Topic: urban planning
City of LA Votes Against Becoming Successor Agency to CRA/LA
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In a lengthy session this week, the City Council of the City of Los Angeles, CA voted against assuming the obligations of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) to become the successor agency under the provisions of ABx1 26.
The passing of ABx1 26 and the subsequent fallout has put several projects into a precarious position, including 10 projects in Los Angeles County show in the graphic on the left.
An article about the Council’s decision can be found in today’s Los Angeles Times. To hear the discussion about the Council’s decision and the next steps, watch the on-demand video of the meeting here.
Focus Shifts From Smart Growth to Intelligent Cities
The economic and housing downturn, coupled with changing U.S. demographics, have shifted the focus of city planners from the “smart growth” principles that reigned during the housing boom to the new concept of “intelligent cities.”
The Intelligent Cities Initiative, a National Building Museum project in partnership with Time and IBM, is currently exploring the intersection of information technology and urban design. The initiative aims to capitalize on growing citizen involvement with technology by using the data made available by the new information technologies to determine how best to design and plan cities.
Notwithstanding that “intelligent cities” has become the new buzzword of urban planning, the principles of smart growth, which emphasize accessibility in communities, are still alive. Growing Wealthier: Smart Growth, Climate Change and Prosperity, a study recently released by the Center for Clean Air Policy, found that the application of smart growth principles to development and urban design can improve the bottom line for businesses, household budgets and governmental balance sheets.
