Urban Living in California

As mentioned in the earlier post “Jan Perry on LA” the Los Angeles City Council is currently considering several ordinances that will remove building codes that impede the process for developing dense urban structures.  These ordinances are proposed with the hope that they will encourage the construction of more units at and below the current market rate.  More affordable units in Downtown LA with less red tape?  Sounds almost too good to be true.  Details can be found in the full article “A Dense Downtown” from LAtimes.com.

It’s hard to ignore the recent slew of developments springing up all over Southern California.  From Hollywood to Southpark, Silver Lake to Marina Del Rey the desire for dense, urban buildings seems to be insatiable.  This movement away from the detached single family units of suburbia to the attached housing of urban cities is indicative of the ever changing needs of our society.  No longer do people desire the isolation of houses surrounded by vast stretches of green lawns.  Nowadays people seek a more social environment where the local cafe, bistro, and grocery store are located a short walking distance away.  In a Los Angeles Times article, Diane Wedner discusses this growing trend in home buyers.  Below is the actual article taken from LAtimes.com:

Urbanist Explosion

Realtors are paying attention to a growing group of buyers who want hip, higher-density living in pleasant surroundings — like Hollywood, not downtown.

By Diane Wedner, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

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Angelenos spend a great deal of their time on the road, and let’s face it, stuck in traffic. To help meet the busy demands of everyday driving, the TrafficGauge Mobile device provides real-time traffic maps that let you know which routes are jammed. The device updates every 4 minutes and is available for Seattle, San Francisco, and Southern California traffic in L.A. as well as the O.C. Currently they offer a “TrafficGauge handheld, TrafficGauge for cell, TrafficGauge for PC, TrafficGuage for Widget Suite and TrafficGauge for iPhone.” (fromwhatiheard.com) Read more about this device at FromWhatIHeard.com

Gone are the days of Fashion District sitting in the shadows of the more popular retail destinations of Santa Monica’s 3rd Street, Beverely Hill’s Rodeo Drive, and Hollywood’s Melrose Avenue. Downtown LA’s Fashion District is quickly coming into it’s own as a force to be reckoned with. LAist.com describes the ins and outs of this silently booming garment hot spot. The following are excerpts from their wonderfully detailed Neighborhood Project blog. A link for the full entry, which includes numerous photos as well as a video clip, can be found at the bottom of this post.

“Virtually ignored in most travel guides, this 90-block garment district is arguably the most underrated destination neighborhood in Los Angeles. The Fashion District is dismissed by many as an “off the beaten path” kind of area, when in fact it should be among the top two or three places every visitor to the city should see. That’s because LA has become the clothing manufacturing center of America, and the Fashion District is its pulsing heart. More than that, it presents a one-of-a-kind experience only possible in Los Angeles, a funky cross between New York’s Canal Street and a Middle-Eastern bazaar (but with Mexicans). You can buy almost anything here, from shoes to toys to a new pet, and there’s no place on the West Coast where you can stretch a 10 dollar bill farther. From the charm of its sidewalk cafés to the persistence of its street hawkers, this is the most frenetic, exciting urban experience in LA. It is also one of downtown’s fastest growing neighborhoods, as thousands of new residents will attest.

Boundaries: The Fashion District occupies about 90 city blocks in the southeast quadrant of downtown, but it is growing rapidly. The boundaries are roughly 6th Street to the north, the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) to the south, Main Street to the west and San Pedro Street to the east, though the wholesale and retail operations have expanded the district several blocks farther east.

According to a recently released report by the Fashion District Business Improvement District (BID), the area has almost doubled in size (from 56 blocks) since the BID’s creation in 1996 as it continues its expansion east towards Central Avenue….

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Orange County officials are looking to ease the commute between Los Angeles and the O.C. by opening the carpool lane during non-rush hours. After being successfully tested on the 22 freeway a few months earlier, transit officials believe expanding it to include the 405, 57, and 91 freeway will provide similar results. Officials are also looking to remove the double lines separating HOV lanes from regular traffic lanes in an attempt to reduce potential accidents. Caltrans is currently waiting on a study that will evaluate the safety of these changes before making any decisions. To read the full article on the dailynews.com click here.