A new luxury hotel with subway access on the ground floor has opened in L.A., creating what Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne sees as a bizarre mix of vanity and transit.
"As urban real-estate developments begin to combine high-end hotel rooms with residential and retail space, they are presenting fresh challenges for architects, primarily having to do with producing separate lobbies and dedicated elevators for each section of a building. The W, rising on land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a full decade in the making, adds another layer of complexity to that equation. Along with channeling flows of tourists, hotel guests, commuters, tenants and diners, it has to account for the peculiar whims of Hollywood vanity -- accommodating bold-faced names who on some visits will be ready to meet the cameras and on others anxious to slip inside unnoticed."
He calls the project an urban planning experiment. But the colliding worlds of luxury hotel space, tourism, and public transportation make it much more than that.
FULL STORY: The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences: An urban complexity
L.A. Subway Ridership Spikes in 2008
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Los Angeles Finalizing Three Long-Awaited Community Plan Updates
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San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
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Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
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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.
City of Albany
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