<object classid=”clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000″ codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0″ width=”900″ height=”390″ id=”umapper_embed”> <param name=”FlashVars” value=”kmlPath=http://umapper.s3.amazonaws.com/maps/kml/80866.kml”/> <param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always”/> <param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/> <param name=”movie” value=”http://umapper.s3.amazonaws.com/templates/swf/embed.swf”/> <param name=”quality” value=”high”/> <embed src=”http://umapper.s3.amazonaws.com/templates/swf/embed.swf” FlashVars=”kmlPath=http://umapper.s3.amazonaws.com/maps/kml/80866.kml” allowScriptAccess=”always” allowFullScreen=”true” quality=”high” width=”900″ height=”390″ name=”umapper_embed” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer”/> </object> Construction is underway on a series of new public restroom facilities along the bike path between the Santa Monica Pier and Venice [...]
Author Archives: Adam Christian
Sneak Preview: New Report on So. California High-Speed Rail Benefits
Last January, I partnered with the Center for Urban Infrastructure on a regional study of the economic benefits of the proposed California high-speed rail system. A sneak preview of my study has just been posted. Among the highlighted findings: Short-Term Stimulus. During construction (2012-2017), the project will contribute an estimated regional income benefit of $701 [...]
Santa Monica Place: The Mall as Civic Space
I never expected to use the words “mall,” “civic-minded,” and “context-sensitive” all in the same sentence, but here I am, attempting to encapsulate my overall positive thoughts on Santa Monica Place (SMP) – that sparking new palace of retail consumption by the sea. Since a professional architectural critic has already covered the main points, allow [...]
Development Watch: Pioneer Bakery Building (512 E Rose Ave)
Could the Venice real estate market be rebounding? There is some new construction activity afoot at 512 E. Rose Ave, with mesh fencing recently installed around the perimeter of the property. Tractors have already begun clearing away the overgrown brush that had been accumulating. As readers may call, I profiled this site as a prime [...]
California HSR Project Barometer: “50/50 Chance of Success”
In a recent Monocle interview posted this past Sunday, Richard Tolmach of the California Rail Foundation gives the California High Speed Rail Project (CAHSR) a 50/50 chance of happening. Weighing in its favor is the sheer size of the regional air market between the Bay Area and Southern California, the largest in the country. This [...]
30/10 TOD Benefits Remain Elusive
By now, any marginally informed Los Angeleno has heard of 30/10, Villaraigosa’s ambitious program to complete 30 years of planned transit projects in the next 10 years. The economic and environmental benefits could be enormous. Naturally, the long-term land use implications of this initiative have also attracted developer interest. At the recent ULI Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) [...]
Breaking the Impasse at Bundy Village
The proposed Bundy Village and Medical Park in West Los Angeles has spawned something of a protest movement based on the 20,000+ vehicle trips it would add to the Olympic/Bundy intersection at peak driving times. The massive mixed-use complex has been pitched–somewhat disingenuously–as “Smart Growth at its best” given its proximity to the future Expo [...]
An Afterlife For L.A.’s Failed Development Projects
The recent rainstorms are a reminder of how quickly Southern California’s landscape can pivot from semi-arid to verdantly lush. With so many development projects in L.A. either cancelled or indefinitely on hold, one cannot help but wonder about the massive potential of vacant lots as temporary sites for urban agriculture. A report last April by [...]
Joel Kotkin’s Imaginary “War on Suburbia”
As a longtime admirer of Joel Kotkin’s iconoclastic thinking on urban issues, I am usually in agreement with his signature issue: the defense of American suburbia against attacks by environmentalists and policymakers who would like to promote a denser, transit-oriented way of life. Kotkin believes there has been no fundamental shift away from suburbs and [...]
A Tale of Two Crosswalks
In Los Angeles, it is very easy for pedestrians to feel like second-class citizens. Granted, we have inherited an infrastructure expressly built for cars, but the enormous width of our streets is further exacerbated by poor crosswalk design and signal coordination. Case in point: this intersection in Brentwood, where San Vicente Boulevard and Montana Avenue [...]