Streetsblog Los Angeles

This week, I’m attending the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), now in it’s 20th year and currently in West Palm Beach Florida from May 9th to 12th. This is my first time attending but CNU has long been influential to my thinking. Many of my books devoted to urban topics are written by prominent leaders of CNU, and many of these authors are speaking or contributing to the conference.  These writers attempt to distill and articulate what really makes cities thrive, and how we went wrong in so much of America.

But CNU is also a movement and an organization that is embracing the need for fresh ideas. A sort of mini conference within the conference on Wednesday known as NextGen, has become an incubating dialogue for younger attendees to foster new ideas or approaches.

A packed house at the CNU Conference. Photo:Gary Kavanagh

It’s difficult to summarize exactly what CNU is and all it encompasses.  CNU is a gathering of very bright minds who give a damn about making our cities and towns more livable. Equally important is creating models to develop urban environments that are sustaining and viable, not just ecologically, but economically. Throwing in the most environmentally benign forms of transportation infrastructure itself isn’t good enough alone. The land use and return on investment served by that infrastructure must be in balance, not just in the short term, but over the long life of repair and eventual replacement of that infrastructure.

As of this writing I’ve been here for two days of CNU20, but I’ve consumed so many new things to think about it cannot adequately be reflected in today’s story.  Here are some things that stand out so far.

Pretty much everyone at CNU is approachable and not only willing but eager to chat, from that person who happens to be sitting next to you at a session, up to the renowned prolific authors or city builders. Whenever I made an effort, I could hop into a dialogue in the halls.  Jumping into any conversation you find interesting is actively encouraged. During “open source sessions,” with small break out groups, one of the few rules is to vote with your feet. If you aren’t either learning or contributing where you are at, walk somewhere else. Read more…

Los Angeles, 1987. Photo:Scribas.com

Planners who traveled to Los Angeles over the past four days to attend the American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference were greeted by a very different L.A. than the one they visited at the last APA conference in L.A. over 25 years ago.

Walking up to the Convention Center from the east, attendees crossed the Metro Blue Line tracks and saw the Pico Station that will very soon carry Expo Line passengers to Culver City. Walking up from the north, attendees passed through L.A. Live, this weekend bustling with Kings, Lakers, and even some Dodgers fans. The Downtown L.A. they saw had buses, green bike lanes, and miles of street closed to cars on Sunday for Ciclavia.

One presenter said it best: “Everything is happening in L.A. right now—it’s an exciting time to be here.” Indeed, the name of the conference was “Reimagine L.A.”

The opening keynote was given by climate change scientist Andrew Weaver, who went over the scientific proof for global warming and framed the issue as one of “intergenerational equity.” “Do we owe anything to future generations?” he asked. As an answer, he charged the conference’s 5,000 attendees with thinking about and preparing for the future in their plans.

The conference featured sessions about all aspects of planning. One about the “Health Impacts of Transportation” brought the issue of global warming and pollution home to L.A. “The air quality in L.A. is still horrendous,” says Anne Russett, planner for the Los Angeles County Dept. of Regional Planning. Read more…

It's not just controversial development projects, but also clean transportation and open space projects that are endangered by shuttering of CRA. Above image from the South Figueroa Corridor Project via Streetsblog archives

While the politics and drama surrounding the state’s decision to do away with Community Redevelopment Agencies has been a top news story around the state, there has been less attention paid to what will happen to various projects of the agency.  For Streetsblog readers, concerns about the future of various open space, bicycle parking and even the ground breaking South Figueroa Corridor Project are at the top of the list.

The main reason for the relative quiet on this issue is the most obvious: despite a February 1 execution date for the CRA, nobody knows what’s going to happen to the agency.  Yesterday’s news that the city’s government accountability office reccomended that the city not absorb the agency only makes the issue less clear.  The ball still lies with the Mayor and City Council on whether the city will step up or whether a successor agency led by a city and county appointed Board of Directors will see to the remaining projects.

The California Planning and Development Report outlines what options exist for cities dealing with the loss of their CRA’s under new state law and recent court rulings.

“It’s not like there’s an instruction manual for this situation,” supplies David Bloom, a spokesman for the CRA.  ”This is a very complicated and messy situation.”

As for the thinking of the political leadership of the city, the silence has been deafening.  Most of Streetsblog’s sources at 200 Spring Street have either skipped commenting or offered some non-informative answers such as the LADOT spokesman who offered, “The Mayor and City Council will decide what will happen next.” Read more…

I have suggested improving transit for shoppers, legalizing sidewalk vending, and establishing regional food hubs.   While it is important to expand options for getting food to people and people to food, today I want to address ways to increase the availability of good food near where people live. That way, we can walk and bike to shop for food rather than needing to rely on motorized transportation.

Residential food deserts

Earlier this year, there was a battle over a Fresh and Easy because the urban design was not welcoming to pedestrians. Urban design v healthy food access.

When UEPI, CRA/LA and Esperanza Community Housing Corporation mapped and analyzed food retail and transit routes in South Los Angeles, we found that food stores and restaurants were fairly plentiful on commercial streets but that many stores didn’t sell healthy and fresh items. Important work is underway in Los Angeles and California to attract more grocery stores to low income areas (and hopefully require chains to reinvest in underserved communities)  , to convert corner stores to allow small stores to stock more fresh foods , and to fund new and improved food markets.

Front yard farmers markets

Sights such as this might be common place in L.A. soon. Photo: care2.

A somewhat surprising realization from our study was that in Los Angeles, the most difficult place to find food is actually in residential areas where zoning prevents retail, including food retail. How can we allow sales of healthy food near where people live? The City Council recently took a step towards healthy food retail in residential neighborhoods by instructing the City Attorney to draft an ordinance to “allow farmers’ markets to be permitted anywhere in a residential zone”. I’m not sure if residents will be allowed to operate their own ‘front yard farmers markets’ by setting a farm stand to sell food grown in their yard (as is allowed in a number of cities, including Seattle and Cleveland), or if there will be procedural requirements to qualify as a farmers market. Either way, it will be exciting if small scale farmers market spread in yards, driveways and streets in residential areas.
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Rendering of the Greenway from the Bureau of Sanitation's Watershed Protection Division's Concept Document via Expo Greenway

I have to admit that when Jonathan Weiss first described his idea for a Westwood-Expo Botanical Water Garden (WEBWG) at the Westwood Station for the Expo Line, I thought it would never happen.  Three years later, it would be a major upset if some sort of Botanical Garden wasn’t built at the station site, as the concept has gained traction even with groups opposing the rail line itself.

Today and tomorrow, WEBWG faces a new audience, the Proposition O Oversight Committee.  In 2004, the voters of Los Angeles passed Prop. O, which authorized the City of Los Angeles to issue a series of general obligation bonds for up to $500 million for projects to protect public health by cleaning up pollution, in the City’s watercourses to meet Federal Clean Water Act requirements.   The committee has an agenda item entitled “Discussion and Possible Action: Westwood-Expo Botanical Garden.”

Ryan Thiha, an Environmental Engineering Associate with the city’s Watershed Protection Division is the project manager for WEBWG and explains the project.

“The (WEBWG) is located on City owned properties located along Exposition Light Rail and Westwood Station Stop between Overland and Westwood,” Thiha explains.  ”The project proposes to divert, treat, and use dry-weather flow from Overland by using bioremediation such as plants, soil, and UV exposure (natural treatment process). Project also proposes educational display boards, pedestrian walkways, and outdoor classroom area where local students can come and learn about the ecology and local hydrology. In
summary, it provides environmental, educational, recreational benefits to local community, students, and Light Rail passengers.”

While the WEBWG concept has political momentum, the “no-parking” concept for the Westwood Station of the Expo Line was approved in March and the city unveiled its concept for the WEBWG in May, the project is not full funded.  Funding support from Prop. O could be the difference between having a beautiful and environmentally friendly park and a station surrounded by weeds.

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It's official. Southland residents are sick of sprawl and massive highway projects. Source: Key Findings from Recent Southern California Survey on Transportation and Land Use Planning

Even as Los Angeles embraces an expanded transit and bicycle program, the rest of Southern California is still pictured as a sprawling wasteland of highways and subdivisions.  However, that’s not what the people that live in the Southland want according to a new survey released by Move L.A., the American Lung Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council.  Instead, Southlanders want the kind of dense mixed use development and short commutes over McMansions and sprawlways.

The survey, completed by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates, shows that voters in the six county region served by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) overwhelmingly support expanding and investing in transit over investing in highways.  Even when voters backed highway spending, there was more support for a “Fix It First” approach than funneling more money into mammoth road expansion projects.

“If Southern California voters were in charge of our transportation plans, the region would look very different,”Amanda Eaken, NRDC’s deputy director of sustainable communities, added. that “Voters understand what so many studies have told us: widening roads will not solve traffic congestion. Instead, designing communities that increase our mobility and freedom — helping us to get out of our cars — is what will ultimately solve the problem.”

The survey was released just days before SCAG is scheduled to vote on the region’s Long Range Transportation Plan this Thursday.  The SCAG Region encompasses six counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Imperial, 18 million people and 38,000 square miles.  Organizations such as the three who commissioned this report and the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership have lobbied SCAG officials and testified at public hearings helping to create a far more progressive transportation plan than SCAG has passed in the past. Read more…

Glendale PLACE Grant Coordinator Colin Bogart shows off the new tri-lingual pedestrian safety markings at an intersection adjacent to Glendale City Hall.

This week’s series on the grants from the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s Policies for Livable and Active Communities and Environments (PLACE) Grants focuses on Glendale and their groundbreaking Safe and Healthy Streets Plan.

Glendale’s grant was different than most because it wasn’t the city that was actually awarded the grant, but the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC). The LACBC and the city worked together on the grant application. We’ll discuss the unique collaboration between the LACBC and Glendale tomorrow. On Friday we’ll discuss some of the physical changes that have happened over the last three years and that are currently underway.

Today, we’ll focus on Safe and Healthy Streets, the planning document passed unanimously by the city in June and how their plan sets a new bar for clean and green transportation planning in Los Angeles County.

For their part, the City of Glendale professes confidence and optimism that Safe and Healthy Streets will bring a change to the city’s transportation grid.

“People in Glendale are really frustrated by our record on traffic safety,” provides Mayor Laura Friedman. “It’s a way to get a grip on traffic safety in the city, and it’s probably the most cohesive effort we’ve ever had.”

The Baseline: Glendale knew it had a problem and was open to change.

When she first joined the City Council, Laura Friedman (pictured above) pushed for bike parking at City Hall. Now the City's racks are partially filled everyday by staff with a few spots held for visitors. The LACBC's Jen Klausner calls the racks "beautiful."

By its own admission, Glendale was in desperate need for a new approach to transportation planning. The unintended consequences of a transportation network that emphasized moving cars can be seen in the statistics. In Glendale, approximately 17.4% of adults (age 18+) are obese as are approximately 15.8% of children. An additional 46. 2% of adults and 17.9% of children are overweight. Many of Glendale’s health problems could be solved by a transportation system that emphasizes “people powered” transportation, but for years they weren’t ready to make the change. In 2008, almost 40% of adults in Glendale engage in minimal to no physical activity and 66.4% of adults drive to go on an errand less than one mile from their home. Read more…

When two Streetsblog sponsors get together, the world is our oyster. For more on the meeting, read this first hand review at g4do-g4do

Earlier this year, when the designs for South Figueroa’s My Figueroa project were released, Josef Bray-Ali wasn’t happy.  While many advocates celebrated designs that would, if implemented, result in segregated bike paths, transit-only lanes, pedestrian plazas (at a minimum), Bray-Ali saw another major investment in the Downtown and area around L.A. Live. Meanwhile, the portion of Figueroa where he worked and that he loved remained a traffic sewer, with five lanes of concrete and curbside parking blighting the area.

Now, with the city considering bike improvements for North Figueroa, Bray-Ali sees an opportunity to bring My Figueroa to North Figueroa.  Last week, a group of thirty community activists gathered in the Flying Pigeon Bike Shop to create an organization to do just that.  At the Flying Pigeon blog, Bray-Ali notes that the event expanded beyond the usual suspects with local businesses sponsoring the meeting by donating the chairs, tables, food, and other supplies.

“The city sees North Figueroa as a cut through for people that don’t want to drive on the 110,” Bray-Ali explains.  ”As a result, cars cut through the neighborhood without stopping, businesses suffer and the middle-class moves farther away.”

In other words, this is about more than a bike lane.

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The Leimert Park model is a thought provoking interactive diorama of this community that the public can use as tool to facilitate their urban planning ideas and fantasies for transportation, open space, housing, architecture and design.

Crenshaw Boulevard gets the Rojas Treatment. To see more pics from the Leimert Park model, visit the Latino Urban Forum Flickr Page.

Through creating this model I was able to explore the unique topography, vide, and urban form of Leimert Park, which is located in South L.A., nestled at the base of Baldwin Hills and located at the intersection of two diagonal streets Crenshaw and Leimert Boulevards.

The model captures the community’s majestic topography, and street pattern laid out by the Olmstead Sons whose father built Central Park in New York in the 1920’s. The diagonal streets crisscross with the grid to give a very unique pattern not found in many L.A. neighborhoods.

I highlighted the streets, landmarks, and the median islands with their tall trees, and other geographical features that visually define and create Leimert Park.

As an art piece I added some urban design interventions for creative thinking and provoke a response from the community. This also establishes the diorama as an art piece and not just a replica of the community. Read more…