This article from LA Weekly looks at L.A.'s parks deficit and what some are trying to do to address it.
"Not all spaces are created equal."
"That's especially true in Los Angeles, where, when it comes to public space, the Maguire Gardens are the exception rather than the rule. The most park-impoverished major city in America, Los Angeles devotes only 4 percent of its land to public greenery. By contrast, parkland comprises 17 percent of New York City and 9 percent of Boston (where 97 percent of the city's children have immediate access to a park - as opposed to one-third of kids in Los Angeles). Even in San Diego, often dismissed as L.A.'s cultureless, beer-buzzed little brother, parks make up 16 percent of the landscape."
"Of the parks L.A. does have, many are caught in varying states of detritus. The jewel of our system, Griffith Park, is less park than wilderness area, and subject to the wildfires that devastated it last year. Elysian Park is beautiful but isolated and underused. And not only have Echo Park's famous paddleboats been sporadically removed from service due to budgetary woes, but Echo Park Lake has become so foul that the park's stunning lotus flowers have all but disappeared."
FULL STORY: Parks and Wreck: L.A.'s Fight for Public Green Space
Los Angeles to Redesign Its 'Worst Public Space'
Josh Stephens reports on the Pershing Square Renew Design Challenge, an effort to redo one of the "world's worst squares and plazas." The new Pershing Square may hearken back to the years before its misguided 1992 redesign.
Cap and Play
This commentary from the Los Angeles Times calls for creation of a central park for the city, made by putting a "cap" over a section of freeway.
New Park Breaks Ground Under L.A.’s Sixth Street Viaduct
The park will connect to the Los Angeles River bike path and transit projects coming to the area.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth
Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.
Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
Opinion: Make Buses More Like Sidewalks
Sidewalks are an intuitive, low-cost, and easily accessible mobility tool. Can local buses function in the same way?
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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