STREET BEATS

Los Angeles Great Streets Challenge Grant Award Winner
Los Angeles, CA
Street Beats was a collaboration safe streets community engagement tool that took place in Los Angeles’ Hyde Park neighborhood. The project was set out to transform one of Los Angeles’ most dangerous traffic intersections into a musical element to be played collaboratively by passers-by.
With crosswalks transformed into keyboards, DJ booths, an upright piano, the “Bench Beats,” and custom beat-making iPads set up on each corner; the one-day installation created an opportunity for residents to have fun while re-envisioning an inhumane and neglected streetscape.
Media coverage:
Streetsblog Los Angeles
Architect’s Newspaper
Los Angeles, CA
Street Beats was a collaboration safe streets community engagement tool that took place in Los Angeles’ Hyde Park neighborhood. The project was set out to transform one of Los Angeles’ most dangerous traffic intersections into a musical element to be played collaboratively by passers-by.
With crosswalks transformed into keyboards, DJ booths, an upright piano, the “Bench Beats,” and custom beat-making iPads set up on each corner; the one-day installation created an opportunity for residents to have fun while re-envisioning an inhumane and neglected streetscape.
Media coverage:
Streetsblog Los Angeles
Architect’s Newspaper






Project Team: Michael MacDonald (SML); Adé Neff (Ride On!); Naomi Iwasaki, Andres Ramirez (Community Health Councils);
Malcolm Harris,
Estuardo Mazariegos, Sandra McNeill, Marlene Salazar (T.R.U.S.T. South LA)
Sound system: Paul Cheatham
Community volunteers: Drummers Wit’ Attitude, KAOS network, Al McKie, Mbela Endeley, and many others
Traffic engineering & control: LADOT
Roadway installations: Traffic Management Incorporated
Sound system: Paul Cheatham
Community volunteers: Drummers Wit’ Attitude, KAOS network, Al McKie, Mbela Endeley, and many others
Traffic engineering & control: LADOT
Roadway installations: Traffic Management Incorporated
© Studio MacDonald Libit | Photography by
Michael MacDonald and Great Streets LA