A new exhibition of the bold designs that were never executed in Los Angeles provides lessons for today's leaders and planners. By imagining a more public-minded path for Los Angeles, it provides the impetus for creating such a future.
"Curated by architectural journalists Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin, ["Never Built Los Angeles"] offers a rich parade of proposals for civic projects in Los Angeles and Southern California — by architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Paul Williams, Rem Koolhaas, Steven Holl, Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel — that for a variety of reasons never got off the drawing board," writes Christopher Hawthorne.
"You could probably put together a show like this on any big American city. In Los Angeles, though, the distance between what's offered up to the public and what gets built has been unusually wide," he adds. "What emerges is a nuanced portrait of this city's tendency to flirt with and then give up on major civic initiatives."
With a new mayor in charge, and "growing enthusiasm for a bolder civic agenda," says Hawthorne, "[t]he debate about what gets built and what doesn't in Los Angeles — about when it makes sense to throw in with the schemers and conjurers of new worlds, and when with the pragmatists and anxious protectors — is more pressing than it has been in many years."
FULL STORY: Review: A city's unrealized ambitions in 'Never Built Los Angeles'

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

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.

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.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont