After weeks of negotiations with the International Olympic Committee, Los Angeles officials have reached a deal to host the 2028 Summer Games under terms they hope will generate hundreds of millions in savings and additional revenues.
The agreement will bring the Olympics back to Southern California for a third time, after Los Angeles hosted in 1984 and 1932. It also opens the door for the 2024 Games to be held in Paris.
— latimes.com
Spiraling costs and notorious budget overruns have discouraged other cities from pushing towards being a host to the 2024/28 Summer Olympics, but Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti thinks otherwise and hopes to avoid unpredictable spending by reusing existing venues and infrastructure. As the Los... View full entry
Facing a potentially bruising ballot fight over real estate development next year, Los Angeles' political leaders announced Wednesday that they will seek a sweeping update of the plans that govern the size and density of new buildings that go up in scores of neighborhoods.
Mayor Eric Garcetti and several council members said they want the Planning Department to revise nearly three dozen “community plans” by 2026, a task that will require the hiring of 28 new employees at a cost of $4.2M a year.
— latimes.com
In related news:Nation's first combined housing complex for LGBT youth and seniors coming to HollywoodPlanning War Zone: The Battle for L.A.Top 7 Reasons to Oppose the Los Angeles Neighborhood Integrity InitiativeIt's easier now to tear down "historic homes" in Beverly Hills than before – is... View full entry
When we finally see this river restored to its natural beauty, it’ll be thanks to the work of thousands of people over decades.
The work that Frank Gehry is doing builds upon this—looking at how we can stitch together these 88 cities of LA County, including the 15 different jurisdictions along the river’s 51 miles—some of the most diverse and interesting communities that we’ve ever known. [...]
people have put aside their differences and said: This is an opportunity to move forward.
— planningreport.com
Get caught up with more news on Gehry's ongoing redevelopment strategy for the LA River:A closer look at reasons why the Los Angeles River revitalization is taking so longDoes Frank Gehry – or his firm – have what it takes to save the LA River?"They should grow up": Frank Gehry to critics of... View full entry
In a fresh bid to confront a problem that has confounded lawmakers for decades, Los Angeles city and county officials approved sweeping plans Tuesday aimed at getting thousands of homeless people off the streets.
But one crucial question remains unanswered: Where will most of the money come from? [...]
The renewed government attention to homelessness was spurred in part by a 12% surge in people living on the streets [...] pushing the total to more than 44,000 homeless people countywide.
— latimes.com
Previously in the Archinect news:"It’s about recognizing someone as existing": Photo exhibit depicts L.A.'s homelessness crisisLA's freeway system is becoming an increasingly crowded 'neighborhood' for the city's homelessLos Angeles to declare homelessness in the city an 'emergency' and pledge... View full entry
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti summoned his inner crooner and released a music video Thursday to warn drivers of an impending 40-hour traffic headache -- the #101SlowJam.
Flanked by the Theodore Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, Garcetti sings a tune reminiscent of the "Slow Jam the News" segment on "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon."
— latimes.com
"See we're bringing down the 6th Street Bridge, making way for something new and the demolition will cause delays," Garcetti says in the video. "But sometimes, just sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty to build something beautiful." – Infrastructure never felt so sexy.Related stories in... View full entry
Now in his third year as mayor, the 44-year-old [Eric Garcetti] wants Los Angeles to be “the first postmodern city,” as he tells me, speaking in his art-filled office one morning in October. Throughout the past year, he has made a series of proposals that would fundamentally alter the city by deposing the automobile, which has reigned over Los Angeles for a half-century like a cocksure Third World despot...
Call him the Che Guevara of Southern California infrastructure.
— Newsweek
Related:Mayor Eric Garcetti seeks artist to help reduce L.A.'s pedestrian fatalitiesWill Los Angeles be seeing more housing development along its LA River?L.A. Mayor Calls for Mandatory Earthquake RetrofittingGarcetti Calls for 100K New Homes in Los Angeles by 2021Mayor Vows to Make LA More... View full entry
Los Angeles elected leaders announced Tuesday that they will declare a “state of emergency” on the growing homelessness problem in the city and commit $100 million toward housing and other services for homeless people. [...]
"If we want to be a great city that hosts the Olympics and shows itself off to the world,” Cedillo said, “we shouldn't have 25,000 to 50,000 people sleeping on the streets.”
— scpr.org
Related on Archinect:Los Angeles funds $213M policy to end chronic homelessnessLow-income housing in Los Angeles: A look at the past, present and futureIn Los Angeles, homelessness is becoming more visible View full entry
As Los Angeles moves closer to bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics, officials said they can host the massive 17-day sporting event for $4.1 billion and offered to guarantee that the city will cover any cost overruns. [...]
Garcetti and his team have proposed to spend $500 million less than what Boston had planned and expect to finish with a $150-million surplus by generating billions in broadcast and sponsorship revenue.
— latimes.com
Related Olympic news on Archinect:Will Rio's Olympic venues be ready in time for the 2016 Games?Boston backs out of 2024 Olympics bidToronto ventures into sixth bid to host Olympic GamesZaha's Tokyo Olympic Stadium cancelled – Abe calls for a redesign from scratch View full entry
The L.A.-Waze partnership is, at least in theory, an initial step toward allowing the city’s planners and engineers to regain a healthier role in mediating the kinds of longstanding cross-town conflicts that Waze has renewed and amplified. Whether the deal will help to resolve fundamental long-term issues related to the city’s growth and inadequate infrastructure is another matter. — newyorker.com
If Los Angeles aims to add more housing, it should look at the neighborhoods lining its long-maligned river to do it. [...]
The city could make a big dent in Mayor Eric Garcetti's goal of adding 100,000 housing units by 2021 if it streamlines permitting and creates incentive zones in places along the river [...].
The report comes in the wake of a billion-dollar plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revamp 11 miles of the L.A. River north of downtown [...].
— latimes.com
In the heart of Hollywood's Barnsdall Park, Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House will officially reopen on February 13, as recently announced by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, and the Barnsdall Park Art Foundation. This isn't the first time the iconic house has been... View full entry
Calling the cost of housing one of Los Angeles’ biggest challenges, Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday announced a goal for 100,000 new homes in the city by 2021.
In a speech to business leaders at UCLA, the mayor outlined a plan to increase funding for affordable housing, subsidize development around transit stations and cut the red tape that many developers say drives up the cost of building in the city.
— LA Times
For two days on the cusp of fall, a gaggle of mayors, journalists, technologists, and civic-minded entrepreneurs convened for The Atlantic’s CityLab 2014 conference in still-balmy downtown Los Angeles. The full title, "Urban Solutions to Global Challenges", jumps off of the presumption that... View full entry
Calling Los Angeles streets a “front door to the world and the place where public life and private enterprise connect,” Mayor Eric Garcetti and the city Department of Transportation released a strategic plan Monday aimed at making them safer and more accessible by 2025.
The 61-page report, titled “Great Streets for Los Angeles,” looks toward ending all pedestrian-related deaths, improving safety around public schools and changing the timing of streetlights [...]
— Los Angeles Daily News
Included in the plan are initiatives to help the city become more bike-friendly, such as adding more bike corrals on the street and racks to city buses. This comes on the heels of new, state-wide legislation recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown aimed to increase bike safety. Assembly Bill 1193 will... View full entry
In a move that could dramatically change Los Angeles’ skyline, city leaders announced Monday that helicopter landing facilities will no longer be required atop new buildings.
The fire code requirement has been criticized for contributing to the “flat-topped” look of Los Angeles’ skyline, particularly in downtown.
Los Angeles was the only major U.S. city with such a rule, which has been in place since at least the 1970s.
— dailynews.com
