One of the Obama administration's most promising anti-poverty initiatives will marshal federal grants and expertise from numerous agencies to improve infrastructure, services and opportunities across a wide swath of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles will join San Antonio, Philadelphia, southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma as test cases for President Obama's "Promise Zone" initiative. "L.A.'s Promise Zone stretches through Pico-Union, Westlake, Koreatown, East Hollywood and Hollywood, what Mayor Eric Garcetti called some of the 'toughest, challenged areas' in the city," reports Soumya Karlamangla.
"The White House said Los Angeles' funding would go toward increasing affordable housing, investing in public transit lines and bike lanes, and giving people more access to career and technical training opportunities through a partnership with the Los Angeles Community College District," she adds. "Money also would go to the L.A. Unified School District and the nonprofit Youth Policy Institute to increase the number of support services at schools."
Read the full story: U.S. to designate poor L.A. areas a 'Promise Zone,' eligible for aid
New Promise Zones Include South Los Angeles
South L.A.'s inclusion in the Promise Zones program marks a shift in the way the federal government measures poverty.
Promise Zones Partner Up in Los Angeles and Philadelphia
A new phase of President Obama's Promise Zone anti-poverty initiative will take place simultaneously in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. AmeriCorps staff will be on hand to provide career coaching to high school students.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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