Apparently, it would look just like this. Tom Baker (via NotCot) has produced a stunning set of photographs of a car-free Los Angeles. It’s a tough concept to imagine, but it sure is a beautiful one to behold. Photoshopped or not, these images fill me with a bizarrely wonderful feeling. Though they do make me realize just how much asphalt there is in this city.

Thanks, Amrit.

Join fellow urban thinkers for LA 2.0, a call for fresh ideas for the 21st Century city.

Are you an urban practitioner—a designer, artist, policy maker, planner, engineer, demographer, advocate, etc., working to improve the physical urban environment? Are you passionate about the future of Los Angeles? Interested in collaborating with top-notch urban thinkers?

We hope you’ll join us for LA 2.0, a fast-paced, energetic afternoon think-tank with the best and brightest, most creative and critical urban…

What looking at the recent renovations to LAX airport—and the lack of sustainable design thinking that went into them—can teach us about saving the planet.

I am looking down at the beauty of Alaska on my journey from Los Angeles to Beijing. In China, we will consult with some old clients who have a new zeal for sustainable design in the face of global climate change. They are looking to us to help show them the way.…

If you have some grass in your front yard, a lawnmower is a valuable asset—you know, for the five to 10 minutes of actual clipping it does during a two-week span. During the remaining 20,150 minutes of that time frame, however, the thing simply takes up space in the garage. And over the years, those minutes add up to quite a lot of non-usage. Meanwhile, your mower-less neighbors are fretting about the jungles of grass in…

Close call over at Homeboy Industries, a fantastic organization we’ve profiled in the past that offers jobs, training and tattoo-removal to former gang bangers in the Los Angeles area. When the economy tanked, so did charitable donations, and a few days ago it was looking like organization was going to have to send its homeboys (and girls) packing. And since we all know money’s tight all around in California right now, it looked as though the organization’s…

PRESS RELEASE 

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center has released four video shorts calling on Congress to enact a fair and humane immigration reform that includes measures to support the successful integration of immigrants.

“During a recession, all workers and residents should play a role in plans to stimulate the economy,” said Sara Sadhwani, immigrant rights project director.  “Our research and outreach to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as well as broader immigrant communities has shown that…

Last spring I moderated a panel at GOOD’s offices here in Los Angeles. about public transportation and the community. As discussions about public transit and Los Angeles often do, it got pretty heated towards the end as the panelists and a few members of the audience argued about what was most responsible for preventing the construction of a major subway line running from downtown to the Pacific Ocean: a sluggish government, our auto-ingrained culture, the…

“Walking in L.A.” is a pretty decent 1982 song that’s more famous than it deserves to be. This is due to a signature lyric which has become somewhat of a call-and-response whenever anyone mentions Los Angeles and walking. What’s that, you’re going for a walk? Nobody walks in L.A.

That statement is, of course, categorically untrue:  Every day, millions of people in this city use some combination of mass transit and their own two feet, the…

For one day a year, the normally serene waters of Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles host a fierce, world-class competition: the 826LA Paddleboat Regatta. And this year, GOOD has thrown our hat into the ring. The competition is serious (see photo) but we’re determined to win—or, barring that, keep from capsizing.

It all happens at Echo Park this Sunday, July 26, at 4 p.m. It’s going to be a blast (have you ever not had fun…

Apparently, it would look just like this. Tom Baker (via NotCot) has produced a stunning set of photographs of a car-free Los Angeles. It’s a tough concept to imagine, but it sure is a beautiful one to behold. Photoshopped or not, these images fill me with a bizarrely wonderful feeling. Though they do make me realize just how much asphalt there is in this city.

Thanks, Amrit.

Join fellow urban thinkers for LA 2.0, a call for fresh ideas for the 21st Century city.

Are you an urban practitioner—a designer, artist, policy maker, planner, engineer, demographer, advocate, etc., working to improve the physical urban environment? Are you passionate about the future of Los Angeles? Interested in collaborating with top-notch urban thinkers?

We hope you’ll join us for LA 2.0, a fast-paced, energetic afternoon think-tank with the best and brightest, most creative and critical urban…

What looking at the recent renovations to LAX airport—and the lack of sustainable design thinking that went into them—can teach us about saving the planet.

I am looking down at the beauty of Alaska on my journey from Los Angeles to Beijing. In China, we will consult with some old clients who have a new zeal for sustainable design in the face of global climate change. They are looking to us to help show them the way.…

Close call over at Homeboy Industries, a fantastic organization we’ve profiled in the past that offers jobs, training and tattoo-removal to former gang bangers in the Los Angeles area. When the economy tanked, so did charitable donations, and a few days ago it was looking like organization was going to have to send its homeboys (and girls) packing. And since we all know money’s tight all around in California right now, it looked as though the organization’s…

PRESS RELEASE 

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center has released four video shorts calling on Congress to enact a fair and humane immigration reform that includes measures to support the successful integration of immigrants.

“During a recession, all workers and residents should play a role in plans to stimulate the economy,” said Sara Sadhwani, immigrant rights project director.  “Our research and outreach to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as well as broader immigrant communities has shown that…

Last spring I moderated a panel at GOOD’s offices here in Los Angeles. about public transportation and the community. As discussions about public transit and Los Angeles often do, it got pretty heated towards the end as the panelists and a few members of the audience argued about what was most responsible for preventing the construction of a major subway line running from downtown to the Pacific Ocean: a sluggish government, our auto-ingrained culture, the…

“Walking in L.A.” is a pretty decent 1982 song that’s more famous than it deserves to be. This is due to a signature lyric which has become somewhat of a call-and-response whenever anyone mentions Los Angeles and walking. What’s that, you’re going for a walk? Nobody walks in L.A.

That statement is, of course, categorically untrue:  Every day, millions of people in this city use some combination of mass transit and their own two feet, the…

For one day a year, the normally serene waters of Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles host a fierce, world-class competition: the 826LA Paddleboat Regatta. And this year, GOOD has thrown our hat into the ring. The competition is serious (see photo) but we’re determined to win—or, barring that, keep from capsizing.

It all happens at Echo Park this Sunday, July 26, at 4 p.m. It’s going to be a blast (have you ever not had fun…

Tomorrow night, Mama is keeping the place open just for us (they are usually open during the day only) and teaching this very special class herself.

Each participant will receive drinks, hors d’oeuvres, tamales to make and take home, a tamale picnic box to go (including rice and beans), and a salsa lesson from local MacArthur Park dance instructors.

Who: Anyone interested in learning about tamales from “Mama” of Mama’s Hot Tamales
What: Tamale making workshop followed by…

If you have some grass in your front yard, a lawnmower is a valuable asset—you know, for the five to 10 minutes of actual clipping it does during a two-week span. During the remaining 20,150 minutes of that time frame, however, the thing simply takes up space in the garage. And over the years, those minutes add up to quite a lot of non-usage. Meanwhile, your mower-less neighbors are fretting about the jungles of grass in…