On May 21, 2024, the Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP) was presented to City Council and was unanimously approved. The plan will be used to guide future improvements along the Broadway Corridor to the benefit of local residents and businesses and in promotion of shared history, cultural identity and pride.
The SIP is the culmination of more than a year of internal working groups, an Advisory Committee of dedicated community stakeholders who participated throughout the process, and the public at large which engaged with City staff at events to create a community vision for the creation of an LGBTQ+ Cultural District. The SIP can be viewed below:
Community Development
In June 2022, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a recommendation brought forth by then-Mayor and current Congressman Robert Garcia and cosponsored by Vice Mayor Cindy Allen, for City staff to work with community stakeholders to create a visioning process and feasibility plan for the LGBTQ+ Cultural District.
By designating the area as a cultural district, the City hopes to work with the community to educate visitors about the cultural and historical significance of the LGBTQ+ community in the neighborhood, support the LGBTQ+ businesses and institutions in the district, and invest in public improvements to ensure the LGBTQ+ community continues to thrive.
Since the inception of this project, City staff has convened with stakeholders and the public to solicit feedback and develop concepts to help guide a vision for the establishment of LGBTQ+ Cultural District along the Broadway corridor. This area of the city is home to many of Long Beach’s gay bars and LGBTQ+ businesses, as well as being a longstanding, important place for the LGBTQ+ community to gather and organize.
This map shows the original project boundaries located along East Broadway Avenue, between Alamitos and Junipero avenues, outlined with the dark blue boarder. Based on community feedback, it was uplifted that the District should be extended to Temple Avenue (shown with the blue dotted lines) to include other businesses along the corridor that are important to the LGBTQ+ community.
Project Updates
Community Outreach and Engagement
The community engagement process was grounded in uplifting the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, educating and providing resources to the businesses along the corridor. Community outreach and engagement is a core component for establishing the Cultural District. The Broadway Corridor has historical significance for the people that advocated for and created space for the LGBTQ+ community to flourish. The robust community engagement effort allowed the City to listen to community members on what they value the most in the new cultural district with a focus on the community that it strives to serve.
Below is a recap of Community Engagement for this project:
- Visioning survey #1
- Visioning prioritization survey #2
- Community meetings
- Pop-Up at Pride 2023
- Workshop with businesses along the corridor
- Advisory Committee meetings
Summary timeline of events:
Resources
- Memo to Mayor and City Council - Update on the Creation of a Community Vision Plan for Developing an LGBTQ+ Cultural District – January 2023
- LGBTQ+ Existing Conditions and Opportunities Maps
- Community Meeting Visioning Boards and Community Responses – Community Workshop #1, October 2022
- Community Visioning Boards and Community Responses – Community Workshop #1, October 2022
- Community Workshop PowerPoint Presentation 09.25.23 – Community Workshop #2, October 2023
- Presentation Boards - Potential Public Improvement – Community Workshop #2, October 2023
- Presentation Boards - Vignettes of Potential Public Improvement – Community Workshop #2, October 2023
- Public Realm Improvement Cutsheets Booklet - English – Community Workshop #2, October 2023
- Public Realm Improvement Cutsheets Booklet - Spanish – Community Workshop #2, October 2023
- Preliminary LGBTQ+ Cultural District Report – released June 2023
Contact
For additional information or questions, please email LGBTQVisioning@longbeach.gov.
