La Now Volumes 3 And 4, Chapters 5-6

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170

natural habitat

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171

unlined stretch: Sepulveda Flood Control Basin

Chavez Ravine site

Los An

geles R

iver

downtown

unlined stretch: Glendale Narrows

unlined stretch:

Los Angeles River unlined

south of Willow Street, Long Beach

Los Angeles River channelized dams and reservoirs

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debris basin

172

Los Angeles River infrastructure

websites: lalc.k12.ca.us/target/units/river/riverweb.html lacity.org/councilcmte/lariver organizations.oxy.edu/lariver folar.org

river length: 51 miles channelized river length: 47.9 miles

description The 48 miles of the concrete viaduct that stands in for the Los Angeles River was once a thriving natural body of water capable of sustaining a population of 250,000 —about 6.25% of the current population. Discovered and settled by colonists from Mexico in 1781, the river continued to nurture and feed a growing Los Angeles from its early colonial period to its days as an emerging metropolis.

As the city grew exponentially, the Department of Water and Power viewed the river as an insufficient source and tapped and built the famous aqueducts to the High Sierras. Additionally, in the 1930s the river flooded, killing 50 people and damaging huge swaths of property. It was apparent the river had neither the ability to sustain or control its water capacity.

As a result, in the late 1930s local politicians with the Army Corps of Engineers initiated the bold decision to control and revise the purpose of the Los Angeles River. It became a flood-control channel, an urban amenity. This industrial usage begat similar development along its banks, negating any potential for it becoming an ecologically sound and green recreational destination.

1880

earliest documentation of the L.A. River

1900

1914

1815–1825

downtown Los Angeles

1825–1889

1938

Rapid urbanization of Los Angeles conflicts with the ecology of the river. City begins to receive water remotely from 200 miles north.

Army Corps of Engineers complete the channelization of the river.

modern flooding

1889–1930 (pre-channelization)

1938 (channelized)–today 1995

0 1 2

4

6

8

2003

10 miles

1/2

Los Angeles River timeline

websites: website: lalc.k12.ca.us/target/units/river/riverweb.html deliriousla.net/lariver organizations.oxy.edu/lariver folar.org now: 1. lacity.org/councilcmte/lariver 2. Jose Cardenas, “Bureaucratic Shoals Slow River Effort, Multiple Jurisdictions Complicate Efforts to Revitalize the 51-mile Los Angeles River,” Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2003, sec. B.

now 1. A resurging interest in revitalizing the Los Angeles River as a natural and cultural amenity in the city has emerged. Various academic and non-profit groups have initiated a grass-roots effort to open discussion with policy makers and developers on a viable, ecological, and economically sound model for the river. The Los Angeles City Council has formed the Ad Hoc Committee on the L.A. River: “The Ad Hoc River Committee will focus on major re-

vitalization efforts on our historic river; opportunities for parks, trails, recreation, nature, neighborhood identity, jobs, community development, tourism, civic pride and much more.” The following are the Committee’s case studies: Guadalupe River, San Jose, California Platte River, Denver, Colorado Rio Salado, Tempe, Arizona San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas

2. Attempts to revitalize the Los Angeles River are hampered by too many agencies with jurisdiction, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Northeast Trees, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Ironically, these agencies are not responsible for preventing or cleaning the graffiti and other eyesores that plague the river. Sound visions may emanate from politicians, but the river’s immediate needs are maintenance and security.

173

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Los Angeles River historic routes

project site

Chavez Ravine

Los Angeles River watershed

downtown

site

land coverage: 834 sq. mi.

eles R iver

northern watershed: 360 sq. mi. (forest or open spaces)

Los An g

southern watershed: 474 sq. mi. (urban development) 200-year flood plain

flood plain: city

websites: ladpw.org/wmd/watershed/LA lalc.k12.ca.us/target/units/river/riverweb.html lacity.org/councilcmte/lariver organizations.oxy.edu/lariver folar.org average year 0 inches 1880

10

20

30

40

1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980

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1990

174

rainfall: 1880–2000

2000

Los Angeles Times, 2003 description: Ingersoll, Raymond. Bringing Water to Los Angeles: A Guidebook to the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Sierra Nevada (UCLA, 1996). now: 1. Louis Sahagun, “Cutback Allows Aqueduct Overhaul,” Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2003, sec. B.

description The original aqueduct intercepted the Owens River within the Owens Valley and brought water, driven only by gravity, 231 miles south to L.A. In 1970, a second L.A. Aqueduct was constructed south of Haiwee Reservoir in the Owens Valley; this increased water delivery by 50%, so that the combined L.A. Aqueduct today supplies approximately 70% of L.A.’s water. The remainder comes from the California aqueduct (State Water Project; completed in 1973), the Colorado River

now Aqueduct (completed in 1941), and local groundwater sources. Complex ecological and societal consequences have resulted from this human intervention of the landscape. The most obvious include the desertification of parts of the Owens Valley, the complete dryingup of Owens Lake, the lowering of Mono Lake, and the rapid development of the Los Angeles area.

1. The Colorado River Aqueduct saw its most extensive overhaul by the Metropolitan Water District in fifty years. Today they began refilling the entire system after shut down and draining. Colorado River Aqueduct performance: capacity: 1 billion gallons / day population: 10 million people length: 242 miles cost: $8.2 million

Riv er

filtration plant

L.A. R iver

California Aqueduct

Colorado River Aqueduct

ta A

na

aqueduct

San

watershed boundary river / creek groundwater basin / sub-basin lake

water infrastructure

river

San ta A

dam

na

Riv er

L.A. R

iver

websites: lalc.k12.ca.us/target/units/river/riverweb.html lacity.org/councilcmte/lariver organizations.oxy.edu/lariver folar.org deliriousla.net/lariver

100-year flood plain 200-year flood plain historical flood plain

now 1. A 15% drop in water coming from the Colorado River has resulted in a new proposal to review how Southern California can receive more water. Part of the project involves altering existing infrastructural systems in Northern California that will free up more water for Los Angeles and San Diego. The operation is a joint effort by the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.

2. A local artist has generated buzz with his idea to create an artificial lake in downtown Los Angeles using giant inflatable rubber dams strung along the Los Angeles River. Politicians are attracted by the notion; it could form the centerpiece for an urban renewal plan that would unite neighborhoods currently disconnected by rail yards and warehouses.

3. Initiated by a search for a missing girl, public attention focused on the continually stagnant murky quality of the Echo Park lake water. The girl was located but concerns over water quality persisted. To address the concern, biofilters will be used to clear the water in Echo, Machao, MacArthur, Debs, and Reseda Parks. Biofilters utilize live wetlands plants and air pumps below the surface to aerate and oxygenate the water. The lake cleanup will cost $1 million.

175

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flood region: metro

websites: organizations.oxy.edu/lariver deliriousla.net/lariver now: 1. Tim Quinn, “Plan Alters Water Flow to L.A.,” Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2003, sec. B. 2. Miguel Bustillo, “Giant inflatable rubber dams would create an artificial lake downtown that could serve as a centerpiece for urban renewal,” Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2003, sec. B. 3. George Ramos, “Cleaner Water on Tap at City’s Echo Park Lake,” Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2003, sec. B.

1,200 sq. ft.

average size of yard per single family house (R1 zone)

x 1,287,679 homes = 34,482 acres in City of Los Angeles

total size of residential front and back yards

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= 41

Central Parks in New York City

total residential yard acreage City of Los Angeles

176

websites: factfinder.census.gov (2000 U.S. Census) Los Angeles Almanac, 2001 lacity.org/lahd/curriculum/gettingfacts/infrastructure/parks.html

Central Park, New York City 843 acres

Griffith Park, City of Los Angeles 4,217 acre

The City of Los Angeles has 15,600 acres of parkland, including the largest municipal park in the United States—Griffith Park description New Yorkers champion Central Park as the cultural heart and physical lung of Manhattan. Its location and design serves as the perfect antidote to the hyperdense urbanity that envelopes every individual.. It is everyone’s yard and collective shared space. Los Angeles’s geological response is Griffith Park. Centrally located and offering a more rugged and hilly exodus from the metropolis, it represents a piece of

found nature rather than a designed piece of landscape. Unfortunately, many residents bypass the largest municipal park in the United States serving instead as a more visual and acoustic backdrop for freeways and the neighborhoods that encircle it. Griffith Park also suffers from a less exportable mythological identity than its more popular local rival, the beach. One has to recalibrate an understanding of green

space per person. As with automobiles and transportation, the individual trumps the collective. Rather than a collective enterprise, the green spaces are the actual back and front yards of each resident, their own slice of the public park pie. In Los Angeles, the average single residential plot is 5,000 sq. ft. offering aproximately 1,200 sq. ft. of green landscape to tend, enjoy, and hold dominion over.

Malibu Point

Las Tunas County Beach

Topanga Beach

Will Rogers State Beach

Santa Monica State Beach low tide

high tide

Venice City Beach

155 feet

average depth of beach

x

45 miles

approx . length of beach Dockweiler State Beach

= 845 acres total beach surface Manhattan Beach

=

aproximately 1 Central Park in New York City

Hermosa Beach

Redondo Beach

177

now city Los Angeles River Basin (non-mountain area) Los Angeles Chicago Boston New York City Minneapolis

park ratio 152 sq. ft. per person 130 sq. ft. per person 115 sq. ft. per person 166 sq. ft. per person 300 sq. ft. per person 756 sq. ft. per person

City of Los Angeles

382 public parks 123 recreation centers 52 centers 52 pools

28 senior citizen centers 13 golf courses 18 child care centers 7 camps

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beaches in Los Angeles

websites: usc.edu/org/seagrant/beach/beach.html beaches.co.la.ca.us/BandH/Beaches/Main.htm

97.61 acres total acreage of downtown parks and open spaces

9

14

10

400 380 360

11

7

340 320 300 280

13

+400

4

12

5

15

6

3

8

260 2

16

240

1

220

+225 parks and open spaces

area (approx.)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

162,863 sq. ft. Grand Hope Park 225,002 sq. ft. Pershing Square 76,686 sq. ft. Central Library 17,786 sq. ft. Bunker Hill steps 264,997 sq. ft. California Plaza 108,267 sq. ft. Angels Flight 432,681 sq. ft. MOCA Grand Avenue 41,469 sq. ft. Biddy Mason Park 59,255 sq. ft. Music Center 236,806 sq. ft. Paseo de los pobladores 101,434 sq. ft. Court of Flags 116,864 sq. ft. Criminal Courts Building 339,413 sq. ft. Los Angeles City Hall 592,757 sq. ft. El Pueblo Historic Park 87,770 sq. ft. MOCA Geffen Contemporary and Japanese American National Museum 16. Little Tokyo 83,314 sq. ft. 17. other 1,304,596 sq. ft.

Bunker Hill

Financial District

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total green space 4,251,960 sq. ft. (97.61 acres)

parks and open spaces downtown Los Angeles

178

topography downtown Los Angeles

websites: websites: navigatela.org navigatela.org nationalmap.gov laparks.org/info.htm now: 1. interenvironment.org/pa/trzyna-smmc.ht 2. Martha Groves, “Making Parks Work So People Can Relax,” Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2003, sec. E. 3. Li Fellers, “244-Acre Development Dies,” Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2003, sec. B.

=

now 1. “Los Angeles has . . . the least accessible park system of any major city in America. Only 30 percent of Angelenos live within a quarter mile [0.4 km] of a park, compared with between 80 percent and 90 percent in Boston and New York. Here in Los Angeles more than 700,000 children do not live within walking distance of a park,” Mayor Villaraigosa, 2005

2. Edwin Schlossberg, disciple of Buckminster Fuller and reknowned advocate of interactive projects, plans a $2.7 billion communal spirit in Playa Vista with “a number of ceremonial rituals throughout the year.” The project is supported by Steve Soboroff and promotes empowering ideas such as competitive gardening. Schlossberg says, “It’s such a great opportunity to create tools for a woven, integrated community. There’s something epic about it.”

3. 244 acres of vibrant nature with 2,300 trees were slated for a secluded luxury housing development. After 10 years of community and environmental opposition by a Glendale group, the developer sold the land for $25 million to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, City of Glendale, and the State of California to be converted into a park. The purchase of this park came through Governor Davis’s Urban Parks Initiative.

parks and open spaces

area (approx.)

1. Taylor Yards

30 acres

2. Elysian Park

575 acres

3. The Los Angeles State Historic Park

33.2 acres

1

2

3

warehouse district

Los Angeles River 0

100ft

500ft

0

1000ft

1/3mile

1/2mile

1 mile

websites: navigatela.org laparks.org/info.htm Los Angeles Almanac, 2001 nationalmap.gov description: Elysian Park Master Plan. City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks. August 2005. downloadable from laparks.org

179

description Elysian Park: Originally part of the Spanish land grant

from King Carlos III of Spain to El Pueblo de Los Angeles in the late 18th century and officially declared a park in 1886, Elysian Park is the city’s oldest park. The park’s 604 acres comprise urban trails, panoramic overlooks, picnic spots, and green recreation areas. Elysian Park is bounded by Dodger Stadium to the south, the Los Angeles River to the east, the 5 Freeway to the north, and residential neighborhoods to

the west. Bisected by narrow neighborhood and park roads, as well as wide arterial streets including Stadium Way, Academy Road, and Elysian Park Avenue, the park is accessible from local neighborhoods and downtown Los Angeles. In 2005, the Department of Recreation & Parks drafted a new Master Plan to revitalize the park, based on the desires of the community and the city to preserve and

protect the natural resource. According to the Master Plan, “revitalization of Elysian Park is a key component in the city’s strategy to create and maintain a desirable quality of life in Los Angeles.”

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parks and open spaces Chavez Ravine and Elysian Park

= 1,273 x

project site

metropolitan Los Angeles

5,958,581,000 gallons/day

4,680,739 gallons/day

(9 Silver Lake Reservoirs)

(1% of Silver Lake Reservoir)

water consumption

website: mwdh2o.com/mwdh2o/pages/yourwater/ywater01.html lacity.org/ead/EADWeb-WNR/drinking_water.htm Los Angeles Almanac, 2001

electricity generated by DWP plants coal 50%

3

natural gas 25%

1

nuclear 12%

7

6

2

hydroelectric 11% 8

green 2% (solar and landfill gas facilities)

13

= 1,270 x

4

5

11 9 10

metropolitan Los Angeles

project site

12

10.54 quadrillion BTUs/day

.0083 quadrillion BTUs/day

power plants power plants

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local power plants

energy consumption and sources

180

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Big Creek Hydroelectric System Castaic Power Plant Columbia River Power System, Oregon Harbor Station Haynes Generating Station Hoover Dam, Nevada Intermountain Power Project, Utah

websites: factfinder.census.gov (2000 U.S. Census) Los Angeles Almanac, 2001 now: 1. Nancy Rivera Brooks, “Setting Up a Windmill in County Is Almost Quixotic, Builders Say,” Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2003, sec. C. 2. Penelope Grenoble O’Malley, “Ex-Builder Now Battles ‘Killer Sprawl’,” Los Angeles Times, April 21, 2003, sec. B.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Mojave Generating Station, Nevada Navajo Generating Station, Arizona Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Arizona San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Scattergood Station Valley Station

now 1. Los Angeles County’s conservative approval process is at odds with state law that supports backyard wind turbines. Many homeowners and builders complain of the regulatory difficulties in installing turbines in backyards. County officials defend their approach as they regulate the proliferation of turbines relative to the density of a region’s population. Turbines are banned in the City of San Francisco and other environmentally sensitive areas.

One homeowner in Acton cut his power bills in half by installing three windmills on his five acre property. However, it took him nine months to gain approval from the county.

2. The Nature Conservancy hired E. J. Remson three years ago to create a parkway along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County. Using money provided by the Coastal Conservancy, Remson and his team identify and acquire the biological and strategically significant land parcels needed to execute the project. The Nature Conservancy’s seeks to find a balance between burgeoning development and preservation concerns, and to successfully combat what it calls “killer sprawl.”

more than 1,000 400–1,000 100–400 fewer than 100 chances of getting cancer from toxic air pollution

air pollution

website: losangelesalmanac.com

1

number of acres moved

5

10 + acres 100 + acres 1,000 + acres moderate landslide event high landslide event agglomeration high ground agglomeration

3 major landslides 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

La Canada debris flow (1,920 acres),1983 Portuguese Bend slide (270 acres),1956 Big Rock Mesa slide (200 acres), 1983 Anaheim Hills slide (60 acres), 1993 Northridge slides (2,560 acres), 1994

2 4

landslides

Michael Dear and Heidi Sommer, eds., Atlas of Southern California, vol. 2 (Los Angeles: Southern California Studies Center, University of Southern California, 1998).

San Andreas fault zone Santa Suzanna fault zone Northridge fault

fault line magnitude 1–6 magnitude 6.1–7 magnitude 7.1+ agglomeration high ground agglomeration

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

3

San Gabriel fault

1

San Antonio fault Verdugo fault Chatsworth fault 5 Sierra Madre fault zone Stoddard Canyon fault Hollywood fault Clamshell-Sawpit Canyon fault Eagle Rock fault San Fernando fault zone Red-Hill fault Beverly Hills fault Raymond fault Cucamonga fault San Jacinto fault Puente Hills fault Malibu Coast fault SanJose fault Santa Monica fault Whittier fault Newport-Inglewood fault zone major earthquakes 4 Chino fault Los Alamitos fault San Juan Capistrano-Wrightwood (7.5), 1812 Peralta Hills fault Redondo Canyon fault El Mondeno fault Long Beach (6.4), 1933 Ensinore fault zone Sylmar (6.6), 1971 Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault zone Cabrillo fault Whittier Narrows (5.9), 1987 Northridge (6.7), 1994 2 Palos Verdes fault zone

websites: geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/fact-sheet/fs110-99 Southern California Earthquake Data Center (scecdc.org) now: 1. Gary Polakovic, “Smog Fighters Out of Weapons,” Los Angeles Times, July 16, 2003, sec. B. 2. Miguel Bustillo, “Californians Are Willing to Pay for Cleaner Air, Poll Finds,” Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2003, sec. B. 3. Usha Lee McFarling, “Major Threat Seen in L.A. Quake Fault,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2003, sec. A.

181

now 1. Supplemental smog-control measures are under review as California still struggles. Despite vehicular regulations controlling smog, other sources emerge as culprits. Though vehicular exhaust accounts for 75% of emissions, household consumer products, including anti-perspirants and perfume, rank second. Additional measures range from saving 2 tons of emissions daily from idling diesel trucks electrically to a 30 cent tax on California processed oil.

2. Environmental issues and lifestyle preferences have come to a head when it comes to Californians and their attitude toward cleaner air. In a poll taken by the Public Policy Institute of California and the Hewlett, Irvine, and Packard Foundations, Californians will sacrifice for air polllution but not with their vehicles. The biggest culprits are the SUVs owned by smog-concerned drivers.

3. Downtown Los Angeles sits on the Puente Hills system, which has the capacity to be 15 times stronger than the Northridge earthquake. Capable of a 7.5 earthquake, this faultline is more dangerous due to the basin’s soft silt and its ability to magnify and orient the energy towards downtown. The ground will thrust upwards between three to eight feet. But the fault can remain inert for another 1,000 years.

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faultlines

47 29

15

47 50

24 32

30

150

50

100

100

145 approximate depth to bedrock

100

actual depth below surface to bedrock measured via boring

145

125

* approximate depth to bedrock measured in feet below ground surface

Arts District bedrock level Amended Little Tokyo Redevelopment Plan Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles

157

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

numerous drums with unknown contents observed underground storage tank observed tank pit and processing equipment observed processing equipment observed possible underground storage tank observed former gasoline service station and industrial site oil and grease storage vista ern site- hydraulic oil spill 2000 former Lockheed Aircraft Company site former City of Los Angeles auto service repair site former Moline Alley

8

6

6

10

6 11 6

3 6

9 4

5

6

6

drilling hole 6

completed oil well 2

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plugged and abandoned dry hole

Arts District site contamination

Amended Little Tokyo Redevelopment Plan Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles

182

7 1

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 approximate historically highest ground water contours (measured in feet)

Arts District water table map Amended Little Tokyo Redevelopment Plan Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles

L L PL PL

LL liquefaction zones L

liquefiable: ground water to <40 ft. below ground

PL

potentially liquefiable: ground water to 40 to 50 ft. below ground

LL

low liquefaction potential: ground water to >50 ft. below ground

LL

Amended Little Tokyo Redevelopment Plan Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles

183

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Arts District liquefaction zone (liquefaction potential map)

people & culture

184

research

people and culture

research

people & culture

185

518,296 persons

3,668–10,000 homeless*

ain

201,000 private

3r d

M

Skid Row 2 nd

Alameda

500,000

400,000

more people sleep on the streets each night than the combined capacity of Los Angeles Cathedral (3,000 seats) and Walt Disney Concert Hall (2,265 seats) 300,000 * Reports on the number of homeless have varied from a one-night “official” count of 3,668 by LAHSA to informal estimates of 7-10,000

Downtown

downtown daily homeless population

249,734 government

Donald R. Spivack, History of Skid Row Series, Paper 1, weingart.org/institute/research/colloquia/pdf/HistoryofSkidRow.pdf 2005 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, Points West motherjones.com

200,000

40,000 visitors 50 40 thousands of people

100,000

40,000

3,668

Disneyland

downtown daily visitors population

downtown

Sea World

Los Angeles Zoo

* Based on estimate of 14.6 million per year

residents

workers

downtown daily population

Universal Citywalk

0 visitors *

homeless

20 10

23,894

The Los Angeles Downtown Center Business Improvement District The Downtown Los Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey Of New Downtown Residents, California Employment Development Department ES202 Data January 2005 The Downtown Los Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey Of New Downtown Residents, website: January 2005 themeparkinsider.com 2004 Downtown Economic Overview and Forecast, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

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30

186

Skid Row, also known as Central City East and “The Nickel” because it centers on Fifth Street, is a 52block area that houses some of the city’s most destitute residents. It is the largest skid row in the nation. Each night, thousands sleep on the streets in tents and cardboard boxes, while others are able to take refuge in emergency beds managed by a multitude of social service organizations. Drug use, prostitution, and other illicit activities are commonplace on the streets, as

are deaths by overdose and murder. The history of this area began as downtown Los Angeles segued from a predominantly agricultural to an industrial based economy. With the advent of the railroad on Main Street, a large, mostly male, transient population began arrivng looking for work and their future. The area surrouding the railroad station—the main entry point to Los Angeles—quickly became a place of transition, embracing those who sought but

ultimately failed to obtain the prosperity and good life that Southern California seemingly promised. This attraction was exasperated during the Great Depression. In response to the rising population, the area developed an array of Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) hotels and social services to help those in need. In the 1970s, as part of the urban renewal process, the city devised a “policy of containment” that defined the boundaries of Skid Row and concentrated on improving the SRO hous-

23,894 residents

450,734 workers

15,929 households

249,734 goverment 201,000 private

6 out of 10 residents are men

50% 40% 30% 20%

sex

10%

residents occupation

0

other

manufacturing

retail

wholesale

fire

service

downtown

10

50–59

40–49

30–39

10–19

20–29

distribution of business 0–9

% of population

20

L.A. County

0%

30

age

450450 400400

20

Downtown

% of population

40 30

thousands of workers

LA County

50

number of employees

350350 300300 250250 200200 150150 100 100 5050

race / ethnicity

private sector

downtown residential population

2004 2004

2003 2003

2002 2002

2001 2001

2000 2000

1999 1999

1998 1998

1997 1997

1996 1996

0%

1995 1995

00 1994 1994

Latino

Asian

black

white

0

government sector

downtown daily worker population The Downtown Los Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey Of New Downtown Residents, January 2005 California Employment Development Dept., Labor Market Information Div. ES202 website: factfinder.gov (2000 U.S. Census)

research

The Downtown Los Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey Of New Downtown Residents, January 2005 website: factfinder.gov (2000 U.S. Census)

ing stock, stabilizing social services, and encouraging industrial development within the area. The concentration of development has had the adverse effect of attracting even more people and making Skid Row a human dumping ground. Recently released criminals from the county jail just a few blocks away easily make their way to the Nickel. In late 2005, several hospitals admitted to dropping off mentally ill patients in the area and, over the years, there have been

unconfirmed reports of police from other jurisdictions doing the same. As downtown continues to resurge, the problem of what to do with Skid Row and the homeless population remains one of the most difficult and pressing issues facing developers and the city.

people & culture

187

site downtown Los Angeles Pasadena Los Angeles agglomeration San Francisco

20 minute walking distance

New York

census track

persons/sq. mi.

people & culture

research

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

The Downtown Los Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey Of New Downtown Residents, January 2005 California Employment Development Dept., Labor Market Information Div. ES202 websites: factfinder.census.gov (2000 U.S. Census) Los Angeles Almanac, 2001

188

Downtown Los Angeles, like many other downtowns, sees an enormous influx of people during the workday. Nearly half a million workers converge daily; more than half are government employees. In the evenings the streets are sparse, but that has begun to change. All neighborhoods throughout downtown are experiencing an explosion of development. New cultural, commercial, and entertainment venues attract diverse visitors at all times of day. An estimated 14.6 million people visit downtown each year.

5,000

10,000

15,000

persons/sq. mi. 1,000

downtown population density

0

Vital to the continuous “after hours” activity is a slowly burgeoning residential population. In 2004 (latest data), 3,500 units were under construction; almost 5,000 were permitted or planned. A recent survey conducted by the DCBID reveals the demographics of the newest residential developments (market rate and affordable). Occupants are generally young, white, professional, and have high incomes—the median household income is $90,000; nearly half work downtown.

20,000

25,000

Burbank

Pasadena

Pasadena

Hollywood

Latino population (17,500 people)

West Adams

10

white population (10,300 people)

m

ileMontebello ra di us

Beverly Hills

Silver Lake

10 Palms

Olympic Village

m

ile

ra d

iu

s

Inglewood Lynwood

Glendale

Pasadena Hollywood

African American population (6,600 people)

10

Palms

Asian population (6,400 people)

m

Florence

ile

ra d

Pasadena

Hollywood

10

m

Monterey Park

ile

ra d

iu

iu

s

s

Compton

20,000

15,000

10,000

1,000

population density by ethnicity

5,000

persons/sq. mi.

research

The Downtown Los Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey Of New Downtown Residents, January 2005 California Employment Development Dept., Labor Market Information Div. ES202 websites: factfinder.census.gov (2000 U.S. Census) scag.ca.gov

downtown residents:

53.8% males

49.8% between the ages of 23 and 34

56.8% single

46.1% work downtown

50.5% executives and professionals

57.9% Caucasian

11.0% writers/artists/entertainers

17.1% Asian/Pacific Islander

15.3% students

people & culture

189

Los Angeles County $43,066

January

South Los Angeles $29,169 East Los Angeles-Eagle Rock $33,358 Antelope Valley $33,358 Santa Clara/Valencia $33,453

March

West San Fernardo Valley $43,828 East San Fernardo Valley $45,234 South Bay/LAX $45,143

central/downtown Los Angeles $52,332 West Los Angeles $57,086

30K

40K

Chinese New Year Festival Dinosaur Day Symphony for Youth, the Evolution of the Orchestra

Feburary

North Gateway $35,507 San Gabriel Valley $36,543 Long Beach/Lakewood S Gateway $39,102 Crenshaw/Mid-City/Hollywood $43,192

20K

Oshogatsu Festival – Celebrating Japanese New Year Downtown on Ice, Winter Wonderland

50K

average annual wage

60K

April Pershing Square Summer Concert Series Blue Four Festival, Queer History Festival Asian & Pacific Islander Older Adult Festival Family FunFest and annual Kodomo-no-Hi, Children’s Day Celebration Performing Arts Concert Series, Very Special Arts Festival Cinco de Mayo Celebration May Grand Performances Pershing Square Summer Concert Series Los Angeles Kids Read Festival ArtWallah Festival of South Asian Arts Macy’s Plaza Presents Kid’s Club

<$150K 4% $100K–$150K 6% $75K–$100K 8%

June

$50K–$75K 13%

Shakespeare in the Square, Los Angeles’s Romeo and Juliet Grand Performances Pershing Square Summer Concert Series Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival

$35K–$50K 14% $25K–$35K 7%

0-25K 48%

0

10

20 30 percentage of households

40

July ALSO SWISS Arts Festival Los Angeles Tofu Festival Pershing Square Summer Concert Series Grand Performances

household income August

Los Angeles County

thousands $

downtown L.A.

Grand Performances Pershing Square Summer Concert Series

September Grand Performances

income

per capita income

$

websites: downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

research people & culture

families

households

October November

Feria de Los Ninos Festival, Los Angeles Mariachi Festival Downtown on Ice, Winter Wonderland Outdoor Skating Rink Downtown on Ice, Winter Wonderland Outdoor Skating Rink

December

downtown festival and events, 2003 websites: downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

190

L.A. Live is a 4 million square foot, multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment complex under development in downtown Los Angeles, adjoining the Staples Center and the Convention Center. Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the company that owns the Staples Center, is developing the complex with additional private partners and public financing. The complex will be built on 28 acres of parking lots surrounding Staples Center. The first phase of the project broke ground in September 2005, and construction is estimated to be complete by 2014.

Mayor Villaraigosa has called complex’s four star, 50story, 1,100-room Convention Center hotel the linchpin of downtown’s revitalization. The city hopes that the hotel, estimated at $600 million, will bring significant business to the ailing Convention Center and has offered nearly $300 million in public financing, including a loan, tax breaks, and fee waivers.

Other components of the L.A. Live complex will include a 40,000 square foot outdoor plaza; ESPN broadcast and restaurant facilities; a 14-screen cineplex; a 2,200 capacity live music venue; a 7,100-seat state-of-the-art live theater; and other entertainment, restaurant, residential, retail, and office spaces.

theaters

educational institutions

museums

sports and recreation centers

galleries

religious institutions

civic centers

20 minute walking distance

cultural institutions research

websites: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

people & culture

191

20 minute walking distance 1 Dodger Stadium 2 Ahmanson Theater 3 Mark Taper Forum 4 Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 5 Walt Disney Concert Hall 6 Laemmle Grande 7 East-West Players 8 Japanese American Cultural and Community Center 9 Million Dollar Theater 10 Los Angeles Theatre Center 11 Palace Theater 12 Lowe’s State Theater 13 Orpheum Theater 14 Shrine Auditorium 15 Imax Theater

1

2 4

3 5

6

7 9 10

11 12

theaters and concert venues

people & culture

research

websites: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

192

14

15

13

8

20 minutes walking distance 1 The Brewery Arts Colony 2 MOCA Grand Avenue 3 MOCA Geffen Contemporary 4 Japanese American National Museum 5 Museum of Science and Industry 6 Natural History Museum 7 California African American Museum 8 California Science Center 9 INMO Gallery 10 China Art Objects 11 Instituto Cultural Mexicano 12 El Pueblo Gallery 13 Wells Fargo History Museum 14 Los Angeles Artcore Center 15 4th St. Gallery 16 Art Share 17 The Project 18 Cirrus 19 Gallery 835 20 Museum of Neon Art 21 Lindhurst Gallery

1

9 10

11 13

12 2

3 14 16

museums and galleries

17 20

research

19 18

193

22 5 6 7 8

people & culture

websites: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

21

4

1

20 minute walking distance 1 primary 2 2 primary 3 primary 4 primary 4 5 primary 6 secondary 7 primary 8 primary 9 primary 7 10 secondary 11 primary 12 primary 8 13 secondary 14 secondary 15 Evans Community Adult School 16 secondary 17 secondary 18 Colburn School of Performing Arts 19 primary 20 primary 21 Golden Gate University 22 Los Angeles City College 23 primary 24 primary 25 primary 26 primary 27 SCI-Arc 28 secondary 29 primary 30 Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising 19 31 Loyola Law School 32 primary 33 secondary 34 Mount St. Mary’s College 35 Los Angeles Trade Tech College 20 36 University of Southern California 37 primary 38 primary 31

3

5

6

9

10

11 13

12

15

16

14 17

18

23 22

21

32

educational institutions

27

websites: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

research people & culture

24 30

25

33

194

29 28 36

26

34 35 37

38

20 minute walking distance 1 Cypress Park Branch Library 2 La Biblioteca de Lincoln Heights 3 Los Angeles Police Academy 4 Chavez Ravine Arboretum 5 U.S. Naval Reserve/Armory 6 Echo Park Branch Library 7 Chinatown Branch Library 8 Los Angeles County Jail 9 Metropolitan Transit Authority 10 Metropolitan Detention Center 11 Federal Building 12 Los Angeles Police Department Parker Center 13 Federal Courthouse 14 Hall of Justice 15 Hall of Records 16 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration 17 Department of Water and Power 18 county courts 19 law library 20 City Hall 21 Caltrans District 7 Headquarters 6 22 (new) Los Angeles Police headquarters 23 state offices 24 Central Library 25 Ronald Reagan State Building 26 Central Police Station

1

3

4 2

5

7 17

8 16

15

18

14 19 23

20

9

13 12

10 11

22 21

24 25

civic institutions

26

research

websites: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

people & culture

195

1

20 minute walking distance 1 Elysian Valley Recreation Center 2 Cypress Recreation Center 3 Montecito del Lio Politti 4 Elysian Park Therapeutic Recreation 5 Los Angeles Youth Athletic Club Center 6 Dodger Stadium 7 Alpine Recreation Center 8 YMCA 9 Staples Center 10 recreation center 11 recreation center 12 recreation center 13 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

2 3

4

The Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is a multipurpose, state-of-theart sports arena that also hosts entertainment events, concerts, and awards shows, including the Grammys. The arena is located adjacent to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex, near the intersection of the 10 and 110 Freeways. With the nearby Pico Metro Rail Station on the Blue Line, many Metro bus routes, and 8,900 parking spaces within four city blocks, the arena is easily accessible by car and public transit.

5

6

Designed by the architecture firm NBBJ, the 950,000 square foot, 20,000-seat arena was completed in 1999 at a cost of $375 million. Staples, the office-supply chain, paid $100,000,000 for twenty years of naming rights. Owned and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the Staples Center is part of the planned 4-million square foot L.A. Live entertainment, retail, and residential development.

7

The Staples Center is the home of five professional sports franchises: the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, the AFL’s Los Angeles Avengers, and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. In 2003 the city controller released a report that declares the Staples Center a successful and positive contributor to both the South Park business and to the city. The city receives more than $3 million annually from business generated by the Staples Center.

8

10

sports centers

people & culture

research

9 website: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

196

12

11 13

20 min walking distance 1 Sung Ji Korean Baptist Church 1 2 Khandakapala Buddhist Temple 3 Brosnan John St. Ann Catholic Church 4 Unity Church of Truth 5 San Conrado Catholic Mission 6 Golden West Christian Church 7. Ukranian Orthodox Church of St. Andrew 8 Holy Hill Community Church 9 Chinese Catholic Church 10 St. Peter 11 First Chinese Baptist Church 12 Chinese United Methodist Church 6 13 Croatian St. Anthony Catholic Church 14 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 15 Mission Church 16 Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple 17 Japanese Catholic Center 18 St. Vibiana’s 19 United Church

2

3

3

4 4

5 7

9 10

11

8 12

13

15

14

18 16 17

religious institutions research

19 website: Automobile Club of Southern California Street Map downtownla.com artscenecal.com csun.edu usc.edu/dept/geography/losangeles

people & culture

197