What if making your neighborhood safer means breaking the rules?
Jonathan Hale was ready to lay down his paint rollers. Hale, a law student turned viral road safety advocate, had run into legal trouble for painting his own DIY crosswalks across some of Los Angeles’s most dangerous intersections. In a meeting with LA Mayor Karen Bass earlier this year, he told her that if the […]
Across the United States, urbanists who take matters into their own hands have become more prevalent. Jonathan Hale, a law student turned road safety advocate, had painted his own crosswalks in Los Angeles when he faced legal consequences. In a meeting with Mayor Karen Bass, Hale requested that the city take action to improve safety.
However, without a response, he resumed his vigilante efforts. Hale, along with many others like him, believes that the government's sluggishness and fear of litigation are preventing them from taking simple actions to make their cities safer and more pleasant. Such actions, like painting crosswalks, filling potholes, or building benches, are often inexpensive and relatively quick to execute.
Despite the resources available to cities, projects can take years to complete, sometimes leading to tragic consequences. For example, in Los Angeles, a guerrilla group called Crosswalk Collective LA started painting a dangerous intersection after the city sat on funds for over a decade. The city eventually replaced the guerrilla crosswalk with an official one three months after a young boy was killed in the area.
While these actions may not solve all the problems, they serve as a reminder that making cities safer and more livable can be a relatively easy and even enjoyable practice. However, cities must learn from these guerrilla urbanists and develop new ways to collaborate to truly improve their infrastructure.
Written by urgent.news from Vox's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
