Land use critic Jill Stewart compares Los Angeles' Playa Vista development to the disasterous Belmont school development site.
New Times LA critic Jill Stewart calls the Playa Vista development in Los Angeles Belmont II: "It is an apt name for the problem-plagued nightmare on the Westside dubbed Playa Vista by the Wall Street investors and Beverly Hills billionaires who own the 1,070 acres of land more properly known as the Ballona Valley ... If granted the final go-ahead by the city council, it will be the largest construction project in the United States. More importantly, it will be the only plan I can find in current literature to erect a large, habitable community atop a thick plain of unstable ancient river silt, bisected by a just-discovered earthquake fault that cuts through layers of porous soil and gravel filled with just-discovered explosive methane gas apparently seeping from a deep, underground, abandoned oil field."
Thanks to Laura Krafft
FULL STORY: Belmont II
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research