Los Angeles Returning to its Roots with the Growing Influence of Latino Urbanism

Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne begins a recent column by citing the example of the recently completed Broadway Streetscape Master Plan of the growing trend of Latin American influence on the development of Los Angeles. Writes Hawthorne: "The redesign suggests just how many politicians and policymakers in Southern California are finding inspiration in Latino Urbanism, a term that describes the range of ad hoc ways in which immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America have remade pockets of American cities to feel at least a little like the places they left behind."

For more on what Latino Urbanism looks like in Los Angeles, Hawthorne adds: "Planners are adding parks and bike lanes to major streets but also pushing to loosen outdated restrictions, so that murals can be painted in the arts district and street vendors selling tortas or sliced fruit can operate legally. Temporary events like the popular CicLAvia open-streets festival, patterned after a program in Bogota, Colombia, are spurring permanent urban-design changes that challenge the dominance of cars."

Hawthorne includes a lot more details and description of Latino Urbanism in the remainder of the article, finding examples of its influence in places like Boyle Heights, Highland Park, and the San Fernando Valley.