Blog Archives

transforming Eagle Rock’s streets

Posted on November 23, 2010 by markvallianatos — No Comments ↓

Opinion piece on the possibility of improving the streets of Eagle Rock. Basically, treat them like valuable public space and as places people want to be near, rather than as sewers to rush cars along.

Tagged with: bike lanes, Eagle Rock, planning, streets
Posted in Built Environment, Streets, Transportation

we’re looking for a few good planning ideas (Q&A with L.A. planning director)

Posted on November 22, 2010 by markvallianatos — No Comments ↓

We want you & your best ideas for planning & making Los Angeles a better place. Join UEPI at Occidental College on December 1 for a Q&A session with recently-appointed L.A. City Planning Director Michael LoGrande and L.A. Times architecture…

Planning to Support Urban Agriculture

Posted on June 17, 2009 by beery — 2 Comments ↓

Urban agriculture is everywhere we turn these days. On rooftops, vacant lots, and school yards. As discussed on this blog before, Los Angeles was a city founded on agriculture. With an ideal growing climate, the city should lead the nation…

Tagged with: food, Los Angeles, planning, urban agriculture, zoning
Posted in Built Environment

Abolish HUD?

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

Last Friday, Columbia University sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh published a provocative op-ed column in the New York Times headlined, “To Fight Poverty, Tear Down HUD“. In this column, he argued that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is…

Tagged with: affordable housing, labor movement, planning, poverty
Posted in Housing Justice

H is for Hubris

Posted on July 7, 2008 by markvallianatos — No Comments ↓

When designing a monument to oneself in a region that has repeatedly skewered (while also celebrated) the gauche palaces of the rich, from Citizen Kane to Citizen Spelling, one would think that our contemporary tycoons would show some subtlety. One…

Tagged with: agriculture, climate change, planning, urban agriculture
Posted in Urban Environment

Bush’s Class Warfare

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

Friends – Just a week before Christmas, President Bush gave corporate America two big presents. On Tuesday, his Federal Communications Commission changed the rules to allow the nation’s giant conglomerates to further consolidate their grip on the media by permitting…

Park[ing] Day!

Posted on September 21, 2007 by Amanda Shaffer — No Comments ↓

It’s a beautiful day and our park is set up! Come by for a chat in the park.

Tagged with: environment, occidental college, planning, Transportation
Posted in Built Environment, Streets

Designing the Cornfield

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Amanda Shaffer — No Comments ↓

Wanted: Experienced and innovative design firm for new 32-acre state park just north of downtown Los Angeles. Must take into consideration previous site studies, multiple community demands, and diverse constituent needs. In March, the California State Parks Foundation went searching for teams to…

Tagged with: planning, uepi
Posted in Re-Envisioning the LA River, Urban Environment

Warehouses vs. Urban Gardens: L.A.’s Own Urban Heat Island Effect

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Robert Gottlieb — 1 Comment ↓

It’s hot out there, and one of the reasons it might get even hotter in the years to come in LA, is the continuing push to pave even more of the little green space we have. When Judge Helen Bendix…

Tagged with: environment, Los Angeles, planning, urban agriculture
Posted in Built Environment