Landscape Research

ISSN: 0142-6397 (Print) 1469-9710 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/clar20

Use Dimensions of an Alley Revitalization Project

Mona Seymour & Theadora B. Trindle

To cite this article: Mona Seymour & Theadora B. Trindle (2015) Use Dimensions of an Alley
Revitalization Project, Landscape Research, 40:5, 586-592, DOI: 10.1080/01426397.2014.939615

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2014.939615

Published online: 23 Sep 2014.

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Landscape Research, 2015
Vol. 40, No. 5, 586–592, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2014.939615

Use Dimensions of an Alley Revitalization

Project
MONA SEYMOUR & THEADORA B. TRINDLE
Urban Studies Program, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA

ABSTRACT The redesign of alleyways located in commercial districts is typically undertaken to

effect economic development and to develop a sense of community and a sense of place through
these spaces. An investigation of a recently renovated alley in the Hollywood neighbourhood of
Los Angeles, CA was conducted to assess aspects of the efficacy of this project—namely, how and
by what magnitude use of the alley differed from use of an unconverted alley. Behavioural
observations carried out in the East Cahuenga Pedestrian Alley and a nearby control alley
revealed considerable differences in use. Findings include that nearly 90% of all recorded activity
occurred in the redesigned alley and the majority of this was pedestrian- and dining-related, while
control alley activity was heavily transportation- and work-oriented. Results substantiate claims
that alley landscape redesign revitalises social life in commercial district alleys.

KEY WORDS: Alleys, built environment, economic development, pedestrianisation, revitalisation

Introduction
Growing interest in the potential to incorporate urban alleyways into economic and
community development projects has galvanised a number of recent alley revitalisation
projects and programmes across the United States. Transformational projects hinge on
the ostensible economic and social benefits of commercial district alley redesign, such
as those in the downtowns of Fullerton and Santa Cruz, CA; San Francisco’s
Chinatown and Financial District; and Seattle’s Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market
districts (Michel, 2009; Zelinka & Beattie, 2003). Such projects aim to redesign alleys
as pedestrian thoroughfares with outdoor retail, dining and/or event space, while
preserving service functions required by businesses.
Efforts to study the outcomes and efficacy of alley revitalisation projects are in their
infancy. While local business owners and planners suggest that redesigned downtown
alleys become vibrant social spaces and stimulate business, systematic studies of the
outcomes of alley revitalisations appear to be absent from the literature. Through
fieldwork in a redesigned alley and a control alley in Los Angeles, CA, we document
aspects of social outcomes of a commercial alley revitalisation project. Specifically, our
study sought to determine whether and how uses of redesigned alleys differ from those
of other commercial district alleys, in order to begin to pinpoint the results of alley
revitalisation.

Correspondence Address: Mona Seymour, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Email:
mona.seymour@lmu.edu

© 2014 Landscape Research Group Ltd

 Alley Revitalization Project 587

Methods
Study site
The study focused on a renovated alley in the Hollywood neighbourhood of Los
Angeles. The East Cahuenga Pedestrian Alley, which runs parallel to and east of a
north–south street called Cahuenga Boulevard, is commonly referred to as “EaCa
Alley”. It is located within the Hollywood Entertainment District (HED), a business
improvement district focused on enhancing and promoting the area surrounding an
approximately 3.2-km (2 mile) stretch of Hollywood Boulevard, a major east–west
thoroughfare (Hollywood Entertainment District, n.d.).
Prior to its refurbishment, EaCa Alley was the site of numerous illegal and illicit
activities. A needle exchange facility (no longer present) was linked to drug use in the
alley. Frequent use of the alley by the homeless population and feral cats resulted in
deposits of human and animal wastes. These conditions compelled owners of
alley-adjacent properties to gate and illegally divide the alley among themselves for
personal use. Subsequent modifications to these parcels included the construction of an
illegal hot tub facility, rudimentary roof structures and raised flooring; the last of these
exacerbated flooding and standing water issues in the alley following heavy rainfall events.
Around 2007, the Hollywood Property Owners Alliance (the HED’s managing
organisation), along with local business owners, began to re-envision the alley as a
pleasant, walkable retail and dining environment. A city council motion to establish a
pedestrian mall in the alley was introduced in 2008, stating that the alley ought to be
available for public use and that any business wishing to extend into the space would be
required to apply for a revocable permit (City of Los Angeles, 2008). With $790,000 in
funding from the (now shuttered) Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los
Angeles, and with additional contributions from adjacent business and property owners,
work on the alley began in early 2011. The alley re-opened in February 2012, surfaced in
red brick, with permeable pavement down the centre of the walkway and lined with
planters. Dumpsters were relocated to a parking lot at the north-east end of the T-shaped,
152-m (500 feet) long alley. Security and maintenance for EaCa Alley and the 25 other
alleys within the HED are funded through an alley assessment under the HED’s Walkable
Alleys Programme. EaCa Alley is considered a demonstration project for a future system
of pedestrian alleys in the HED (Hollywood Entertainment District, n.d.).
EaCa Alley-adjacent properties are primarily retail (including restaurants, nightclubs,
tattoo parlours, clothing stores and newsstands), with one residential loft complex that
houses small business offices on its ground floor. At the time of the study (June 2012),
three establishments had set up outdoor patios at the south end of the alley (Figure 1).
Additionally, the Cahuenga Corridor Street Market was held in the alley on Sundays
from 10 am through 7 pm. Approximately 15–20 vendors were present each week,
selling items including jewellery, art, clothing and food, as well as services including
haircuts and massages. A musician or DJ was typically stationed at the north end of
EaCa Alley, as was a truck distributing free sodas.

Behavioural observations
Systematic behavioural observations were conducted in the focal alley (EaCa Alley)
and in a control alley located approximately one block to the west in order to assess
588 M. Seymour & T.B. Trindle

the revitalisation’s impact on alley use. The control alley was selected based upon its
similarity to the focal alley in size and in adjacent land uses, and upon its proximity to
EaCa Alley (as the observer was on foot, we elected to select a control alley within
walking distance). The control alley is among those slated for eventual revitalisation.
Behavioural observations were conducted in June 2012 on a total of 16 Fridays,
Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Observations were made between the hours of 3 pm
and 7 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm on
Sundays and Mondays, at approximate 15-min intervals. This observation schedule was
developed to provide insight into possible contrasts between weekday and weekend
uses and activity frequencies. Observations of each alley were conducted 17 times per
day. A total of 544 observation sessions (272 in each alley) were conducted over 64 h
of visitation.
The behavioural observation instrument was modified from an existing observation
tool for alleys (Seymour, Wolch, & Reynolds, 2007). Activity codes were added to and
deleted from the original instrument based upon two preliminary visits to the alley.
Seven primary activity codes were used (biking; dining; driving; sitting; standing;
walking; and working). During each observation session, the observer walked the
length of each alley, recording the code for the activity being performed by each person
observed in the alley (including in the outdoor patio spaces located within EaCa Alley)

Figure 1. (Left) Dining patio extending into the south end of EaCa Alley and (Right) further
north in EaCa Alley; mural, bistro tables, heat lamp and planters.
 Alley Revitalization Project 589

onto a behavioural observation form containing site plans of each alley. Whether the
individuals observed were in each other’s company was noted as well. Data were
entered weekly into an Excel spreadsheet. Prior to data collection, the observer was
trained in-office and in the field by one of the authors of the original observation tool.
Based upon one subsequent day in the field, observed agreement between the trainer
and observer was calculated to be 93%.

Results
A total of 1976 observations were recorded during the study period, with 88% (1745)
of those recorded in EaCa Alley and the remainder (231) in the control alley. Activity
was noted during 91% of the observation sessions in EaCa Alley, and during 45% of
the sessions in the control alley. The most frequently observed activities in EaCa Alley
were walking (43% of all activity in EaCa Alley), dining (27%) and working (17%).
Workers were primarily associated with the dining venues along the alley. In the control
alley, driving (37% of all activity in this alley), working (32%) and walking (15%)
were the most frequently observed activities (Figure 2). Most workers here were
associated with the construction site for a new hotel.
Friday and Saturday afternoon activity in EaCa Alley was dominated by dining (45%
of Friday observations; 65% of Saturday observations), while the control alley was
most heavily used by drivers on Fridays (33% of observations) and by drivers and
workers on Saturdays (each with 34% of observations). EaCa Alley was most heavily
used on Sundays, and walking accounted for 75% of all observed activity. Sundays
were the lightest-use day in the control alley, and walking and driving accounted for
most of the activity (each with 34% of observations). Working characterised the

Figure 2. Activities in the focal and control alleys.

590 M. Seymour & T.B. Trindle

Figure 3. Prevalence of activities in EaCa Alley (top) and control alley (bottom), by day.

majority of the activity in both alleys on Mondays (61% of EaCa Alley observations;
and 49% of control alley observations) (Figure 3).
Walking was a social activity in EaCa Alley more so than in the control alley. Eighty
per cent of all recorded walkers in EaCa Alley were in pairs or groups, while 31% of
all walkers recorded in the control alley were in the company of others. On Sundays,
85% of walkers were in pairs or groups in EaCa Alley. Dining was a social activity as
well; only 2% of all diners observed on EaCa Alley patios were solo.
A very small number of EaCa Alley observations concerned activities or presences
considered undesirable for the renovated space. Nine instances of drug use (marijuana)
and six homeless individuals were recorded. Eight homeless individuals were noted in
the control alley.

Discussion
This study offers some evidence that alley renovation may have considerable impacts
on use levels and types of activities in alleys. EaCa Alley had nearly eight times the
amount of activity observed in the control alley, and was in use twice as often as the
control alley. A study of alley usage in a sample of over 300 Los Angeles alleys
 Alley Revitalization Project 591

showed that activity occurred around 20% of the time in the average alleyway (Wolch
et al., 2010); EaCa Alley was thus in use over four times as often as the alleys in that
sample. Results also show that the activities taking place in the redesigned space—
predominantly walking and dining—differ from the most common uses of the control
alley (driving and working), as well as from the most common activity observed in the
more extensive Los Angeles alley study. Driving comprised around 40% of all activity
observed in that sample (Wolch et al., 2010).
The establishment of restaurant patio spaces in the redesigned alley to facilitate
dining activity likely enhanced walking activity as well, through attracting pedestrians
eventually bound for outdoor tables. Programming in alleys may also be important to
increase pedestrian usage. Sunday observation sessions, which coincided with the
Cahuenga Corridor Street Market, contained nearly half of all observations made in
EaCa Alley, and most of these observations were of pedestrians strolling the alley and
browsing the market.
While the study provides a comparative perspective on use during daytime hours, the
absence of night-time and early morning observations precludes a fuller understanding
of how the alley functions as a social space. Fieldwork was not conducted past dusk as
a safety precaution. Therefore, nightlife connected to outdoor patios, as well as illegal
and illicit activities that may occur during these hours, is not accounted for here. This
study took place in southern California in summertime; thus, results may represent a
particularly high-use period and may not be readily generalisable to less-temperate
regions. Further studies in this vein might attend to these limitations. Future research
might adopt an expanded and more in-depth approach to assessing user satisfaction and
the contribution of renovated alleys to community life through drawing on interviews
or focus groups with alley users. Finally, future research should measure the efficacy of
commercial district alley revitalisation projects by collecting longitudinal data on
economic aspects such as changes in adjacent businesses’ revenues and in property
values.

Conclusion
As alleys increasingly become targeted for economic growth and community
development initiatives, an enhanced understanding of project outcomes becomes
important. This study quantified differences in the frequencies and types of uses of a
revitalised and a control commercial district alley. The frequency of use of EaCa Alley,
the prevalence of pedestrian traffic and diners, the high proportions of users walking
and dining in pairs or groups and the relatively low automobile presence there conform
to goals of the redesign initiative and suggest that renovation can greatly enhance alleys
as walkable, social spaces.

Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the Loyola Marymount University Summer Undergraduate
Research Programme. We are grateful to Sarah MacPherson of the Hollywood Business
Improvement District for providing insight on the development of EaCa Alley and
input on study design. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
592 M. Seymour & T.B. Trindle

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