October is National Community Planning Month (https://www.planning.org/ncpm/), and in their celebration of great places in America they honor public spaces, streets and neighborhoods that have made an impact on people's lives.
I am currently taking an urban planning course at California State University Northridge which focuses on Los Angeles, and it's growth from a humble Spanish pueblo to the metropolis that it is today. The pueblo was settled in 1781 and named El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula (roughly translated as Our Town of the lady of the Angels).
Planning Map of Old Los Angeles
Los Angeles Plaza 1861-1869
There is no way that Los Angeles would have grown from a pueblo, to a town and then into an American city without the efforts of city planners. The job of a planner is to make use of available space for public use, regardless if its a public park or a city skyscraper. They conduct field investigations to see how a space can be utilized, and then work with city officials to see if the plan will be positive growth for the community. The reason I like urban planning is there is an order to it, city planning is never haphazard, no one just builds a freeway in the middle of a city park, that freeway is carefully planned and then that plan is executed.
Los Angeles began life as a lawless and untamed pueblo with adobe structures. Vigilante justice, battles over land ownership and finally forced statehood nearly brought it to it's knees. Every year, the banks of the LA river would rise, and flood the surrounding community. It wasn't until planners decided to control the flow of the river, and enclose its journey to the sea that the flooding ceased. The city had to be tamed, and planned out on a grid before it could become what it is today, and that is why city planning is so important.
Los Angeles Present Day
For the urban planning team project, I would like to use the Pacific Electric building on Main street as a starting point between the past and present. Built in 1905 to act as a terminal for the pacific electric red cars, it was redeveloped as urban lofts in 2005.
Pacific Electric Building
The idea is to find out if the area around the building has changed significantly since the redevelopment. I want to find out if the area has seen a growth in community since the lofts were built or if there is a disconnect between the people who live there and the community itself.
