Los Angeles' extended Purple Line subway may very well spur an extension of the "linear downtown" along Wilshire Boulevard. Luxury high-rises are the most conspicuous new arrivals.
With LA Metro's Purple Line subway set to extend from downtown to the Westwood neighborhood by 2024, a spate of ostensibly transit-oriented residential high-rises has recently come online. Antonio Pacheco discusses these predictably luxurious new digs.
Constructed in the Great Recession's wake, "The new buildings are not innovative so much as they are novel, imported typologies for a city in which the wealthiest denizens typically occupy mountainside perches, not the tops of towers."
The new buildings, though close to transit, don't exactly embody the egalitarian spirit. "Their final manifestations, hard-fought as they were, hint at some of the shortcomings the recession generated: generic podium-and-tower massing, use of conventional materials like smooth stucco and glass, and generous, if not overly fussy, shared amenity spaces."
Pacheco closes, "A big question moving forward will be whether developers and city agencies can forego their penchant for oversized parking podiums and whether, when faced with fewer budgetary and entitlement restrictions, architects and developers will begin to truly work toward a locally derived variant of the luxury tower typology." Of course, the other question is: will residents actually use the transit waiting right outside their doors?
FULL STORY: L.A.’s expanding subway line spurs first crop of luxury towers
Op-Ed: Los Angeles Needs a Vermont Avenue Subway
As the second busiest bus corridor in the area, Vermont Avenue is currently a candidate for bus rapid transit. But would rail be a better choice?
Beverly Hills Students Protest Subway Construction
Students from Beverly Hills staged a high-visibility "walkout" to protest L.A. Metro's extension of the Purple Line subway past Beverly Hills High School.
Purple Line Extension Gets $1.6 Billion Boost in Los Angeles
The Purple Line subway extension is picking up momentum in Los Angeles. With construction already underway on the first phase, the second phase should commence in 2018.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions