Drawing on longtime efforts to promote livability at the neighborhood, city, and regional level, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Rick Cole recently highlighted lessons learned about "urban revitalization."
After receiving an award from the California Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism to honor his leadership in Pasadena, Azusa, Ventura, and Los Angeles, Cole offered his take on successful place-making in a conversation with The Planning Report.
Here, Cole explores how "connecting economic development to community development" has allowed certain cities to avoid decline, reinvigorating forgotten areas to become urban centers once again. The tension between developers and preservationists that often accompanies infill development can actually be productive, Cole argues, since it creates balance. He emphasizes the necessity of focusing at the pedestrian level when striving to improve urban spaces.
FULL STORY: Cole: Successful Placemaking Arises From Dynamic Pedestrian Environments, Not 'Starchitecture'

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