PROJECTS          GALLERIES          ABOUT
Invisible Cities Studio

Redemption Square



Uncovering the hidden spirit of public space in Los Angeles.
Overview
To reimagine how people see and think about public space in the modern city, I created a short documentary and web series about a contested park in Downtown Los Angeles that reveals an inclusive vision for its future through the eyes and memories of its users.
RoleResearcher, Writer, Director

Activities concept development
spatial analysis
archival research
community engagement
storyboarding
script writing

video production
motion graphics

Team Anne Whiston Spirn, Lorraine Morland, Lisa Biagiotti, Drew Ganyer, Garrett Lamb, Nicholas Myers, Colin Yarck, John Cranston, David Vega-Barachowitz
Location Los Angeles, California
Date2018
StudioInvisible Cities Studio





Watch the Film
In the footsteps of many unique Angelenos, a down-on-her-luck woman finds a new identity in Pershing Square, a notoriously unloved space in Downtown Los Angeles.




“The film has a sense of history and memory that is sorely missing in conversations about public space in Los Angeles.” 

— Christopher Hawthorne, Chief Design Officer of the City of LA


Watch as Episodes
Click to view and check out original source materials...

1. On my Mind - 1:32
2. Campfire (1860s) - 1:55
3. Working Men (1900s) - 2:07
4. Unafraid (1940s) - 2:25
5. Safe Haven (1980s) - 3:36
6. Versions of the Truth (2018) - 6:01
7. Time in Place - 3:40

How do you awaken the hidden spirit of a public space?
Hostile, outdated, unloved: this is the popular image of Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles. Yet beneath the sun-baked surfaces of this historic park exist countless stories of refuge and reinvention. Redemption Square is an investigation of the soul of a park and the soul of a city, and of a major perceptual gap in Los Angeles that propels vicious cycles of demolition and misguided urban design.








“I think you’re taught...that there is one truth. And not that there are versions of the truth.”

John Moody is creative director & urban designer specializing in user research, urban strategy & place identity. Let’s connect!  ~ john.s.moody@gmail.com
BESbswy