As downtown Los Angeles undergoes a massive redevelopment, the major concern is not whether it will be another New York, nor if its public spaces will improve, but rather how much worse traffic will get, writes Sam Hall Kaplan.
"To be sure, Downtown Los Angeles is not yet Manhattan. It has a long, long way to go before it achieves a cosmopolitan urbanity, whether modeled after New York or wherever, or, as I hope, evolving into something unique that speaks to L.A.'s distinct culture and climate."
"I personally envision a diversity of Downtown neighborhoods, as varied as the Arts and Old Bank districts, linked by engaging streetscapes, actually more in the mode of San Francisco and perhaps even served by a streetcar system as has been proposed recently in these pages by Homer Williams and Dike Dames of the South Group."
"Grand Avenue may not be our faux Fifth Avenue, nor will L.A. Live become a wispy Times Square West, as a gaggle of commentators have contended. I have labeled these cliché, cluttered, simplistic constructs 'urbanphobia.'"
"Interestingly, the paramount concern of our persistent urbanphobes is not about making these developments more accessible and pedestrian friendly, nor how to provide more housing choices, nor how to offer more inviting parks and public spaces."
"Rather, what apparently worries them, and many others in Southern California, is the ogre of traffic."
FULL STORY: The Trouble With Defining Our City in Comparison to New York
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
DC Bikeshare System Breaks Ridership Record
Capital Bikeshare users took over 20,000 rides on one day in March.
EV Infrastructure Booming in Suburbs, Cities Lag Behind
A lack of access to charging infrastructure is holding back EV adoption in many US cities.
Seattle Road Safety Advocates Say Transportation Levy Perpetuates Car-Centric Status Quo
Critics of a proposed $1.3 billion transportation levy say the package isn’t enough to keep up with inflation and rising costs and fails to support a shift away from car-oriented infrastructure.
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