Urban Living in California

Photo and article from Curbed LA by Adrian Glick Kudler.

Are we finally getting to the good part in planning the Subway to the Sea (aka Westside Extension of the Purple Line)? Metro is holding a series of community meetings to share the latest news since the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report process started in April, and there was firm-ish talk of station locations and construction arrangements. Curbed was at last night’s West Hollywood meeting, where Metro’s Jody Litvak and David Mieger presented updates and heard from community members. (First shot: Wilshire Blvd, peeled back. At Fairfax)

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Photo: One of three route options from LA Streetcar, Inc.

Article from blogdowntown by Eric Richardson

The heavy-traffic area at the connecter from the 110 to the northbound 5 will get futuristic ‘Smart Studs,” intended to reduce long lines. These studs gauge the flow of traffic and open and close a lane depending on how many cars are on the road. This $3.2 million installment is hoped to be functioning by this November, and if the project goes well, the city will consider putting ‘Smart Studs’ on other parts of the freeway.

Read the full article by Craig Howie from the LA Times

Photo and article from New Geography. Article by Michael Scott.

There’s been a torrent of spirited banter lately about the reemergence of downtown central-cities. Much of this raucous debate is between advocates of urban revitalization, who offer an assortment of anti-sprawl messages as justification for this movement, and those who see suburban growth options as essential to quality of life in America. Adding to the fray are environmentalists who see housing density and alternative forms of transportation as the panacea for confronting our carbon-choked world. Downtown central-cities, they say, will incentivize citizens to relinquish their cars in favor of bikes and walking paths.

These discussions largely ignore a greater significance to the reemergence of central-cities; namely, the recognition of downtowns as the epicenter of civic and cultural activity. This represents a shift away from the traditional concept – barely a century old and now antiquated – of downtown as predominately an economic and job center hub.

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Photo and article from the Telegraph. Article by Tom Leonard

The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature.

Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area.

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