{"id":4566,"date":"2016-01-15T15:08:58","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T15:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2016-01-18T02:45:23","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T02:45:23","slug":"gangster-gardener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/gangster-gardener\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gangster Gardener of South Central: Ron Finley"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In Los Angeles, South Central is infamous for gang violence and poverty. Though no longer as dangerous as its reputation, South Central is still\u00a0impoverished in terms of access to recreational parks and healthy foods.<\/p>\n<div style=\"max-width: 1778px;\">\n<div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/ABbvzp?maxheight=1000\" style=\"border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(e){\n                window.parent.postMessage(e.data,\"*\");\n            },false);<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Because of this,\u00a0o<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kcet.org\/shows\/socal_connected\/content\/health\/community-health\/obesity-epidemic-hits-south-la-harder-than-most.html\">besity<\/a> is a major problem there. \u00a0South Central resident Ron Finley\u00a0laments,\u00a0&#8220;The drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">As Ron Finley grew\u00a0up in South Central, he\u00a0was not only surrounded by\u00a0unhealthy foods, but also the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/la.streetsblog.org\/2013\/05\/03\/politicians-raise-awareness-about-blight-by-sticking-their-signs-on-every-vacant-lot-in-cd-9\/\">empty lots<\/a>\u00a0that litter Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n<div class=\"iframely-embed\">\n<div class=\"iframely-responsive\" style=\"padding-bottom: 52.5%; padding-top: 120px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/la.curbed.com\/2015\/5\/4\/9964284\/los-angeles-vacant-lots-map\" data-iframely-url=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/4DkjqW?maxheight=1000\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(e){\n                window.parent.postMessage(e.data,\"*\");\n            },false);<\/script><\/p>\n<p>He explains his experiences with South Central&#8217;s issues and his own community-engaging solution of guerrilla gardening in the following Ted-Talk.<\/p>\n<div style=\"max-width: 1772px;\">\n<div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.4286%;\"><iframe title=\"Ron Finley: A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.ted.com\/talks\/ron_finley_a_guerrilla_gardener_in_south_central_la\" style=\"border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;\" allowfullscreen scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"encrypted-media\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(e){\n                window.parent.postMessage(e.data,\"*\");\n            },false);<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">The Gangster Gardener&#8217;s solution is simple. It calls upon local communities to take control of what they can, in an environment that gives them so little. Though he beautifully gives purpose to decrepit\u00a0land and provides opportunities for outdoor exercise, the best part of Finley&#8217;s work is that individuals bear the fruit of of their own diligence.<\/p>\n<div style=\"max-width: 768px;\">\n<div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 74.8438%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/9ziRTs?maxheight=1000\" style=\"border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(e){\n                window.parent.postMessage(e.data,\"*\");\n            },false);<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">He created\u00a0a new valued\u00a0version\u00a0of rebellious independence, in the form of self-sufficiency. Eventually, he created a local and then a global-scale organization that promotes giving others the tools they need to help themselves. Ron Finley encouraged people, &#8220;Plant your own damn food! I&#8217;m not doing that shit!&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"iframely-embed\">\n<div class=\"iframely-responsive\" style=\"padding-bottom: 33.3333%; padding-top: 120px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lagreengrounds.org\/gallery\" data-iframely-url=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/VMpcSC?maxheight=1000\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(e){\n                window.parent.postMessage(e.data,\"*\");\n            },false);<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"iframely-embed\">\n<div class=\"iframely-responsive\" style=\"padding-bottom: 55.8468%; padding-top: 120px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ronfinley.com\/\" data-iframely-url=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/tB2LkE?maxheight=1000\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/cdn.iframe.ly\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(e){\n                window.parent.postMessage(e.data,\"*\");\n            },false);<\/script><\/p>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Los Angeles, South Central is infamous for gang violence and poverty. Though no longer as dangerous as its reputation, South Central is still\u00a0impoverished in terms of access to recreational parks and healthy foods. Because of this,\u00a0obesity is a major<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":4654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[97,93,98,96,95],"tags":[212,146],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4566"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4578,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions\/4578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teach.alimomeni.net\/2016spring1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}