Advice For L.A.'s Architecture Critic

Prominent civic leaders offer advice to the city's new architecture critic, Christopher Hawthorne.

1 minute read

December 9, 2004, 11:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


The Los Angeles Times has introduced and welcomed Christopher Hawthorne as its new architecture critic. The Planning Report talks with astute civic leaders who are currently thinking about the value of architecture, land use, and growth management: L.A. City Councilmember Eric Garcetti; Robert Timme, Dean of the USC School of Architecture; and Martha Welborne, Managing Director of the Grand Avenue Committee.

An excerpt from the interview:

Martha Welborne: "We need to understand our history, how old it is. People have been settling in the area since 1781, which was quite a while ago, but we are still filling out our boundaries. We have just now reached the era of infill. So, it’s a very exciting time in terms of re-creating the form of the city and the way it works. As everybody knows, we still don’t have a full-fledged rapid transit system, which could change the form of the city as we know it. There is a lot to be done in continuing to create Los Angeles, and I think we need a strong point of view, we need criticism, and we need a critic who understands the way other cities work."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

4 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

6 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine