The city of Inglewood in Los Angeles California has a population of 119,500, and is rated as the highest crime per capita city in the US. The complex is designed as an isolated refuge away from crime and gang activity. Offering social services like employment, and health aid, 24 hour counselling, emergency overnight facilities and a kinder garden, the centre tries to cover some of the basic lacking facilities of the area. Taking advantage of this 24 hour weapon safe environment, the centre is designed as a playground landscape, where library and mediateque are intertwined with the basket courts, wall climbing structure, pool and skateboard facilities
Placed above the highway slope, and on pillars, as a pier over a river bed, it takes advantage of this other wise, unusable site.
City of Inglewood, L.A. California FACT SHEET 2002
Ten children are killed every day by handguns in Inglewood. Californians legally purchase an average of 30,000 handguns per month. Juvenile violence and crime triples in the hour immediately after school. More California kids are killed by handguns than by car crashes, diseases or drugs. Youth ages 12-17 are crime victims five times more often than adults over 35.
There are 8 times more gun dealers than McDonald’s in the State of California.
Population 119,500
50 % black, 38 % hispanic
42 % unemployment
24 % below poverty level
22 gang groups
