Monday, January 29, 2007

Roger Snoble Talk

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Please go to this event (and give us some feedback on how it is):Wednesday, January 31st at the City Club from 8:30-10:30 AM
"The Boom of Transit-Oriented Development Along Metro Rail"
featuring Mr. Roger Snoble, Chief Executive Officer of MTA. Please RSVP via our website at www.patbrowninstitute.org or by contacting Tarren Lopez or Fredy Ceja at 323.343.3770

Location: The City Club on Bunker Hill
333 South Grand Avenue, 54th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(Parking is accessible below the Wells Fargo Building)

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Smart Growth Conference, Part III

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In this post, James describes the last panel he had a hand in creating for the upcoming Smarth Growth Conference: "Livable Communities, Southern California Style: Circumstantial Urbanism in Los Angeles". The session will feature Lewis McAdams of Friends of the Los Angeles River as moderater, and will tackle the causes and effects, small and large, of people and business-centric innovation in Los Angeles.

How has congestion, lack of affordable housing, immigration from all over the globe, lack of land, the deterioration of the environment, and changing economic conditions, spurred individuals to be creative in solving their own spatial needs in the existing built environment? With and without government guidance or help?

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The Smart Growth Conference: Part II

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The "Latino New Urbanism" session will examine the impacts Latino Urbanism has on the built form and discuss needed policies to address such issues. As great numbers of Latino immigrants settle into large parts of Los Angeles, they bring a different use of urban space to an already existing built environment. Additionally, Latino growth is occurring at a time when California is conflicted about its urban development models--choosing between competing and contradictory programs: developing compact cities, preserving the environment, or increasing urban sprawl and slums. Council member Maribel De La Torre, of the city of San Fernando will moderate.

Next post, James describes the session he calls the "most fun".

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Smarth Growth Conference: Part 1

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The national Smart Growth conference, entitled "Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities", will be held here in L.A. this time around, at the Western Bonaventure.

The session James mentions in the above vlog is entitled "From Pedestrian Friendly to Pedestrian Seductive" and will describe the difference between streets that accommodate pedestrians well (pedestrian-friendly) and those that entice people to come out and walk (pedestrian- eductive). It will first demonstrate places that provide basic safety and conveniences for pedestrians, for example, sidewalks and intersection crossings. And then will show how those streets can be made to come alive through streetscaping, architecture, paseos and more.

The session will also showcase an outstanding example of how to engage communities in making neighborhoods more walkable: the Great Hollywood Walkabout, which involved 150 people surveying 43 streets to bring pedestrian enhancements into the community plan.

And finally, an Angeleno will describe how it is possible to carry on daily life in Los Angeles without a car. He'll regale us with his daily experiences, rewards, and barriers; and conclude with some important improvements needed to foster auto-free lifestyles here in L.A. I (Nate) will be all ears for this because I've recently gone car-less myself.

Relatedly, to the session, on the last day of the conference: a "Latino Urbanism Tour: The Organic Pedestrianization of Public Space", will visit Los Angeles' predominantly Latino retail districts and neighborhoods, and explore how LA's Latino culture has influenced building iconography, including the practice of retrofitting public spaces to fit their needs. Sites featured include parts of Downtown Los Angeles, and surrounding historic neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The tour will be by bus and by foot. And the cost will be $38. (Hopefully they'll be a student discount!) For more info--www.NewPartners.org. Next post, James will describe two more of the sessions he had a hand in creating.

Monday, January 15, 2007

More of the Nacimiento Tour

Nacimiento Tour

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The Nacimiento Tour was a lot of fun. While gentrification and displacement have taken a toll on the tradition, we're hoping that this won't be the last tour. More footage is available, contact Nate if you'd like to make use of it. And more info can be found at Bikeboom's entry for the event.