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Lots In Progress is a pilot initiative reimagining vacant corridor sites as flexible, community-driven spaces, demonstrating the power of the Downtown Long Beach (DTLB) Design District in action and how underused lots can become catalysts for activation, culture, and neighborhood life.
What if Long Beach’s vacant lots didn’t have to sit empty while the city figures out what’s next?
That question kicked off Lots In Progress, a pilot we developed with People’s Architecture Office, who share space at our Urban Lab. The idea is simple: give underused corridor sites a temporary life as places for art, gathering, and small business, while their long-term futures are still being shaped.
At the heart of the project is a belief that these spaces are activated not just by design, but by the communities around them, and that the DTLB Design District is uniquely positioned to lead that kind of collaboration. For this pilot, we partnered with three Long Beach high schools (Renaissance High School for the Arts and Browning High School (both LBUSD STEAM-focused), along with St. Anthony High School) engaging students directly in the design and programming of the sites. This work was facilitated by the Creativity Lab at the Long Beach Public Library, grounding the project in youth creativity, education, and local ownership.
We selected three pilot sites along Long Beach Blvd, Broadway, and E 4th St (key corridors within and adjacent to the Design District), each one testing a different approach to activation. The shared element is a scaffolding framework that’s low-cost, reusable, and easy to move from one site to the next. It’s a kit of parts, not a one-off, allowing communities to adapt and reprogram the spaces as needs evolve.
One site becomes a gallery and flex space for clothing swaps, flea markets, and live music. Another transforms into a garden and nursery, a green pause along the corridor. A third turns into a food and retail hub, a place to grab a coffee or pick up everyday goods. With integrated lighting and evening programming, the lots remain active well past sundown, extending the energy of the Design District into new spaces and hours.
Both firms brought research and built work to the table. People’s Architecture Office has spent years exploring scaffolding as architecture, including projects like the Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, Floating City, and Fabric Plugin Visitor Center. Studio One Eleven contributed its experience advancing the DTLB Design District through initiatives like the Art & Design Walk, ongoing community engagement, and 10 Degrees Cooler, our collaboration with Poster Territory that brings Long Beach’s creative voice directly onto the structure.
The result is a research-backed model for what light, low-cost activation can do for a city: a placeholder with purpose, and a scalable approach to corridor revitalization. More importantly, it puts the DTLB Design District into action, demonstrating how design leadership, education partnerships, and community-driven programming can work together to shape the future of Long Beach from the ground up.
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