Downtown Homeless Center

Downtownnews.com: Clipper owner Donald Sterlilng is making it happen. The 50 million dollar, 65,000 square-foot lot would have a medical center, legal center and homeless court. Good for him and good for the homeless in LA.

Lifestyle Center

Around the office, we've been discussing an LA Times article on Lifestyle Centers (aka new malls). They are popping up everywhere, including Arcadia and Glendale. It is fascinating stuff and it reminds me of the wonderful 2006 opinion piece by Virgina Postrel. Read both! I liked the part that described the origins of the modern mall via architect Victor Gruen. I'm also interested in seeing how the design and uses have shifted through the years from indoor to outdoor, from only-commercial to entertainment, open space and family amenities.

Some interesting thoughts:

That, I now realize, was itself a false dichotomy — a remnant of postwar suburban thinking. Real city living has always been about commerce and security, the two main reasons people gather in close proximity. (A third is finding sexual partners.) Those who condemn malls for offering havens might as well condemn hybrid cars for not burning enough gas; these critics mistake the side effects of urban density for its purposes. Like mall visitors all over the country, CityWalk patrons aren't looking to escape urban life but to experience its pleasures.

And housing is more and more often being included in part of the deal now as well. Interesting stuff indeed.

Planning Wish List

Curbed LA posts about some supposed LA City Planning Principles/ Findings. It looks more like a wish/whine list to me. I hope it is written more professionally when it officially comes out. Here they are:

· Demand a walkable city.
· Offer basic design standards, e.g. eschew blank walls and street front pkg lots.
· Require density around mass transit (and discourage new density where we anticipate no mass transit will be involved.) Question I think it raises is: will that standard (or ban) be applied to streets/areas that are only served by buses, and not light rail/subway...
· Eliminate Planning Dept bottlenecks (Increase staff).
· Advance homes for every income. Direct quote: "Every upzoning shall carry with it an obligation to provide, preferably through on-site units, but at least a monetary contribution."
· Locate jobs near housing; Include jobs and housing in the new mix (applicable to commercial only zones).
· Produce Green Buildings; Establish a menu of benefit to any developer who will commit to build a LEED certified bldg
· Landscape in abundance; Re-write landscape mitigation standards to create an urban forest.
· Arrest visual blight, e.g. Elimination of above-ground wires, controlled limitation of signage to appropriate districts, numbers and sizes, and emphasize historic preservation.
· Neutralize mansionization; Prevent out-of-scale residences.
· Nurture planning dept leadership; End Planning Dept's bending to political pressure in favor of advocacy of sound planning. Reward acts of courage (by Planning Staffers) i.e. encourage their not bending to council office pressure.
· ID smart parking requirements; Revisit one size fits all approach, w/ project and specific tools, e.g. Parking maximums, pooled parking, auto stacked parking and other emerging techniques.
· Narrow street widenings; Categorically reject nonsensical road widenings.
· Give project input early; Provide preliminary guidance or outright rejection of the case as incomplete w/ in 60 days after an application is filed.

Philly Fun Fact

There is an unwritten rule that you can park in the middle of the street.

Paranoid

Sometimes I get oddly paranoid about cell phones and wifi. Maybe I've been reading the chinese newspaper too much but I'm thinking that it can't be all good. Somewhere, there's going to be a cost.

Finally!

Photo set from APA conference in Philly.

Grace Chih Wedding

I've posted a short set of photos from Grace and Chih's wedding. Long live the bride and groom! They throw quite a party.

Today

I'm feeling more settled as my thoughts transition from Philly onto the relationships, plans and tasks set before me. Time is short and urgency is high. I had best make the most of every opportunity.

I Love LA

Back home and playing catch up. Philly is an urban planner's playground. More later...

Philly

I'm off to Philly for an APA conference tomorrow morning. This couldn't come at a better time. A vacation from work is just what I need right now. I'll be back next Wednesday night.

Echo Mountain

The guys and I went up to Echo Mountain last weekend. We got lost twice. A slight drizzle covered us the entire distance. Views stretching from LA to Catalina were reduced to about 5 feet because of the fog. I couldn't enjoy the top where we ate at the ruins of an old resort because I was too cold.

And yet, I had the best time ever! It's all about the company (and jalapeno bread). You had to be there, but it was so fun. We also took some hilarious photos. In order to take group shots, we would shoot the same photograph twice. Once with three guys and once with the last guy pretending he was in the group. Can you tell which photos were doctored by Vic?

Flickr

New sets and pictures.

Easter

Sunday was quite a feast! I had so much good food but I wanted to just mention dinner, which was at Lu Din Gee Restaurant in San Gabriel. It was the absolute best Peking/Beijing duck ever! You've gotta go. Make sure to order it at least an hour or better yet, the day before you go.

Better Late Than Never

Finished Perfume, book club's March selection. By far my least favorite of the year. Certainly interesting though. I'm glad to be done with it! Now for April, which is The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm much more interested in Wilde than Dorian but it is a classic that I'm excited to finally read.

Harry Fan

I don't read the books. I just liked the third installment because of the director. Now I'm a Potter fan linking trailers and looking forward to the movie.

"If Voldemort's building up an army, then I want to fight."

Life Group Photo

Shot with timer with only one take needed.

So Busy!!!

Blogging is falling by the wayside this week. I'm behind on my book club reading too. Hopefully will finish today or tomorrow.

But I'll say this: There's a good chance that I'm going to be starting school this fall. If I think I'm busy now, just wait until I'm working and going to class at night!

Morning Everyone

Sometimes we look for trouble but sometimes trouble comes looking for us. I take it as a sign that things are going good. But grace is only for today and the race is a marathon.