Christopher Hawthorne, the architecture critic at the LA Times the contradictory evidence surrounding LA's machinations toward becomming a post-suburban city. He finds public opinion fractured as the MTA finalizes plans for two Westside subway lines.
Even the LA Weekly, once a bastion of all liberal views has published an aggressive indictment of the plans for the subway line. Hawthorne believes "attacks on mass transit and worries about creeping density are two sides of the same coin. Both are driven by fears that Los Angeles is losing the characteristics - easy private mobility, room to spread out - that have always made it, as a suburban metropolis, so different from other American big cities."
Those in favor of a more evolved mass transit system have been no less vocal over the past few months. "On Oct. 10, an estimated 100,000 Angelenos, on foot and on their bikes and skateboards, filled the streets to celebrate CicLAvia. The event drew many more participants than even its organizers were expecting, reflecting a growing constituency in Los Angeles for changes to the streetscape benefiting pedestrians and cyclists."
There is little doubt that as he reality comes nearer, the "gap between those who welcome additional density and crave mass transit and those who are on guard again such change is widening."
FULL STORY: There's A Growing Disconnect On A Better Connected LA
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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.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research