[dropcap size=big]P[/dropcap]lanters, those eyefuls of modern DIY gardening may appear to be an excellent use of urban space in Los Angeles, but they are unfavorable to the city’s growing homeless population. Some of the planters grow vegetables like kale but more of them contain succulents and sometimes just dry dirt.
Back in May, the City Council passed a motion to inspect and enforce laws that make sidewalk planters and DIY fencing illegal in some cases, “when and where appropriate.” But as of early November, hundreds of planter boxes and blocks of illegal fencing still exist throughout the city.
In Koreatown on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Wilshire Place, a giant 230,000 square foot art deco building dominates most of the block. The former luxury department store, built in 1929, is now home to the Southwestern Law School. With its large gates and standard fencing, the property is built like a fortress to keep outsiders beyond its perimeter.