USC Annenberg PhD Candidate George Villanueva spoke with KCET recently about the Metamorphosis Project and their involvement in the NELA Riverfront Collaborative.

The collaborative has been working to rebuild the Northeast Los Angeles River and the neighboring communities in order to promote sustainability.

“I think what we're doing with the Northeast Los Angeles River Collaborative is really putting forth and prioritizing listening to the neighborhoods that live around the northeast section of the river, listening to the small businesses in the area in terms of what type of river developments can actually benefit their existing businesses in the area,” said Villanueva.

They have also been working to involve everyone from the non-profit sector and the private sector to universities and the public media in the planning for the area.

“I think the Riverfront district is important to L.A., first to really give L.A. its own sense of history, that the river does exist as not only a concrete channel but also [some]where you can recreate, navigate, play at,” said Villanueva.

Read more about the NELA Riverfront Collaborative here.