Team Members: Christopher Giamarino, Artin Sahakian, and Samantha Solis

This thick map seeks to visually describe the juxtaposed reality by which USC operates; they strive to accentuate their academic and research endeavors and conceal their developmental role on the surrounding communities. Their privileged status of being a private institution with influential members plays an important role here in their claim to real estate development power. In particular, the thick map highlight’s USC’s influence on residential and commercial redevelopment and its subsequent impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

Using Mapbox, we mapped the extent of USC’s patrol area in white, village surrounded by yellow dashes, campus surrounded by red dashes, and exposition park surrounded by yellow dashes. Three additional spatial influences were added that influence who has access to this part of the city and how they can use it. First, we mapped LA’s sit-lie law that bans sitting and sleeping in certain public spaces in the blobby black. Second, we mapped the Figueroa business improvement district in light grey. To support commercial redevelopment, these districts employ additional security to maintain order and police certain activities. Lastly, we mapped a special enforcement zone around a temporary unhoused shelter. We superimposed competing narratives and imagery to investigate the campus’ problematic history of commercialization, exclusion, and securitization.