An enterprising developer and experimental architect are pushing the boundaries between L.A.'s suburban style of single-family housing and its need for dense infill development on a site in the city's Echo Park neighborhood.
Carren Jao examines developer LocalConstruct and architect Barbara Bestor's plans to "turn a one-acre hillside parcel in Echo Park into a prime example of smart growth." Dubbed "Blackbirds," the scheme to build 18 small-lot homes around "an internal living street designed after the Dutch
Woonerf concept, where pedestrians and cyclists have priority," is seen by LocalConstruct co-founder Casey Lynch as, "a needed step in the evolution of LA typologies."
"I am curious as to why larger scale housing projects so often have a
lower level of finish and stultifying repetitiveness given their
prices," commented Bestor. "We are attempting to add quality and
individuality to each of these units as well as a structure engendering
community and neighborliness in the way they are grouped together."
FULL STORY: Stealth Density
Cluster Homes Invade L.A.'s Hip Hillsides
Small-lot homes are popping up in the hillsides north of downtown L.A. While the new occupants, often young buyers who can't afford or aren't interested in traditional single-family homes and high-rise condos, are pleased, some neighbors are not.
Skyline-Shifting Development Approved in Los Angeles
The Downtown Los Angeles-adjacent neighborhood of Echo Park is set to get its first towers—including one new building reaching 49 stories.
Pre-Fab Tiny Home Village Takes Shape in L.A.
Along with communal showers and bathrooms, the village will also include laundry, storage facilities, and offices for social service providers.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service