Culture and History

The various communities in the Tujunga Wash watershed include many and diverse ethnicities, socio-economic conditions, and origins. This often leads to diverse ways of thinking about the landscape, the water, and ideal relationships with both. The cultural diversity, composition and social history of a watershed is an important part of planning and managing the watershed. Human influence and changes in this influence can often be as important as natural processes (such as precipitation) in directing which way watersheds and waterways will evolve. The Tujunga Watershed Project has conducted a demographic analysis of the watershed.

In a 2002 study entitled "The Changing Face of the San Fernando Valley", authors Kotkin and Ozuna state, "the Valley today is an ethnic kaleidoscope of a new Los Angeles and new America - melting pot, ‘salad bowl’, home to both ethnic mobility and pockets of deep-seated poverty". Their conclusions about the Valley are reflected in the Tujunga Watershed, which is home to both economic disparity and incredible ethnic diversity, providing opportunities to show how this melting pot can collaborate on solving 21st Century problems -- like water management.

If you want to get more detailed information online, the Web site "Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles" allows you to map demographic and land use information online for your neighborhood.