Pop Up Parks

Or is it pocket park? Pop up pocket park? Tactical urbanism? Whatever you call it, installations like this one in downtown Los Angeles are intended to reclaim the street for public space with little financial investment. Some complain that the temporary nature of these interventions and do not create any lasting impact, but their benefit is that they encourage people to imagine the ways in which their neighborhoods could be different and how they can make better use of public space. That is a good thing. This installation temporarily removes some on street parking. It doesn't have to eliminate parking on the entire block and it doesn't eliminate cars entirely. It just puts cars in their place and reduces their dominance. Not sure how I feel about the stationary bikes though. Maybe a little too cute.

Grand Park

One of the newer great public spaces in Los Angeles is Downtown's Grand Park. These are some shots from the lunch hour when I was downtown recently for jury duty. A Farmers Market, yoga class, and just sitting and enjoying the weather. This space fills a need not just for the court employees and other government workers whose offices line the park. It has great potential. 25,000 people showed up for New Year's Eve this year (last year?).

Continuity of Place

This is a building on Main and Fifth in downtown Los Angeles. According to Brigham Yen the building is known as the Pershing Hotel and was built in 1889. The structure is being converted into affordable housing for the homeless and very low income population. The image above shows the structure with a construction fence around it before demolition of the guts if the building. The three images below show the facade braced while the new building is constructed behind it. While this method of facade preservation doesn't provide all the benefits of preserving the entire building, such as keeping the demolition of debris out of landfills, it helps maintain continuity of place in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles.

 

 

Related:  Older buildings, continuity of place, and the human experience.

  

Glasgow Tailors

Remnants of what used to be there. This was the entrance to a building in downtown LA that no longer exists. It seems odd they didn't remove the tiled entry when they demolished the building, but I'm glad it is still there to be discovered.

LA Needs More Of This

The patio of the now closed CoffeeBar. Spring Street and 6th. Downtown Los Angeles.  Charming, pleasant, urban. (Some information about the KRKD tower.) As downtown LA continues to grow and improve places that provide a moment to pause and enjoy the city will be more commonplace.

Does Art Like This Make A Place Worth Caring About?

Wall painting in underway in downtown Los Angeles.

Art like this can add visual interest and entertain. There were people standing across the street watching the artist as I was. That points to the temporary effects this has on a place, but will people stop across the street and linger to look at this when it is finished? Perhaps. It will more likely become part of the "feel" of the neighborhood. One of those things that pleases people and that they would notice and miss it if it were gone.

Needs More People

This is Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. The picture was taken in late afternoon a week or so ago. Like most areas of Downtown LA the blocks are hit or miss as far activity goes. On this particular block there are a dozen or so businesses with outdoor seating that brings some vitality to the neighborhood. On the left you can see one of several "parklets" on this block. It is intended to expand the "public realm," but what I observed is that it served the customers of the businesses and wasn't really a place that residents or visitors might chose to simply hang out. I'm not sure how I feel about the parklet phenomenon. Seems a little gimmicky. On the right you can see a car peaking out of a driveway which of course poses some problems relative to pedestrian safety. The only real issue I see here besides the need for more people is the mid-block driveway.

What do you think about this scene? Does it appeal to you? Would you like to walk down this street or sit at one of these cafes?