The Complete Annenberg Fellowship on the L.A. County Public Health PLACE Grants

In 2008, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health awarded five communities in Los Angeles County $330,000 grants to improve the transportation planning and urban design of their communities.  The goal of the Policies for Livable and Active Communities and the Environment (PLACE) program was for communities to improve the planning documents that guide how their city grows and create a physical project that exemplifies the changes. The grant period ended on June 30, 2011.  In August, September and October, Los Angeles Streetsblog wrote about each of the PLACE communities exploring the new planning documents, the physical project, and something unique to that particular PLACE project. The five grants were very different.  In Culver City, they used the grant to create their first-ever bicycle and pedestrian plan, while Long Beach used the funds to hire Charlie Gandy as mobility coordinator and he's been painting the town green for three years.  In Pacoima, they plan to use the Pacoima Wash as an anchor to build new open space and sustainable transportation projects while El Monte just wants to get its citizens moving on their own power and eating healthier foods.  In Glendale, PLACE Coordinator Colin Bogart provided a model for embedding activists at city government proving uncanny skill at connecting politicians, city staff, activists and the silent majority of residents. Below you can find a short video with the PLACE Coordinators from Culver City, Long Beach, Glendale, Pacoima and El Monte explaining their program and the stories prepared by Los Angeles Streetsblog founding editor, Damien Newton. Culver City August 5: Culver City Walks, Not Runs, Towards Sustainability August 3: Unintended Consequences: Culver City Bike Plan Meetings Lead to Formation of Culver City Bicycle Coalition August 2: First Steps in Culver City, Connecting Downtown to the Expo Station Long Beach August 22: Long Beach’s Leap Towards Livabilty IV: Leaping Forward? August 17: Long Beach: Good for Bikes, Good for Business August 18: Long Beach’s Leap Towards Livability Part III August 15: It's Long Beach Week Glendale September 9: Second Steps: The Riverdale-Maple Greenway Will Connect Parks In Glendale September 8: The Embedded Activist September 7: Glendale Invests in Safe and Healthy Streets for a Safe and Healthy Future Pacoima September 26: End Goal in Pacoima: A Wash That’s Beautiful September 21: Like a Troubled Bridge Over Water – Making Connections in Pacoima September 16: In the Valley, Park(ing) Day is Beautiful El Monte October 4: El Monte Walks Towards a Healthier Future October 13: Arceo Walk, Small Investment, Big Changes in El Monte October 20: Healthy El Monte Not Just About Transportation Planning, But Also Healthy Eating