community through the participation of South L.A.
residents who are part of local bicycle clubs is the focus of the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 7—RIDE SOUTH L.A.
This case study investigated the participation of local South L.A. bicycle club
members in an engaged research project called Ride South L.A. The project involved the
participation of the bicycle club members and other community members in a project that
combined mobile phones and bicycles to conduct participatory mapping of the route from
a local park in South L.A. to the Watts Towers. As part of the ride, participants were
asked to document community assets or resources and landmarks that indicate the
positive strengths of the area
2
along the route through a mobile phone texting system set
up by my colleagues and me at USC. Participants were invited back to a workshop to
prioritize the assets mapped during the ride and what bicycle/ pedestrian infrastructure
information should be included on the final Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ map that was
produced.
The overall significance of this mobile mapping project is threefold. One point is
that it created a map of community assets and bicycle routes in South L.A. that were
sourced from local community residents such as the bicycle club participants. The
project served as an alternative to official city planners determining the bicycle routes
when they are not the primary local bicyclists who use the bicycle routes. A second point
was that the project involved not only South L.A. residents but also other residents from
other communities to experience a group activity that exposed them to positive aspects of

2
This project used the ‘community asset’ frame for this mapping project because the
focus was a general participatory mobile phone mapping effort aimed at the identification
of positive resources and landmarks in the area during the ride (McKnight & Kretzmann,
1993; Sharpe, Greaney, Lee, & Royce, 2000). ‘Communication asset mapping’ as
referred to in one of the case studies in this dissertation is an engaged research method
developed by the researcher that situates communication theories and interests as the
major focus of the asset mapping.

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South L.A. This was important because it harnessed a bicycle ride and mobile phones
that created a shared experience of a space among individuals who came from different
communities. Thirdly the engaged research project explored different forms of
communication such as mobile phones, print mapping, and live bicycle rides to document
and articulate meanings of space from the perspectives of the participants. This
exploration of multiple communication forms, both offline and digital, is important for
engaged research projects because it shows that not one communication form is a silver
bullet for community engagement and that multiple forms should be considered for the
social change goals of engaged communication scholarship.
Since one of the primary participant groups of the project were South L.A. bicycle
club members versus the researcher and professional community organizer focus of the
last two case studies—the investigation of outcomes as a result of the bicycle club
member participation is particularly important for assessing what engaged research
projects can potentially contribute to how residents themselves can re-imagine their own
residential and community space of South L.A. After a brief discussion on the project’s
goal and design, the investigated outcomes and the analysis of the findings follow.
Project Goal, Design, and Outcomes Investigated
The goal of Ride South L.A. was to positively re-imagine the space of South L.A.
through a coordinated 10 mile round trip bicycle ride from Augustus Hawkins Park to the
Watts Towers, both in South L.A. The spatial re-imagination involved the development
of a participatory mobile phone mapping picture texting system in which participants
could submit geo-coded community assets while on route and during the planned stops at
pre-identified assets such as parks and the Watts Towers. As discussed above, willing

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participants were later invited back for a workshop which informed the final Ride South
L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ map (see Figures 15-17) that documented the route, prioritized
community assets, displayed pictures collected during the ride, and presented information
on how the community could get involved to advocate for improved bicycle and
pedestrian infrastructure in South L.A.

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Figure 15. One side of Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ Map.

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Figure 16. Other side of the Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ Map.

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Figure 17. Example of the Ride South L.A. maps as pocket-sized folds. Photo Credit:
Carlo Acenas

Ride South L.A. involved the three design criteria of ‘social’, ‘place-based’, and
‘public dissemination’ with equal intensity. It was first highly ‘social’ as it aimed to
include actors beyond the researcher and organizers by involving residents who
participate in informal bicycle clubs in South L.A. and interested bicyclists from other
communities. It was ‘place-based’ given the planned out bicycle routes directly in the
South L.A. area used in the engagement process. And lastly it focused on ‘public
dissemination’ by documenting the community-sourced spatial knowledge on a Ride
South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ map distributed through a print edition, a website
(www.ridesouthla.com), and digital social media platforms.
Since a major goal of this project was to create a participatory engaged research
project that involved South L.A. residents from local bicycle clubs, this case study’s

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primary focus is the examination of outcomes that resulted from the bicycle club
members participation. To investigate the outcomes, six bicycle club members were
recruited for semi-structured interviews. A demographic profile and bicycle club
affiliation is included in Table 11. Three members from East Side Riders who were
mainly Black and three members from Los Ryderz that were Latino participated in the
interviews.
Table 11
Interviewee demographics for Ride South L.A. case study
Interviewee
ID
Year of
Birth
Gender Ethnicity Bicycle Club
RSLA 1 1983 Male Black East Side Riders
RSLA 2 1974 Male Black East Side Riders
RSLA 3 1993 Male Latino Los Ryderz
RSLA 4 1978 Female Latina Los Ryderz
RSLA 5 1980 Male Mixed East Side Riders
RSLA 6 1974 Male Latino Los Ryderz

The primary outcome questions investigated in this case study that organized the
report findings were:
1. Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive as a result of
participation?
2. Did participants experience an increased sense of belonging to South L.A. based
on their participation in the engaged research project?
3. Did the participant experience increased levels of civic participation based on
their participation in Ride South L.A.?

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4. Did participants experience an increased sense of collective efficacy to come
together as a community to positively change their community based on their
participation in Ride South L.A.?
5. Did the participants expand their social networks related to their community
interests as a result of the project?
6. Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of collaboration with
USC in their community participation as a result of the project?
7. Was there any sustained use of the Ride South L.A. materials produced from the
project as a result of their participation?
Effect on Positive Perception Change of South L.A.
Overall, all participants experienced a more positive perception change of South
L.A. as a result of their participation. This mainly manifested through participants who
all expressed that they gained a new appreciation of areas in South L.A. to visit and
enjoy. A Latina female member of Los Ryderz illustrates this:
I don’t go to the more southern areas of South L.A. much because I grew up
around the USC area, still live there now, and usually hang around there. I may
pass the areas when I go to Huntington Park but I’ve never been around that area
to stop. I was like, wow, I didn’t know all of this was here. I didn’t know this
park was here. I can take my dogs to this park and it would be nice. So that’s
something I can remember and say, “Oh, where can I go take my dogs? I can go
take them here.” I didn’t get to stop by the bakery that was highlighted during the
route. I wanted to buy a piece of bread from the bakery and I was like I’m going
to go one of these days. (RSLA 4)

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This positive change in the perception of South L.A. in the participants because of the
route and the community assets that were visited was notable because all the bicycle
members lived in South L.A. area. It was important that the participants gained a positive
perception of the area they call home and expressed a desire to frequent the community
assets highlighted in the map in the future.
Another significant positive change in perception of South L.A. and the particular
bicycle route used for the ride were two participants who felt the project shed positive
light on their thoughts about where Blacks and Latinos could bike in South L.A. One
mixed-race male member of East Side Riders articulates his perception change:
Yeah, because where we started is not an area that you would ride a bike alone.
Now, I ride over there alone but before it was like you knew that was a gang-
infested area. There are gangs over there and they do not like Black folks. So, I
was kind of nervous for a portion of a ride when we were on it thinking that will
these guys come out and act a fool while we’re on this ride? So once we passed
certain areas, I felt comfortable. (RSLA 5)
Similarly, a Latino member of Los Ryderz expressed how the ride assuaged some of his
fears of Black-Latino turf wars in South L.A.
Now, we feel more comfortable actually going [south] in that direction even if it’s
not for a ride like this. We take it upon ourselves and we have done rides where
we go all the way down to Compton and to the same park and just come back… It
made us understand that maybe these problems between the Hispanics and the
Blacks, they do happen but not frequently to where we’re not going to be able to
ride down there. I mean, we’ve ran into gang members and they really don’t mess

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with us because they know that we’re not getting in the way of anything that
they’re doing. (RSLA 6)
Even though the Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ project and future rides they refer to are
not the end-all solution to Black-Brown tensions in South L.A., these two bicycle
members’ perception change that they can feel more comfortable biking along the route
is a positive step forward to working on these tensions.
Effect on Sense of Belonging
All the participants mentioned an increase in a sense of belonging to their
communities in South L.A. This mainly manifested through their expression that they
felt more connected to the community through the new relationships they built with other
bicycle club and community members who came out for the ride. This increased sense of
belonging especially had an effect on strengthening their ties with the bicycle clubs they
were part of. They also felt an increase sense of belonging because they became plugged
into future rides with either their club or other clubs who came out on the ride.
In terms of the experience with the space of South L.A affecting an increased
sense of belonging, one Black male member of East Side Riders mentioned how the ride
presented his first opportunity to visit the Watts Towers and learn more about the
community he lived in. He stated:
That was the first time I went to the towers and went inside the towers. I rode
pass them a couple of weeks prior to the ride… I saw them, took some pictures,
but the Ride South L.A. ride was my first time actually going to the towers and
learning about the towers. It’s crazy how I learned about the towers and how one
man built all that like it was just amazing. (RSLA 1)

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As part of the programming of the Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’, we were able to reserve
an official tour guide from the Watts Towers Arts Center on site who was able to talk to
the participants from the ride. This became an important aspect that increased this
participant’s sense of belonging to the community. As the participant above points out,
the cultural learning opportunity on the Watts Towers provided by the tour made him
appreciate his neighborhood even more.
Effect on Civic Participation
All the participants did experience an increase in civic participation as a result of
their participation in the Ride South L.A. project. One Black member of East Side Riders
who expressed that the Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ was one of his first with the club
described his increased civic participation.
Well, I help the homeless, I donate shoes, clothes, food, money, I do whatever I
can to help the community and I reach out to the youth a lot because they’re like
my main target. Because you get a hold of the young and get them before they
get into their adolescent stage where they start making up their own mind about
what they want to do. (RSLA 2)
Similarly, a Latino male member of Los Ryderz described an increase in civic
participation as a result of the ride. He stated:
Yeah, we had several rides with these riders. We had the feed the homeless ride
where we just go around and give food to the homeless—give them a sandwich,
food, water. To me that’s great because when do you see other people doing that.
(RSLA 3)

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All the interviewed participants mentioned similar increases in civic participation activity
in the community. It is important to note that their participation with their respective
bicycle clubs facilitated these forms of sustained civic participation. So even though they
mentioned that they increased community activity after participating in the Ride South
L.A. ‘Watts Ride’, much of this increase is directly due the continued programming of
the bicycle clubs.
Effect on Collective Efficacy
All participants interviewed mentioned some sense of an increase in collective
efficacy as a result of their participation in the ride. Their main reasons for this increase
were their observations of the amount of bicyclists who came from the community and
outside of the community to participate in the ride. Since all the participants were local
bicycle members who live in South L.A., the experience of the over 70 riders who came
out gave them a boost in confidence that community members could come out and
collectively act to address neighborhood issues.
Furthermore, there were three very strong responses that the Ride South L.A.
‘Watts Ride’ increased their sense of collective efficacy. These responses were notable
because it pointed to these particular three participants gaining a strong penchant for
advocacy that they saw could potentially improve the conditions in South L.A. First, one
mixed-race member of East Side Riders who also participated in some of the planning
meetings for the ride responded with his perceived growth as a community organizer. He
stated:

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Before this ride and just in general, I thought, I was like you got to go about this
all alone. But just seeing different ways of communication and collaborations
through the build up to this ride and on this ride, all the little pieces that go
together that folks that come to ride don’t see. This helped me become a better
organizer, it helped me become a better ride leader and just have everybody just
come together and want to do good in the community. (RSLA 5)
This is an important effect as it shows that these projects can expand beyond recreational
events and actually build the capacity of residents who can become active leaders in their
communities.
Another member of East Side Riders who is Black expressed how the project
urged him personally to not only organize the community but also get involved in the
political side of what is taking place in South L.A. This member stated:
There are parts of this route that made me want to get more involved with the
community to help make it better. And what I mean by that is getting more
people involved as far as bike riding, getting the street fixed, getting more signage
up, bike lanes, and things of that nature. It made me want to get more involved
with the political side of the community…being involved with the neighborhood
council, the City Councilman of the area, the district you live in. Because I never
paid attention to district 9, district 13, or 15…if you’re not involved internally,
you really don’t have a chance to make a difference. (RSLA 2)
This participant’s expression to get more involved at a collective and political level is an
important effect that can come out of an engaged research project such as Ride South
L.A. His personal motivations for community improvement are more effective if he is

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able to see the pathways toward collective mobilization that he indicated he gained
through his participation.
Lastly, a Latino male member of Los Ryderz also expressed how Ride South L.A.
increased his sense of collective efficacy toward improving the bicycle infrastructure and
culture in South L.A. He stated:
Yeah, it helped us. Like I said, this ride opened the way for us to start doing more
eventually, here on this side of town. Our thing was something like let’s have
CicLAvia come over here to this side because I know that’s a big event and a lot
of people say let’s not just have it north of the 10 Freeway. Before we even
started doing this ride [Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’] and we started promoting
it, they didn’t even think we had bike clubs over here on this side of town. It
[Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’] helped us, me and XXX [lead member of the East
Side Riders] to come together. Both of our clubs started working and doing more
work right here in this area to bring more attention. (RSLA 6)
This participant particularly points to his perception that mainstream open streets events
such as CicLAvia did not seriously consider South L.A. as a place with a viable bicycle
culture. He has wanted to change that perception. The partnerships with other bicycle
clubs created through Ride South L.A. and putting on the successful ride increased his
sense of collective efficacy to advocate for CicLAvia to schedule a future South L.A.
event.

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Effect on Social Networks
As a result of all their participation in the Ride South L.A. ride and project, all the
participants mentioned their social networks were increased. There was not only an
increase in relationships with the different South L.A. bicycle club members who came
on the ride, but also an increase in relationships in other members of the community
interested in bicycle issues.
Probably one of the more significant social network increases that resulted was
the leaders of East Side Riders (RSLA 5) and Los Ryderz (RSLA 6) stating that they
started to partner together more to advocate for bicycle issues in South L.A. Their
partnership also led to their formation of the ‘United Riders’ in which they maintained
the identity of their bicycle clubs but formed the umbrella group in order to create more
unity among South L.A. bicycle clubs and form a stronger voice for bicycle advocacy.
The ‘United Riders’ initiative resulted in efforts to bring as many of the bicycle clubs that
exist in South L.A. under the umbrella group. The leader of East Side Riders described
the effort in South L.A.:
They got the World Riders, the Real Riders bike club and the Real Riders have
like four or five different sets I think. It’s like the L.A. Real Riders, the Real
Riders Legends, and the South L.A. Real Riders… You have the Just Cruising
bike club, the Lady Riders, Brothers of the Sun, Los Ryderz, East Side Riders—
it’s just a whole movement… So when we made the United Riders, it was like a
no-brainer that we invite all of these clubs… We got to have our own bike culture
here and understand each other, and know that we need to work together to make
it happen here. (RSLA 5)

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He points out that the intentional efforts to not only increase the social networking among
the bicycle clubs but also direct the network toward a movement that could positively
improve the South L.A. bicycle infrastructure and culture.
Effect on Collaboration with USC
There was no widespread increase in collaboration among the interviewed
participants with USC. Since most of the participants interviewed were not in the top
leadership positions within the bicycle clubs, there was no real motivation on their ends
to stay directly connected with the USC researchers who co-led the Ride South L.A.
project. This was a different case with the two leaders of East Side Riders (RSLA5) and
Los Ryderz (RSLA6) who were interviewed. Both leaders indicated that they kept in
contact with the USC researchers. Both leaders were involved in a future grant proposal
to USC’s University Neighborhood Outreach program that was successfully awarded to
the collaboration. This resulted in both bicycle clubs taking part in the coordination of
the next Ride South L.A. project that mapped ‘healthy food’ and ‘safe bicycle and
pedestrian routes in the University Park neighborhood of South L.A. Consequently,
sustained collaboration with USC was more likely if the participant was in a leadership
position within the bicycle club as the leaders typically handle collaboration, relationship
building, and outreach.
Effect on Sustained Use of Ride South L.A. Materials
Evidence of sustained use of the Ride South L.A. ‘Watts Ride’ materials such as
the map and online website took shape mainly when the participants repeated the ride
with their bicycle club and other community members in the future. They have all kept
the print maps and distribute extras to their networks when they want to share the route

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and the assets that were mapped. The participants mentioned they replicated the ride a
year after the first ride in 2012 and try to do it every year. The participants try to update
the website and Facebook page with future rides but this is not done on a consistent basis.
There also is not any consistent use of the mobile phone texting systems that was created
for the project. The participants have moved to other mobile phone and social media
platforms to share the experience of the future Ride South L.A. rides they have
organized.
Perception on Project Actualizing Engaged Research Characteristics
The participants all expressed similar responses to whether they saw Ride South
L.A. as a project that met the four engaged research characteristics. The participants all
saw the project as community based because of the project’s focus on routes and
community assets in the area of South L.A., especially the Watts neighborhood.
Participants viewed that the project could have had a stronger emphasis on harnessing the
project toward a focus on a social problem in the community. They believed that the
project worked hard at engaging the community in a fun and innovative way to
participate in a mapping project. Participants also pointed out that the project did educate
them on how to become more involved in civic issues in the community. In regards to a
concentration on a particular social problem, however, they pointed out that advocacy
efforts to remedy a host of social problems in the community did not manifest from the
start of this project. They saw that a potential dedicated focus on addressing a social
problem in the community could take center stage in future Ride South L.A. mapping
projects. The participants all agreed that the project built off community and community
organization relationships. Interviewees saw their own participation in the project and

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the project’s outreach to several local bicycle clubs as support for this characteristic.
Lastly, the participants all saw Ride South L.A. as a project that explored different ways
to present knowledge to the public. They found this evident in the print map, mobile
phone mapping text system, and the website that was created.
Conclusion
The research on the bicycle club member outcomes as a result of their
participation in Ride South L.A. revealed that the project could change their perception of
South L.A. positively, increase their sense of belonging to the area, increase their civic
participation, increase their collective efficacy to bring about change in South L.A., and
increase their social networks. The participation in the project did not necessarily
increase their collaboration with USC or their sustained use of the materials produced
about the spatial knowledge. Increased collaboration with USC took shape if a member
was one of the leaders of the bicycle clubs given their motivation to maintain key
relationships for future project partnerships. Similarly, sustained use of the materials
produced was more important to the bicycle club leaders as it provided useful outreach
materials for recruitment into their bicycle clubs. At the same time the other bicycle club
members did learn from the materials produced and shared the knowledge on the routes
and places they visited through interpersonal communication with their networks. The
next chapter discusses how the three case study investigations on outcomes relate to the
broader theoretical fields discussed earlier in the dissertation, the contributions of the
study, the limitations of the study, and what areas of future research are needed.

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CHAPTER 8—CONCLUSION
This concluding chapter first discusses how the three case study findings connect
back to the theoretical fields of engaged scholarship, space, and communication
infrastructure theory that informed the case study research and practices developed.
Secondly, this chapter discusses the limitations of the study through a critical analysis of
the researcher’s role as an engaged scholar and the challenges that engaged scholarship
methods posed to the outcome research goals of the case studies under investigation.
Lastly, this chapter points to the contributions the study makes to the field of engaged
scholarship and offers a set of recommendations to move toward a more effective
engaged scholarship program for university departments, such as communication, to
consider.
Bringing it Back to the Theories That Informed the Study
This dissertation sought to fill two main gaps identified in the literature of
‘engaged scholarship’. One was the lack of impact studies on engaged scholarship
projects, and a second was the development and examination of engaged scholarship
projects that focused on issues relevant to local community change (P. Nyden & Percy,
2010; Stoecker, Beckman, & Hee Min, 2010). The impact assessment goal was
accomplished through the investigation of the outcomes on select groups of participants
who participated in three engaged communication research projects. The focus on issues
relevant to local community change took shape through the researcher’s design of the
projects that prioritized goals to positively re-imagine the negatively stigmatized space of
South L.A. The researcher designed a set of outcomes connected to potential perceptual
changes of South L.A. as a result of the participant involvement in the projects. The

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outcomes were subsequently investigated in the case studies through interviews with the
selected group of participants.
As discussed in the case studies, the study did find that the participation in the
projects resulted in positive perceptual changes in South L.A. The participation in the
projects also resulted in an increased motivation in researchers to become more involved
in future engaged research projects, increases in the pride that community organizers
have in the progressive social change work they initiate in South L.A., increases in
collective efficacy among local bicycle club members to effect positive change in their
communities, and other outcomes discussed in the findings. At the same time,
participation in the engaged research projects did not guarantee sustained collaboration
with USC or sustained use of the materials produced by the projects. This indicated
concerns about the future sustainability of engaged research projects that are not
systematically deployed by the university. I discuss this concern and the need for
university institutionalization later in my recommendations in this chapter.
The investigation of outcomes in the engaged research case studies bring forth
discussions that connect to the theoretical fields of space, place, and communication
infrastructure theory.
In regards to space and place, the case studies demonstrated how significant social
aspects of space, not just physical, are to agents who work to effect progressive social
change in urban communities such as South L.A. One Latina female organizer illustrated
this point:

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I think it was really important to get my organization to be part of this project
because I feel that everyone that’s been outlined or that was mapped as part of
this project we’re definitely building spaces together—and maybe not physical
spaces but they we’re building collaborations. (DEM 4)
This directly relates to the essence of what community organizers do because organizers
directly understand the concept that space is not just a physical location but formations of
social and community activity. Here lies the critical point on what the case studies as a
whole reveal about the role of space within the work of not just community organizers
but also the potential role of engaged scholarship in urban communities. A space such as
South L.A. that suffers from a negative perception cannot turn its perception around
through its physical spaces being solely invested in with resources focused on one-off
beautification projects or capital infrastructure such as new housing developments. The
positive re-imagination of South L.A. really takes place in the spaces of community
organizing, collaboration, and social activity that directly aim to improve the community.
More importantly, one must see these social spaces of progressive social change in South
L.A. as something that needs to grow out of the community’s indigenous storytelling
networks. Organizers and community leaders point out that healthy social spaces take
nurturing and intentional efforts that build the capacity of these spaces. Engaged
scholarship projects can be designed to deliver capacity building such as the involvement
and training of the community in research projects that address local problems.
Examples of project outcomes that addressed local problems in these case studies were
the goals to increase collective efficacy among organizers and the bicycle club members
to challenge the negative stigmatized image of South L.A. For this particular outcome in

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the Ride South L.A. case study, there was a positive affirmation that the bicycle club
members’ collective efficacy was increased.
In terms of communication infrastructure theory (CIT), the theory demonstrated
an approach that offered up a suitable departure point for the design and implementation
of the case study projects. Based on the researcher experience with the project design
and the investigation of the outcomes as a result of the participants’ involvement, the
researcher found that CIT presented an appropriate framework to situate future ‘engaged
communication scholarship’ projects in the field of communication and media studies.
Given that most engaged scholarship literature has pointed to the involvement of
community in the project designs, CIT offers communication scholars a theoretical
foundation for ‘engaged communication scholarship’. Given the theory’s focus on
indigenous storytelling networks, ‘engaged communication scholarship’ projects can
benefit from the point that projects embedded within neighborhood nodes of residents,
community organizations, and geo-ethnic media will stand a good chance of successful
application. The case studies demonstrated this with South L.A. Democratic Spaces’
focus on community organizers and Ride South L.A.’s focus on local resident bicycle
club members. Furthermore, the projects were designed to use the creation of public
dissemination materials as forms of geo-ethnic media that could be circulated within the
local storytelling networks of the participants, organizations, university departments, and
communities involved in the projects’ place-based focus on South L.A.
For this dissertation, another feature of CIT that presented an appropriate fit was
the theory’s feature of the communication action context or communication environment.
Since I was interested in ideas of space and place, CIT presented an opportunity to not

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only embed engaged communication scholarship within the local storytelling networks of
South L.A. but also design research goals around spatial aspects of the communication
environment in South L.A. The research goals of the engaged research projects primarily
were concerned with the positive re-imagination of the physical, social, and symbolic
aspects of South L.A.’s existence as a space. CIT was able to inform the design and
evaluation studies that were implemented for this dissertation because of what I call a
‘people’ and ‘place’ based framework for communication research that CIT presents in
the study of urban communities.
Another point that connects to the field of communication theory and research is
that the case studies revealed the importance of ‘framing’ in engaged communication
scholarship projects that seek to positively re-imagine stigmatized spaces. George Lakoff
defines frames as structures of thought that we take part in everyday and ultimately
frames are important because they determine how we see the world and subsequently act
within the world (Lakoff, 2004). All the participants across the three case studies were
engaged in the examination of South L.A. spaces through a frame of positive spatial
inquiry. As the case studies reported, the participants all gained positive perceptual
changes of South L.A. as a result of their participation in the projects. This perceptual
change can be partly attributed to the ‘framing’ of the research inquiry. A quote from a
male Black organizer illustrates this:
To see the stuff in the frame of South L.A. Democratic Spaces—I thought the
frame was really powerful. And to help give folks a different way to talk about
their work, a different way for people to connect with this kind of work. And it

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talks about South L.A. in this kind of way. I felt like it was just a great process to
be part of. (DEM 7)
The organizer essentially said that the frame allowed the organizers and others to think
about progressive organizer work in South L.A. in alternative ways that communicated
their community change work. This observation is not only important for highlighting
observations on how organizers found participation in the project as a positive process for
them and their work—but it also is important because it demonstrates how investigations
around communication concepts such as ‘framing’ can be fruitful lines of inquiry.
Framing is a critical aspect of communication discourse and research. It can be argued
that deficit-based research and sensationalist journalism conducted about South L.A.
contributed to the negative perception that historically occupies the minds of the public.
It was important for this particular research to take an asset-based approach to the
research and investigate whether positive spaces of communication, democracy, and
community building exist through the eyes of the participants across the three projects.
Critical Analysis on the Method of Engaged Scholarship and of the Engaged
Scholar in This Study
Engaged scholarship are efforts in innovation and non-traditional research in
many universities across the country today (Butin & Seider, 2012; Fitzgerald, Burack, &
Sarena Seifer, 2010). This reality makes the methods and the practice of engaged
research projects susceptible to limitations that need to be addressed in order to learn
from the practice of the projects and improve the field. Like other engaged research
projects, this dissertation study had limitations that are discussed below.

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The very nature of engaged scholarship required the researcher to be engaged
with many of the participants in the three various case studies. The researcher knew
many of the participants before the design of two particular projects. For the
‘communication asset mapping’ project, the researcher had previous relationships with all
of the researchers because he worked with many of them in the same research center
(Metamorphosis Project) at USC. Similarly, the researcher also had previous
relationships with many of the community organizers who took part in the execution and
evaluation of the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project. For Ride South L.A., the
researcher did not know any of the bicycle club members before their initial participation
in the project. The previous level of relationships with many of the participants in the
two other case studies needs to be addressed because the relationship with the researcher
had the potential to influence affirming responses for any positive successes of the
projects. Even though many engaged scholars may find it a necessity to build
relationships with community organizers because of the level of trust that needs to exist
before organizers participate in any project initiated by a university researcher—outcome
evaluations on engaged research projects may benefit from studies in which the
researcher and the respondents do not have any previous relationships. The decreased
level of relations between the evaluation researcher and the participant respondents may
present a more ideal interview session in which prior relationships do not influence
interview responses.
The time lag between the project execution and the interviews also presented a
limitation for this study. The interviews for the study all took place in 2014 and the three
projects took place two to three years before the interviews. This was a significant time

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lag as the participants were exposed to time that may have affected their thoughts on the
projects and the interviews. First, the majority of participants mentioned that they
continued to stay involved in other community projects focused on community change in
South L.A. or other local communities. This involvement through time could have
affected their general positive feeling about their project participation if they perceived
positive changes in South L.A. within the time lag. Participants could have attributed any
positive feelings accumulated during the time lag to their project participation in the
projects in this study. The participants, however, could have very well had different
feelings about the project if they were interviewed immediately after participating in the
project. Second, assuming that the researcher maintained relationships with many of the
participants through his research or community work, the time lag presented more time
for the researcher and participants to build a relationship of trust. This relationship
building could have affected any responses that were positive in the participants when the
researcher was interviewing them in 2014. The ideal research situation for the outcome
studies would have been immediately after the execution of each of the engaged research
projects, and followed up by follow-up interviews a year later to assess any change in
perception.
Another factor of time is the actual amount of time spent on engagement and
relationship building by the researcher. Similar to many researchers who take part in
engaged research projects, researchers most likely find engagement a serious element in
projects that are community-based and that often require some level of collaboration and
consent by community members and organizers. For this particular study, the researcher
was posed with the challenge that engagement with community posed because of the time

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intensive relationship building required for building trust with the participants in the
projects. Like many researchers who develop engaged research projects concerned with
local community and change (Chevalier & Buckles, 2013; Stoecker, 2009), there is an
intent in many researchers to build relationships that will endure so that future
collaboration can take place. One mutual beneficial reason for researchers and
community members invested in change to build trust is that social change goals take
time and most likely will benefit from future engaged research projects that can impact
the larger social change goals through time. For this particular study, the researcher spent
and continues to spend time maintaining relationships with many of the community
members and organizers in South L.A. Besides the maintenance of friendly relations, the
form of relationship building that the researcher of this study typically took part in was
coming out to support and participate in other community change projects that organizers
or their organizations were involved in. The time spent on this type of relationship
building, or put in another way, the social capital developed was exhausting and took
away from the research and writing that the researcher desired to spend on his own
research that could lead to more studies on engaged scholarship in academia. The time
given to relationship building on top of the academic work was a challenge to this
engaged researcher, and will be a challenge to others who choose to develop and
participate in the field of engaged scholarship.
Another challenge to engaged scholarship overall is the level of participation one
gives to community participants in such projects. As stated in many studies on engaged
scholarship, from community-based research, participatory research, to action research,
there is the challenge of creating projects in which the research design, collection,

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analysis, and dissemination are participatory in some manner (Cancian, 1993; Chevalier
& Buckles, 2013; P. W. Nyden, Hossfeld, & Nyden, 2011). The challenge of
participatory research design was a specific challenge in the Ride South L.A. project for
this study. This researcher found the balance of participation a challenge because the
goal of the project changed from the initial researcher-driven goal to comprehensively
map assets and aspects of the community to change, shift to an effort heavily enamored
with marketing the project’s finished print map and mobile technology innovation used
during the project. This was because the community participants and other collaborating
researchers found this more appealing. The marketing and distribution of the map and
mobile technology approach was considered successful by both the engaged research
team from USC (including me) and the community participants, but raised concerns in
my own observations about the priorities of engaged research projects. As one of the
researchers of the USC research team, I was more invested in a more comprehensive
mapping of data that could be mined into a database for inventory and future analysis.
The community participants and the rest of the research team became more invested in
the creation of a map that highlighted a few assets and advocacy information that could
be marketed as a first of its kind ‘Watts Ride’ map produced through an innovative use of
mobile technology. I ended up going along with the rest of the collaborators given this
was where the collaboration was heading, but I remained concerned about what this
project’s evolution said about the priorities of engaged research projects. I agree we
should create projects with goals co-constructed with the community but my concerns
were about the quality of the data collected and research sustainability of projects like
Ride South L.A. Ride South L.A.’s eventual focus on marketing the map, mobile

146

technology innovation, and engagement design displaced the initial research goals of the
project that were more concerned on comprehensive mapping and analysis. As a point of
engaged research reflection, this particularly was a challenge for me because it meant that
one has to be prepared to give up total control of the research goals and negotiate the
goals when participatory design is involved in engaged research projects.
As the accompanying element to the research goals of engaged research projects,
there are the actual social change goals of the three projects initiated by me as an engaged
researcher in the university. The overall social change goal proposed by this researcher
and the case studies was the positive re-imagination of South L.A. as a space and place.
After some distancing and reflection, it is unrealistic to propose that engaged research
projects such as the case studies highlighted in this dissertation can actualize such a large
social change goal as positively re-imagining South L.A. Given the drastic social
conditions faced by the area, as pointed out in Chapter 3, social change will take larger
structural efforts. The engaged research projects should be seen more as individual and
community-level efforts at promoting social change. The efforts can be seen as
precursors to larger social change efforts but social change will take political and
economic efforts such as policy change and equitable economic reform that seeks to
improve the poverty stricken community of South L.A. Larger structural change from
USC is also a potential scenario but cannot solely take the form of fragmented efforts by
engaged researchers such as myself and the projects within this study. A larger
contribution to positive social change in South L.A. on behalf of the university will most
likely require the institutionalization of engaged scholarship university-wide and a more
direct role in the development of action and research goals that solve the social inequities

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that the communities face. An example of USC’s potential direct involvement in
changing the lot of poorer residents in South L.A. are the expansion of their
neighborhood school outreach programs beyond the immediate university park area and
the establishment of more active roles for the university administration and academic
departments to play in the positive social change in local community problems in South
L.A. These university systematic changes and administration position-taking on local
problems would potentially make a larger contribution than fragmented engaged research
projects that currently take place within the university.
Expanding on the role of the university and given that the majority of academic
literature on engaged scholarship centers on the university-community relations, this
dissertation possessed particular limitations that affected both the research and
engagement goals. One main research limitation to this study is the difficulty that long-
term social change goals pose for engaged scholarship impact studies. Since many
projects are short-term and not institutionalized for longer term studies, this dissertation
like many other impact studies lack longitudinal studies on the effect of the projects on
the participants and the community as a whole throughout time. Impact studies on
engaged scholarship projects in local communities can benefit from the establishment of
a longer-term indicators project that track any effects of engaged research projects on the
communities they purport to change for the better.
One engagement limitation was the research’s primary focus on participants who
were involved in the three engaged research projects assessed for outcomes. Since there
were materials created for each of the projects and an audience for the materials, the
study could have benefited from studies on whether the audience for the materials

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experienced any positive perceptual change about South L.A. A particular important
study would have been whether USC undergraduates who came to the South L.A.
Democratic Spaces exhibit or came along on the Ride South L.A. rides experienced a
positive perceptual change of South L.A. This would be important because
undergraduate students are exposed to consistent messages from USC campus police that
put forth a negative image about the safety of the South L.A. area that surround the
campus, and it would be useful to learn if engaged research projects can produce
alternative views in the undergraduate students.
Another important audience to engage in future projects and research are
university administrators since much of the engaged scholarship literature argue for the
need for the academic institutionalization of the field. It appears to me that
administrators need to not only be exposed to the research findings of the projects, but
also need to be built into the engagement design and implementation of the projects.
Universities and their administrators perhaps need to be inserted into the storytelling
networks of local university communication infrastructures in urban communities such as
South L.A. that are in need of positive social change. The insertion of the university and
administrators in engaged research projects and the design of impact studies that concern
the administrators’ views as a result of their participation, can examine administrator
perspectives on engaged scholarship’s potential contribution to the world of academia.
The literature on engaged scholarship and the case studies in this dissertation suggest the
need for greater university institutionalization—especially if we hope to see the
sustainability of the field. This transitions to the following section that explores the
potential contributions of engaged scholarship in universities and offers

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recommendations for further development of engaged scholarship, especially in
communication departments.
Contributions to and Recommendations for the field of Engaged Communication
Scholarship
In the 2012 International Communication Association newsletter, the
association’s president at that time Larry Gross called for the re-evaluation of the
missions of communication studies programs. He called for communication studies to
consider the “cultivating of engaged scholars and scholarship” (Gross, 2012). He
particularly called for two directions for the discipline of communication, 1) the
rediscovery of relevance, and 2) the expansion of definitions and criteria for scholarship
to encompass more public engagement (Gross, 2012). This dissertation was a study that
grappled with these two directions of ‘engaged communication scholarship’. Below I
discuss what contributions this study makes to the rediscovery of relevance and offer a
set of recommendations that can strengthen the development of communication
scholarship’s encompassment of public engagement.
First, this dissertation identified outcomes of engaged communication scholarship
projects that can serve as precursors for longer-term social change. The study uncovered
increased motivations amongst university researchers to undertake engaged research
projects, increased network resources for community organizer work that support
organizational social change goals in South L.A., and increased collective efficacy
amongst bicycle club members, among other outcomes that indicate precursors that can
carry over and sustain longer term social change that are positively oriented for South
L.A. As a recommendation, the field of engaged communication scholarship can benefit

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from more impact studies of outcomes across academic departments that consist of
faculty, students, and programs that conduct engaged research projects. Furthermore,
such impact studies across departments could also benefit from longitudinal studies to
examine whether these effects were sustained within participants in the projects and more
importantly within the communities that the projects propose to effect positive social
change.
Second, the research builds stronger theory around the essential value of a social
orientation to space and place through the investigation of how social actors interact with
the meaning and shaping of physical spaces and places. This spatial theorization has
potential contributions to fields that seek to regulate urban spaces on practical levels such
as urban planning, development, and public policy programs. These programs continue to
emphasize capital infrastructure projects as primary indicators of a healthy built
environment. Research needs to go beyond the privileging of physical urban
infrastructure and develop insights that not only uncover the value of social forms of
infrastructures, but also seek to understand the interactions between the social and
physical. As a recommendation, engaged scholarship that focuses on social aspects of
space, whether in communication, sociology, anthropology, or others need to create more
effective ways to disseminate their work within departments of professional practice in
urban development. An engagement with academics, students, and practitioners from
these departments can potentially serve as pathways to communicate the value of social
outcomes that also determine a healthy built environment.
Third, this dissertation offers a communication and spatial method in the form of
communication asset mapping that identifies communication assets that can serve as

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building blocks for community building and community change. The method provided
an approach to counter negative perceptions of stigmatized neighborhoods such as South
L.A.—therefore supporting efforts for positive social change. The method’s asset-based
frame was adaptable and able to be tailored to the specific participants of all three
different case studies whether in the form of communication asset mapping, democratic
spaces, or mobile phone participatory mapped assets. As a recommendation,
communication asset mapping as a method should be developed further and adapted to
other community change campaigns in South L.A. and other urban communities in order
to validate and develop its applicability.
Fourth, the research explores criteria that can inform practices of how to mobilize
urban communities to articulate the local significance of the built environment and re-
imagine their local space for progressive social change. Moreover, it takes the design
criteria employed for the engaged research projects a step further by evaluating the
effectiveness of the projects based on a set of proposed outcomes. This particular
contribution touches on engaged scholarship literature that points out the mutual benefit
that can be gained from social change projects that emphasize a scholarship in which
practice and evaluation inform each other (Boyer, 1990, 1996). As a recommendation
this integrative approach to practice and evaluation should be built into not just stand-
alone university electives on engaged scholarship—but should be built into general
courses in the social sciences and humanities that can seek to establish an integrative
approach as a theoretical direction for the canons of all the disciplines.
Fifth, this study contributes more evidence that the sustainability of engaged
scholarship largely depends on the support of university administrations. As the case

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studies showed, the integration of engaged scholarship within an academic department or
sustained collaboration with community participants was fragmented and not systematic.
The case studies show the benefit of engagement and collaboration because it showed
that the local capacity of the community to effect positive social change in South L.A. is
possible. This possibility was greatly amplified when I as a researcher and colleagues
directed our research agendas and university networks to play a collaborative role with
the local storytelling networks concerned with positive social change in South L.A. This
was an admirable contribution to the engaged research projects and this dissertation, but
it is not enough to sustain positive social change in South L.A. The effort by my
colleagues and me does not exist within a systematic university administrative
environment that officially supports and takes a stand to create and fund programs for
engaged scholarship in South L.A. A move to institutionalize engaged scholarship by
USC and other universities within the geographies of distressed urban communities
would potentially go a long way toward realizing a future academe that applies its
research and resources to the problems of its local publics. As a recommendation, USC
and other universities should consider ideas put forth by engaged scholars who suggest
the institutionalization of engaged scholarship through curriculum, degrees, a formation
of an academic department, and university-wide programs (Butin & Seider, 2012).
The institutionalization of engaged scholarship curriculum has taken a substantial
step forward in my own communication program where I undertook doctoral study. The
official departmental adoption of the graduate course ‘Research, Practice, and Social
Change’ has presented a space for graduate students from communication and other
departments to take on engaged research projects with local community organizations.

153

More importantly, the course has served not only as a formal class to launch an engaged
research project, but also has served as a space where students can debrief with the
instructors about their experiences as engaged scholars with the community organizations
they work alongside. The course is also conscious about the need for both research and
practitioner instruction as it is taught by a long-time tenured research professor Sandra
Ball-Rokeach and a long time social change non-profit practitioner Barbara Osborne.
This dual type of training of graduate students is key for engaged scholarship in
communication programs. Further adding to the recommendation of institutionalization,
courses and programs must consider capacity building that focuses on both sound
research and sound engagement. This returns to my previous prologue comments about
engaged scholars and social change practitioners informing each other based on their core
expertise.
As a sixth recommendation, I want to expand on Randy Stoecker’s suggestion
that researchers interested in community-based research should let the social change
strategy in university-community partnerships lead how university researchers deploy
their research design in such partnerships (Stoecker, 2009). Stoecker was primarily
concerned in researchers who practice forms of participatory and action research when he
wrote this recommendation for community-based research. I think the same can be
applied to engaged researchers who may not take a heavy handed participatory or action
research orientation, but still take on a research partnership that is more engaged and
collaborative that traditional social science research execution. At whatever level of
engagement the researcher is involved with local community organizations or campaigns,
it remains an applicable point of instruction for the researchers to be knowledgeable

154

about the social change goals and strategies of the community change agents and
organizations. This knowledge and willingness to engage in the social change goals and
strategies can assist the researchers in not only designing research that is relevant to the
particular scenario, but can also likely establish a sustainable research project that can be
worked on after an engaged researcher’s initial intervention.
Lastly, a point and serious recommendation must be made about the
conceptualization of ‘engagement’ in regards to the call for engaged communication
scholarship criteria that encompasses more public engagement stated by Gross. As he
stated in his 2013 ICA presidential message and as much of the engaged scholarship
states (Boyer, 1996; Fitzgerald et al., 2010; P. Nyden & Percy, 2010; Stoecker et al.,
2010), engaged scholarship and engaged researchers are considered non-traditional and
innovative in the current changing academic landscape. If we are to consider different
criteria for forms of engaged scholarship, whether communication or other disciplines,
we must acknowledge and rate researchers on their engagement skills. The criteria of
engaged scholarship must not only consist of the evaluation of whether the research
undertaken is sound but also consider the quantity and quality of engagement that the
engaged researcher conducted. Academic institutions and academics cannot judge
engaged scholarship solely on its research methods, because the conditions of
engagement, from my viewpoint, will always compromise certain aspects of the research
methodology. As I discussed earlier in this chapter, control and compromise over the
research goals remain tensions when you choose to engage the community in the engaged
research design and application. Engaged scholarship should continue to be evaluated on
whether its research design and execution is sound, but engaged scholarship also needs to

155

put forth criteria on whether the engagement performed was sound. This criteria may
take the form of accounting for the number of meetings and exposure engaged
researchers actually have with their partner organizations and the community they serve.
More importantly, criteria for the quality of the engagement that the engaged researcher
performed needs to be evaluated. This can potentially take the form of graduate student
research supervisors or engaged academic faculty peers interviewing the community
organizations about the engagement performed by the particular engaged researcher. The
evaluative stance to an engaged researcher’s engagement can benefit the field of engaged
scholarship because it can track patterns of effective characteristics of a research
partnership that can inform the criteria that potentially makes engaged scholarship a
fruitful academic field.

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167

APPENDIX—INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS

Interview Protocol
Communication Asset Mapping

Selection Criteria:
-Participant must be a USC Metamorphosis team member who took part and completed
the communication asset mapping activity in the South Figueroa Corridor study area of
South L.A.

Administration:
-Each recruited participant will be sent a link of the Communication Asset Mapping Meta
Connects article and online platform (http://metaconnects.org/asset-mapping and
http://metaconnects.org/mapping) This material will be given beforehand with the intent
to refresh each participant’s memory about the field research they took part in.
-Each participant will complete a 30-minute in-person interview (telephone interviews
will be conducted only if necessary)
-Interviews will follow a semi-structured format and will be audio recorded
-A demographic survey will be administered at the end of each interview
-Interview packets will include: IRB Study Information Sheet, Interview Moderator
guide, computer to show the CAM online platform, and $10 Starbucks Gift Card

Interview Guide

Hello ________________, it’s great to connect again and thank you for agreeing to be an
interview participant for my dissertation research. As stated in the e-mail, I am studying
the impact of engaged research university projects on the re-imagination of space and
place in South L.A.

One of my case studies is the Communication Asset Mapping project that you took part
in as a Metamorphosis research or staff member. I’m going to ask you a few questions
about your experience participating in the project.

The interview will take approximately 30-40 minutes and upon completion you will
receive a $25 gift card to Whole Foods Market as an expression of appreciation for your
time.

Did you get to take a look at the materials I sent you over e-mail? [IF YES, MOVE
ONTO THE QUESTIONS. IF NO, EXPLAIN THE PROJECT WITH PRINTED
SHEETS OF THE MATERIALS SENT TO THE PARTICIPANT].

168

Introduction and Familiarity with South L.A. (5 minutes)
Goal: To ease into the interview and understand first impressions, their memory of
their participation in the CAM project, and their familiarity with South L.A.

1.What do you remember about what you did for the ‘Communication Asset Mapping
Project?

2.What did you like most about your participation in the project?

3.What did you like least about your participation in the project?

4.Prior to your participation in the project what was your familiarity with the South L.A.
area?

Outcomes (20 minutes)
Goal: To explore assumed outcomes of the CAM engaged research project based on
the Prospectus

RQ Outcome: Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive or
negative as a result of participation?

1.In doing the asset mapping, did you encounter any place or events that you perceived as
negative, scary or sad? If yes, can you describe?

2.Did you encounter any place or events that you perceived as positive, comforting, or
happy? If yes, can you describe?

3.Thinking about all you experienced, did your perception of South L.A. change in any
way? If yes, can you describe?

PROBE: If no, why not?
PROBE: Were you already familiar with the area such that your perceptions did not
change?

RQ Outcome: Did participants come to situate USC in a larger South L.A.
geography after the experience of mapping in the field?

1. Did your participation have any effect on how you see USC as part of South L.A.?

If necessary, PROBE: For example, did you see USC as more or less disconnected from
the larger SLA area? Can you describe?

169

RQ Outcome: Did participants come to perceive USC as part of a larger network of
institutions and/ or an organization that can apply research for progressive social
change in South L.A.?

1.Did your participation in the project have any effect on how you see USC’s role toward
the contribution of research and/ or resources that may serve the needs of the South L.A.
communities?

PROBE: If yes, what aspect of the project made you come to perceive USC in this way?
PROBE: Are there specific USC research projects or resources you think can contribute
to South L.A.’s community needs?
PROBE: If no, why not?

RQ Outcome: Did the participants experience an increase in motivation to become
more involved in future university engaged research projects in either South L.A. or
other locales?

1. Did your participation in the project have any effect on your desire to participate in
engaged research projects in South L.A. or other communities (within or outside of
L.A.)?

PROBE: If yes, can you name the engaged research projects that you are or have been
involved in in South L.A. Other locales?
PROBE: If no, why not.

RQ Outcome: Did the participants experience an increase in their network of
engaged researchers or community practitioners in South L.A.

1. Did your participation in the project have any effect on your relationships with
researchers and/ or practitioners interested in engaged research or community practitioner
work that address the community needs of South L.A.?

PROBE: If yes, can you talk about how it expanded your network and with whom
(individuals, organizations, or other)?

RQ Outcome: Is there any sustained use of Community Asset Mapping as a concept,
method, and practice.

1. After participation in the project, have you used Communication Asset Mapping in any
way that contributes to your work?

PROBE: If yes, in what ways.
PROBE: If no, why not.

170

Project Improvement (5 minutes)
Goal: To explore participant reflections on the project execution, research methods,
and project sustainability with the community.

I am now going to present you a definition of ‘engaged research’ and ask you about any
thoughts you may have on how Communication Asset Mapping may be improved to help
meet the goals of ‘engaged research.

[HAND THEM A PAPER WITH THE DEFINITION AND READ OFF THE
DEFINITION.]

a) community-based research projects
b) projects that focuses on social problems in particular local communities,
c) projects that build off community or community organization relationships, and
d) projects that explore different ways to present the knowledge to the public.

1.Do you feel the Communication Asset Mapping project met each of these goals? [GO
ONE BY ONE AND ASK WHY OR WHY NOT]

2.Is there anything that you would change about the research methods and instruments
that were used in the Communication Asset Mapping project?

3.Is there anything you would change about its presentation on the online Meta Connects
platform? Or other presentations of the material?

Closing

Is there anything else that would like to speak about in regards to this project?

Thank you. One last thing is I want to do is take a couple minutes to ask a few
demographic questions about you. Again the information I am collecting in this
interview is confidential and will be aggregated with the other interviews.

Participant Demographic Survey (2 minutes)

1. What was your relationship with Metamorphosis during the Communication
Asset Mapping project? (If student, what program and year)

_________________________________

2. What is your current occupation now

_________________________________

171

3. What year were you born?

_____________

4. What is your sex? (Check one)

▢ Male ▢ Female

5. How do you identify yourself ethnically? (Check all that apply)

▢ Asian/ Asian-American
▢ Black/ African-American
▢ Hispanic/ Latino/a
▢ White/ Anglo/ Caucasian
▢ Native-American
▢ Other ______________ (please specify)

172

Interview Protocol
South L.A. Democratic Spaces

Selection Criteria:
-Participant must be a community organizer/ practitioner that took part in the South L.A.
Democratic Spaces project
-Must complete the 30-40 Minute Individual Interview
-The interviews must be audio-recorded

Administration:
-Each participant recruited will be sent a link of the South L.A. Democratic Spaces map
program and the 15 videos, with a note to particularly view their video
(http://www.metaconnects.org/project/democratic-spaces-south-la-photos-and-videos).
This material will be given beforehand with the intent to refresh each interview subject’s
memory about the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project they took part in.
-Each participant will complete a 30-minute in-person interview (telephone interviews
will be conducted only if necessary)
-Interviews will follow a semi-structured format and will be audio recorded
-A demographic survey will be administered at the end of each interview
-Interview packets will include: IRB Study Information Sheet, Interview Moderator
guide, SLA Democratic Spaces map, computer to show their video participation, and $50
cash incentive

Script and Question Route

--Review the study information sheet.
--Administer the Participant Demographic Survey with the participant orally at the end
of the question protocol.

Hello ________________, it’s great to connect again and thank you for agreeing to be an
interview participant for my dissertation research. As stated in the e-mail, I am studying
the impact of engaged research university projects on the re-imagination of space and
place in South L.A.

One of my case studies is the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project that you took part in
as a Community Organizer/ Practitioner and I’m going to ask you a few questions about
your experience participating in the project.

The interview will take approximately 30-40 minutes and upon completion, you will
receive a $50 Visa Card as an expression of appreciation for your time.

Did you get to take a look at the materials I sent you over e-mail? [IF YES, MOVE
ONTO THE QUESTIONS. IF NO, EXPLAIN THE PROJECT WITH PRINTED OUT
MAP AND REPLAY THE VIDEO OF THE MATERIALS SEND TO THE
PARTICIPANT].

173

Intro and Familiarity with South L.A. (5 minutes)
Goal: To ease into the interview and understand first impressions, their memory of
their participation in the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project, and their
familiarity with South L.A.

1.What do you remember about what you did for the ‘South L.A. Democratic Spaces’
project?

2.What did you like most about your participation in the project?

3.What did you like least about your participation in the project?

4.How well would you say you know the area of South L.A.? Please elaborate.

Outcomes (20 minutes)
Goal: To explore assumed outcomes of the South L.A. Democratic Spaces engaged
research project based on the Prospectus

RQ Outcome. Did participants increase the use of the highlighted democratic space
in their community organizing work as result of the project?

1.For the project, you highlighted _________ as a South L.A. Democratic Space. Did
your choice to highlight the space have any effect on your use of the space in your
community organizing work after participating in ‘South L.A. Democratic Spaces
project’?

PROBE: If yes, what ways did you use of the space in your work? How often would you
say?
PROBE: If no, why not.

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience an increase in the sense of pride in the
social change work they engage in South L.A. as a result of the project?

1.Did your participation in the project have any effect on how you feel about the
community work you do in South L.A.?

PROBE: If they experienced a sense of pride or positive reactions, in what ways.
PROBE: If they experienced negative reactions, in what ways.

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience increased collective efficacy in their sense
that they can shape the perception of South L.A. from its mainstream negative
image toward a more positive image?

174

1. Do you think the project had any effect on the story, image, or perception of South
L.A. in the minds of students, university faculty, and community members who were able
to attend the forum or view the materials?

PROBE: If positive, how so?
PROBE: If negative, how so?
PROBE: If no change, how so?

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of
collaboration with other community organizers and organizations in their South
L.A. social change work as a result of the project?

1.Prior to taking part in the project, did you know any of the other participants who
participated?

PROBE: From the map, can you name me who you knew?

2. Following your participation in the project, have you communicated with any of the
participants or organizations that took part?

PROBE: If there was communication, in what ways.
PROBE: If there was further communication, did it lead to any collaboration on other
projects. What projects?
PROBE: If no communication, why not.

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of
collaboration with USC in your South L.A. social change work as a result of the
project?

1. Did your participation in the project have any effect on collaboration with USC
departments, projects, faculty, students, administration, or initiatives?

PROBE: If there was collaboration, in what ways
PROBE: If no collaboration, why not.

RQ Outcome: Is there any sustained use of South L.A. Democratic Spaces as a
concept, method, and practice?

1. Have you used the materials or ideas produced about you or the work of others that
came out of the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project?

PROBE: If yes, in what ways.
PROBE: If no, why not.

175

Project Improvement (5 minutes)
Goal: To explore participant reflections on the project execution, engaged research,
and project sustainability with the community.

I am now going to present you a definition of ‘engaged research’ and ask you about any
thoughts you may have on how ‘engaged research’, such as South L.A. Democratic
Spaces may be improved to help meet the goals of ‘engaged research.

[HAND THEM A PAPER WITH THE DEFINITION AND READ OFF THE
DEFINITION.]

a) community-based research projects
b) projects that focuses on social problems in particular local communities,
c) projects that build off community or community organization relationships, and
d) projects that explore different ways to present the knowledge to the public.

1.Do you feel the South L.A. Democratic Spaces project met each of these goals? [GO
ONE BY ONE AND ASK WHY OR WHY NOT]

2.Is there anything you would change about its presentation on the online Meta Connects
platform or other public presentations of the material?

3. Besides South L.A. Democratic Spaces, have you participated in other engaged
research projects with any USC staff, faculty, or students?

PROBE: If yes, what projects were these?
PROBE: If yes, how would you describe your experience? Was it a satisfying
collaboration? Why or Why Not?

4. What do you think in general about the relationship between USC and the surrounding
neighborhoods of South L.A.?

5.Is there anything that you would change about university relationships with South L.A.
community/ community organizations in order to create positive social change work in
the community?

Closing

Is there anything else that would like to speak about in regards to this project?

Thank you. One last thing is I want to do is take a couple minutes to ask a few
demographic questions about you. Again the information I am collecting in this
interview is confidential and will be aggregated with the other interviews.

176

Participant Demographic Survey (Administer to participant 2 minutes)

1. What was your occupation title and organization when you participated with
South L.A. Democratic Spaces? (If student, what program and year)

_________________________________

2. Has your occupation title and organization changed? If yes, please name.

_________________________________

3. What year were you born?

_____________

4. What is your sex? (Check one)

▢ Male ▢ Female

5. How do you identify yourself ethnically? (Check all that apply)

▢ Asian/ Asian-American
▢ Black/ African-American
▢ Hispanic/ Latino/a
▢ White/ Anglo/ Caucasian
▢ Native-American
▢ Other ______________ (please specify)

177

Interview Protocol
Ride South L.A.

Selection Criteria:
-Participant-subject must be a local South L.A. bicycle club member that took part in the
Ride South L.A. project

Materials to bring:
-Audio Recorder with back-up batteries
-Interview Packet Consisting of: IRB Study Information Sheet, Interview Moderator
guide, $50 cash payment, and the Ride South L.A. Map.

Administration:
- Each participant recruited will be sent a link of the Ride South L.A. Watts Map and the
website (http://ridesouthla.com/watts-ride-map/). This material will be given beforehand
with the intent to refresh each interview subject’s memory about the Ride South L.A.
project they took part in.
-Each participant will complete a 30-minute in-person interview (telephone interviews
will be conducted only if necessary)
-Interviews will follow a semi-structured format and will be audio recorded
-A demographic survey will be administered at the end of each interview
-Interview packets will include: IRB Study Information Sheet, Interview Moderator
guide, SLA Democratic Spaces map, computer to show their video participation, and $50
cash incentive

Script and Question Route

--Review the study information sheet.
--Administer the Participant Demographic Survey with the participant orally at the end
of the question protocol.

Hello ________________, it’s great to connect again! As stated in the e-mail, I am
studying the impact of engaged research university projects on the re-imagination of
space and place in South L.A. Thank you for agreeing to be an interview participant for
my research.

One of my case studies is the Ride South L.A. bike ride and mapping project that you
took part in as a local bicycle club participant and I’m going to ask you a few questions
about your experience participating in the project.

The interview will take approximately 30-40 minutes and upon completion, you will
receive $50 Visa card to express my appreciation for your time.

Did you get to take a look at the materials I sent you over e-mail? [IF YES, MOVE
ONTO THE QUESTIONS. IF NO, EXPLAIN THE PROJECT WITH PRINTED OUT

178

MAP AND REPLAY THE VIDEO OF THE MATERIALS SEND TO THE
PARTICIPANT].

Intro and Familiarity with South L.A. (5 minutes)
Goal: To ease into the interview and understand first impressions, their memory of
their participation in the Ride South L.A. project, and familiarity with South L.A.

1.What do you remember about what you did for the ‘Ride South L.A.’ project?

2.What did you like most about your participation in the project?

3.What did you like least about your participation in the project?

4.Prior to your participation in the project what was your familiarity with the South L.A.
area you encountered on the Ride South L.A. ride?

Outcomes (20 minutes)
Goal: To explore assumed outcomes of the Ride South L.A. engaged research
project based on the Prospectus

RQ Outcome: Did participant perceptions of South L.A. become more positive as a
result of participation?

1.In participating in the bike ride and mapping, did you encounter any place or events
that you perceived as negative, scary or sad? If yes, can you describe?

2.Did you encounter any place or events that you perceived as positive, comforting, or
happy? If yes, can you describe?

3.Thinking about all you experienced, did your perception of South L.A. change in any
way? If yes, can you describe?

PROBE: If no, why not?
PROBE: Were you already familiar with the area such that your perceptions did not
change?

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience an increased sense of belonging to South
L.A. based on their participation in the engaged research project?

1. Did your participation have any effect on your feeling of connection to the South L.A.
area?

PROBE: If there was an increased sense of belonging, in what ways.
PROBE: If there were negative senses of belonging, in what ways.

179

RQ Outcome: Did the participant experience increased levels of civic participation
based on their participation in Ride South L.A.?

1. After your participation in the project, did you participate in other events and/ or
causes that serve the community of South L.A.?

PROBE: If yes, how so.
PROBE: If no, why not.

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience an increased sense of collective efficacy
based on your participation in Ride South L.A.?

1. Did your participation have any effect on your feelings that you, your friends, and
neighbors can come together and make a difference on neighborhood concerns in South
L.A.?

PROBE: If there was an increase in a sense of collective efficacy, how so.
PROBE: If no, why not.

RQ Outcome: Did the participants expand their social networks related to their
community interests as a result of the project?

1. As a result of your participation did you make new friends with similar bike interests
that you are interested in?

PROBE: If yes, in what ways.
PROBE: If no, why not.

Why not just ask if they made new friends with similar bike interests?

RQ Outcome: Did participants experience an increase in their frequency of
collaboration with USC in their community participation as a result of the project?

1. Besides Ride South L.A., have you participated in other engaged research projects with
any USC staff, faculty, or students?

PROBE: If yes, what projects were these?
PROBE: If yes, how would you describe your experience? Was it a satisfying
collaboration? Why or Why Not?

2. What do you think in general about the relationship between USC and the surrounding
neighborhoods of South L.A.?

3.Is there anything that you would change about university relationships with South L.A.
community/ community organizations in order to create positive social change work in
the community?

180

RQ Outcome: Is there any sustained use of Ride South L.A. as a concept, method,
and practice?

1. Have you used the materials produced as part of the Ride South L.A. project, such as
the map or website in any way?

PROBE: If yes, in what ways.
PROBE: If no, why not.

Project Improvement (5 minutes)
Goal: To explore participant reflections on the project execution, engaged research,
and project sustainability with the community.

I am now going to present you a definition of ‘engaged research’ and ask you about any
thoughts you may have on how future projects such as Ride South L.A. may be improved
to help meet the goals of ‘engaged research’.

[HAND THEM A PAPER WITH THE DEFINITION AND READ OFF THE
DEFINITION.]

a) community-based research projects
b) projects that focuses on social problems in particular local communities,
c) projects that build off community or community organization relationships, and
d) projects that explore different ways to present the knowledge to the public.

1.Do you feel the Ride South L.A. project met each of these goals? [GO ONE BY ONE
AND ASK WHY OR WHY NOT]

2.Is there anything you would change about its presentation on the online Ride South L.A.
platform or other public presentations of the material?

Closing

Is there anything else that would like to speak about in regards to this project?

Thank you. One last thing is I want to do is take a couple minutes to ask a few
demographic questions about you. Again the information I am collecting in this
interview is confidential and will be aggregated with the other interviews.

181

Participant Demographic Survey (Administer to participant 2 minutes)

1. What was your bicycle club affiliation when you participated with Ride South
L.A.?

_________________________________

2. Are you still part of the bicycle club?

3. What is your occupation title?

_________________________________

4. What year were you born?

_____________

5. What is your sex? (Check one)

▢ Male ▢ Female

6. How do you identify yourself ethnically? (Check all that apply)

▢ Asian/ Asian-American
▢ Black/ African-American
▢ Hispanic/ Latino/a
▢ White/ Anglo/ Caucasian
▢ Native-American
▢ Other ______________ (please specify)

Abstract (if available)

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Asset Metadata

Creator Villanueva, George Allen Onas (author)

Core Title The impact of engaged communication scholarship on the re-imagination of space and place in South L.A.

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Communication

Defense Date 07/24/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag communication,engaged scholarship,OAI-PMH Harvest,South L.A.,space and place,university-community partnerships

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Ball-Rokeach, Sandra J. (committee chair), Gross, Larry P. (committee member), Mayer, Doe (committee member)

Creator Email godgeorge@hotmail.com,govillan@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-470145

Unique identifier UC11287582

Identifier etd-Villanueva-2890.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-470145 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Villanueva-2890.pdf

Dmrecord 470145

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Villanueva, George Allen Onas

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA