In preparation for a series of Los Angeles mayoral candidate forums being hosted by the AIA beginning this Friday, Will Wright singles out the one issue that he would most like to see addressed.
Wright, the Director of Government & Public Affairs for the AIA Los Angeles (the host of the upcoming mayoral forums), pens an editorial in which he proposes creating an office of Deputy Mayor of Architecture and Urban Design to help coordinate the city's "investments in infrastructure and capital improvement citywide and ensure design excellence all on projects that influence the public realm."
Wright catalogs the numerous sprawling bureaucracies who have an impact on L.A.'s built environment, but are rarely on the same page, or even speaking terms. "Short of charter reform, one way to restructure the decision-making hierarchy of these huge organizations when it comes to building is to enable a team within the Mayor's office to create a more integrated system of project delivery and facility operations with a greater emphasis on design and performance."
"The cost of a project," notes Wright, "isn't simply measured in what we spend on it, but it also includes what we fail to gain from it."
Read the full story: Editorial> Get a Voice
L.A. Metro Will Spend $81.5 Million to Improve Blue Line to Long Beach
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) appears to be taking a break from its perpetual expansion projects to make some improvements to the heavily used but aging Blue Line.
The Lost Art of Great Infrastructure in America
Writing in the New York Times, Allison Arieff asks what happened to the great works of public infrastructure from years past that stand as today's monuments to America’s achievements.
Public Water Works! to Grow Jobs, Protect the Environment
With a $600 billion investment gap facing the tap, citizens, organizations, and elected officials call for a renewed commitment to protect access to safe drinking water on World Water Day at Los Angeles City Hall.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Less housing, wasted money: study reveals impact of city parking mandates
The study found that 71% of carless households in the United States pay for a parking space they don’t use.
Minnesota seeks to replace fraud-ridden Housing Stabilization Services with new program
Federal prosecutors have charged over a dozen people in fraud cases involving at least $26 million.
A multi-billion dollar problem is brewing under Oakland’s streets
Oakland’s stormwater drainage systems are in desperate need of upgrades and repairs. The El Niño will only further strain the city’s infrastructure.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority