By Aaron Ordower, UCLA Luskin School MURP '15, and UCLA Ziman Center Levine Fellow AY14/15
“Success comes from acting quickly on a good idea,” declared LA Mayor Eric Garcetti as he addressed a standing-room-only crowd at the Urban Land Institute’s Transit Oriented Los Angeles conference. The audience gathered at the Japanese American National Museum on November 12 to hear from public and private sector leaders who are reshaping the Southland through trendsetting, transit-oriented developments. The conference highlighted a number of quickly actionable, localized interventions that address clear market demand in the office and residential sector.
Mayor Garcetti, who at last year’s ULI conference announced the Great Streets initiative, delivered a keynote address which highlighted the initial progress of his signature program, which aims to revitalize the neighborhoods through physical and programmatic interventions to streetscapes. The first fifteen great streets have been identified and already receiving temporary treatments which include plazas and parklets, which will be followed by more permanent infrastructure.
Developers that “get it”
In the private sector panel, office developer Wayne Ratkovich declared that in ten years millennials will make up 70% of the workforce, and successful office buildings will need to offer amenities which cater to this workforce. Ratkovich encourages developers to pay attention to projects including his Downtown mixed-use The Bloc and the cooperative offices at The Reef which are built around transit, integrated with ground level retail and feature bike friendly infrastructure such as showers and corrals.
Residential developers are also well aware of these resident preferences. The new 438-apartment One Santa Fe building in the Arts District features a 50-fleet bike sharing pool for its residents, dedicated Zipcar parking spots and physical space to accommodate a future Regional Connector metro station on-site. New urbanist Playa Vista is defined by retail within walking distance of offices and apartments and a comprehensive network of bike lanes and parks.

Bold public sector leadership
Huasha Liu of Southern California Association of Governments reminded attendees that the region’s governments have committed to locating 50% of new housing on just 3% of its land (located in high quality transit areas) as well as inverting the current ratio of housing to achieve seven multi-family units for every single family home. Preparing neighborhoods for this growth requires infrastructure to ensure residents can make active transportation choices. Kate White highlighted Caltrans’ Active Transportation Program, which is providing Southern California cities with nearly $200 million for pilot projects that embrace NACTO’s new Urban Street Design Guidelines. Metro’s Diego Cardoso addressed the need for good pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure for first and last mile connectivity, while showing that the vast majority of Los Angeles is within the three-mile bike-shed of a high frequency transit stop.
Long Beach Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal explained that her city’s transformation is a result of “redefining density” and making it synonymous with complete streets. While some Long Beach residents resist change, her administration has found success in launching one-year pilots and only codifying changes into official policy once a patchwork of interventions have been laid out and proven across the city. Slowly but surely LA County’s second largest city has become defined by its bike-friendly infrastructure and vibrant street fairs.
“Thinking Small in a Big Way”
These innovative developments and neighborhood-level interventions are exactly what Fred Kent referred to as “thinking small in a big way.” The President of the Project for Public Spaces delivered the keynote address and provided numerous examples of cities as diverse as Buenos Aires, New York City and Paris that succeeded in activating their streets through placemaking. Those cities built thriving, pedestrian-friendly districts through localized interventions that transformed car-centric streets into shared spaces that naturally attract people. Kent challenged those in the public sector to think spatially and not be confined to functional work silos that plague government.
After enjoying the half-day conference, Mr. Kent must consider Los Angeles well on its way to joining its global peers as a city defined by its thriving complete streets.
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