The newsstand has succumbed.

In a previous post I noted the longevity of this newsstand in Westwood Village, but it looks like it has closed. Because as cool as it is, do people still buy magazines and PHONE CARDS in large enough numbers to sustain such an enterprise? If the employment and residential density in the area were significant enough there might be enough people to support a newsstand, yet even with the nearby condo and office towers as well as UCLA a few blocks away it couldn't survive. 

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?).

People Are Hungry for Public Spaces

This is an outdoor mall. (Westfield Century City) But what is it that people find attractive about this place? It is outdoors, but there is a sense of safety and enclosure. It is clean and modern and the interiors of all the store are well lit and visible as people walk past. In other words, there is stuff to look at. There is plenty of seating throughout the mall and it offers people a chance to rest or just sit and watch people. To see and be seen. The office towers of Century City that surround this mall as well as the super graphic movie ads contribute to the urban vibe that people like here. There is something else about this place that most of the people enjoying it don't realize. There are not cars zooming by them. They ditched their cars downstairs and are enjoying walking around a space that exceeds the area of a small downtown shopping district. This mall is not an authentic downtown, but it provides many of the same sorts of urban experiences. There's no requirement that you buy something at this mall. You can just be there among other people rather than isolated in a car.