Downtown L.A. Is Improving, But Developers Are Driving

"People who live in transformed, long-abandoned buildings and trendy new towers are on foot, heading here and there and nowhere in particular."

"And I think it's generally a good sign that there are now more dogs than humans urinating on downtown sidewalks."

"I like much of what I see. And with all this commerce and more to come, the potential benefits to the rest of the city (from shared tax revenue) and to the whole region (from new attractions around Staples Center and on Grand Avenue) are huge."

"In typical L.A. fashion, mega-developments and the redrawing of the skyline are underway with little in the way of long-term vision or planning. It's the same old let's-try-this-and-see-what-happens approach, with developers in the driver's seat."

"Although public officials and the media spun last week's downtown zoning changes as a boon for desperately needed affordable housing, there is in fact no requirement that a single such unit be built -- there are merely incentives that developers may or may not choose to take advantage of."

Thanks to Andre Zakari