Los Angeles is changing. No longer a city defined entirely by its sprawl, Los Angeles is reaching its perceived boundaries. Rather than rewrite its history, it looks to rebuild its urban fabric. Clearing the city is no longer an option, and context is viewed as an advantage rather than an obstacle as the metropolis grows. The shift in focus and burgeoning transformation of LA is both cause for attention and cause for action.
We have assembled a series of questions on LA urbanism to provoke, to stimulate discussion on critical issues facing our City. We invite you to participate in this conversation about your city.
The first to answer are our PBy Collaborators on the PBy Blog:
Leigh Christy and Ben Feldmann, architect and urban designer / landscape architect with Perkins+Will
Michael Maltzan, an architect, whose work in the City is reshaping the map of LA
Mia Lehrer, a landscape architect passionately engaged with the LA River and the City
Marc Salette, an architect, formerly with Gehry Partners, who now has his own practice in LA
What do you think? Do you agree, disagree? Answer the question(s) yourselves. Go to the PBy Blog.
Through your answers we can help Los Angeles change, evolve, and grow into a sustainable, forward thinking metropolis for generations to come; all through a simple conversation.
The Questions:
- Given the current climate of economic crisis, governmental turmoil, and a general sense of stasis in the community, how can the city of eternal optimism take advantage of such a historic moment?
- As large- scale interventions in the city decline and as urban issues are solved more and more at the micro level, how can we begin to look at the city as a whole again? And as the last, largest single-owner parcel of land in such close proximity to Downtown Los Angeles, what are the opportunities the Piggyback Yards provide?
- As a city constantly defined and redefined negatively by its infrastructure, how does reconnecting the city to the Los Angeles River change the identity of Los Angeles?
- With 365 days of sunshine and a diverse landscape of terrain, Southern California and Los Angeles have a variety of landscapes and ecological environments, why do you feel that the city lacks diverse public space? And why is public space such an important part of the contemporary city?
- The Piggyback Yards/Mission Yard area is just one of the zones of investigation in the city which is rich in geography, community, and political economy. With projects and development on hold, how can the laboratory of Los Angeles find momentum?
- As Los Angeles continues to evolve, issues of housing, density, and community surface as populations begin to form relationships in new and unplanned ways. Emerging interaction can also result in friction and unforeseen conflict. With such a diverse population, what kind of community must Los Angeles anticipate?
- Grand urban issues can seem insurmountable when viewed by the everyday person. What can you and I do to change the city in a positive way?
- Right here and now, for you personally what characterizes the city of Los Angeles today?
Thank you.