Walk Score for 95 LA Neighborhoods

Though not necessarily the best or only metric for determining walkability, Walk Score is still a fairly useful guide for comparing different neighborhoods and understanding the relationship between amenities (shops, restaurants, grocery stores, etc.), public transit accessibility and other computable factors that determine walkability. You can read about Walk Score's methodology here.

Walk Score released its most recent rankings for "Los Angeles' Most Walkable Neighborhoods." Click on the link for the full list and to see your neighborhood ranking.

Source: Walk Score

Water Wise House in Mt. Washington

Mt. Washington Home. Source: LA Times

"Those who follow sustainable design say the new residence could very well be one of the most water-efficient houses in the region, a milestone for L.A. as the city seeks better models of conservation. The Nob Hill Haus, as its owner-designers call it, could serve as a template for the house of the future here." (Click here for a link to the full LA Times story.)

Laundry, bath, and sink water flows into this tank before traveling through perforated underground pipes that feed plants. Source LA Times

Partners Frank Pasker and Grit Leipert "let California's scarcity of two resources — power and water — shape the design philosophy for" their new 2,400 square foot Mt. Washington home, which is designed to reduce energy and water consumption to the greatest extent possible. The couple's ultimate goal is to make it a net-zero energy home.

The Los Angeles region is poised to grow considerably over the next couple decades and a similar "design philosophy" is needed for the region to grow sustainably. Climate scientists predict drier and shorter Sierra winters, which means less water for Southern California. As Pasker points out, "California challenges you to do something because of the climate...You want to work with the climate, not against it." Working with the climate, with a particular focus on energy and water, will become the hallmark of successful sustainable design and help shape the future of development in Southern California.

Composting Bins. Souce: LA Times

Green Credentials:

• Gravity fed grey water system with no pumps, filters or electrical devices
• Grey water system treats 160 gallons of water per day, which then waters the yard through a series of underground perforated pipes
• 1,500 gallon cistern used to capture rainwater and water backyard plants
• 50% water use reduction from the typical Los Angeles home
• 120 gallon roof-mounted solar water heater
• 50% thicker walls than required to reduce heating/cooling needs
• 3.2 kilowatt solar array designed to offset any electricity use

1,500 gallon cistern, which holds captured rainwater for plant watering. Source LA Times

Transit Adjacent Markets

Here's a new form of transit-oriented development: Transit Adjacent Markets. The most interesting aspect of this clip is the efficient use of space, common sense understanding of public safety, and informal use of land. The speed with which the life and urban atmosphere of the market is dismantled and reconstructed is impressive and makes one realize that cities often do not need complex and expensive investments to breath life into formerly neglected spaces.

Los Angeles, 1877

The map below is from the BIG Map Blog. It provides a sense of what the landscape looked like in Southern California as it began to urbanize. Bunker Hill is in the distance and you can even see Pico House (#20), which still stands today.

Convert Plastic Into Oil

Akinori Ito developed a machine that converts plastic into oil. Watch the video.

CicLAvia Reminder - This Sunday 4/10/11

Source: CicLAvia.org

Don't forget to enjoy the second CicLAvia this weekend from 10 am to 3 pm on Sunday. A message from the sponsors:

CicLAvia opens LA streets to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating a temporary web of public space on which residents of Los Angeles can walk, bike, socialize, celebrate and learn more about their own city. On 4/10/11, 7.5 miles of roadways will temporarily close to car traffic and open for recreational purposes. From Boyle Heights to Downtown, MacArthur Park to East Hollywood, CicLAvia encourages Angelenos to not only make active use of their streets, but to rediscover the roadways and neighborhoods that too often go unnoticed in a car. Help open LA’s streets… take part in the second CicLAvia on 4/10/11.

Los Angeles, 1871

NEXT ECO-CITY // Emergent Urban Symposium

The University of Washington's Landscape Architecture Department is hosting the "Emergent Urban Symposium" this Thursday. Much of what will be discussed is at the heart of today's discourse on urban sustainability, particularly the symposium's emphasis on interconnectedness, contingency (as a response to complexity and uncertainty), the importance of planning at multiple scales and environmental resilience. Below is the description from their website.

Urban environments worldwide are in the midst of multiple shifts, driven by interconnected flows in capital, people, and resources at local, regional and global scales. It impacts not only cities but also the network of social and ecological systems well beyond their borders. In contrast to the complexity of today's urbanization, the concept of the "Eco-City", arguably dating back to the ideal of the 19th Century Garden City, seems like an overly simplistic and utopian vision. Yet, the imagery and language of an idealized "Eco-City" continue to shape the planning and design of contemporary cities while disregarding the vital complexity of contemporary urban conditions and issues. This symposium will examine today's multifaceted urban environment in order to explore emerging theories and practices that will enable us to address these critical issues. Specifically, it investigates three areas of knowledge and practices: emergent ecologies, emergent cities, and emergent tactics.

Emerging Ecologies
While early attempts to conceptualize urban ecological conditions primarily focused on traditional ecological methods and subjects, a new paradigm is emerging that embraces the complexity and uncertainty associated with coupled human/natural systems. This session explores the relationships between environment, equity, economy, and design in our rapidly urbanizing world.

Emerging CitiesThis session examines the dynamics and implications of rapid urban growth in the emerging mega-cities of the global south. Critically engaging issues of environmental resilience and social equity as they relate to urban form at multiples scales, it explores the present and potential evolution of design, technology, policy and practice in these contexts.

Emerging TacticsThis session focuses on new approaches to remaking the urban environment that are distinct from the paradigm of master planning and conventional practice of design. It examines how seeing the urban landscape as a set of systemic and interactive matrices with interconnected and spontaneous possibilities can inspire new approaches and methods in design and implementation.

 

Parking Lots as Solar Farms

There are ways to transform surface parking lots, which are altogether too numerous in Los Angeles, from an eyesore into a resource. Surface parking lots can be planted with "solar groves" - rows of solar panels - that generate electricity for immediate use (electric charging stations) or provide renewable energy for the grid. 

Retrofitting existing parking lots is not terribly difficult and parking capacity is unaffected. In fact, providing electric vehicle owners with a simple and affordable way to recharge their cars while in the office or while out running errands will reduce "range anxiety" and provide the infrastructure needed to make electric vehicles a viable alternative to gas cars. You can read more about "solar groves" here.

LA Bike Master Plan

The recently passed Los Angeles Bike Master Plan has been lauded by many as a great success. It certainly goes a long way, assuming it is actually implemented, towards making Los Angeles a more bike-friendly city. With miles of mass transit proposed for the region and a growing population, the need for transportation modes that support the transition away from a strict reliance on cars is essential. The fact that Los Angeles is warm and sunny nearly all year, and relatively flat in most areas makes an emphasis on biking all the more obvious.

My major criticism is that there are still not nearly enough class-1 bike lanes (green lines on the map), which are the hallmark of any world class biking city. Most people will remain reluctant to bike unless protected by some sort of physical barrier separating them from vehicular traffic. To understand the importance of physical barriers watch the video from Streetfilms below.