Free Range Children in Copenhagen

Many of us can remember a time when children were allowed to roam freely and unaccompanied by adults. It would have been intrusive for a parent to insert themselves into the lives of their children while they were playing, fighting, and resolving differences with other kids. (We refer to that as "free range children" these days.) The world is considered less safe today, although I'm not sure that is really the case.  Children walking home from school without adult supervision is not something limited to places like Copenhagen. You can see the same sort of thing in New York City with children riding the subways after school without an adult chaperon. Kind of incredible children in the suburbs, where things are considered safer, are not allowed by their parents to walk to school with friends. 

 

Leave the palm trees alone!

Palm trees get a bum wrap these days. People say they don't provide shade, they aren't native to Los Angeles, they use too much water etc. But I think palm trees can sometimes play a role in defining public space and the "outdoor room" on the street and they make good accent trees. And certain types of palms, when clustered together can provide a decent amount of shade. In the example below the enclosed mall does not front on (or interact with) the sidewalk. The palm trees on this block help to make up for that lack of building frontage and provide a comforting sense of enclosure for pedestrians. They also add height and visual interest. It would of course be better if the building opened to the the sidewalk rather than relying on a landscaping band-aid. (Side note: That bus stop blocks the entire sidewalk and should be moved a few feet into the landscaped area.)

Boulevard as wide as a freeway.

This is the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Westwood Boulevard.  This is what I have to cross to get to the closest grocery store. Ten lanes of traffic. Essentially a freeway with a traffic signal. (The route of the cancelled Beverly Hills Freeway. )

Many pedestrians cross this street with minimal problems every day. It's not the most pleasant experience because you feel very exposed in the middle of the vast intersection.  But there's strength in numbers so if you happen to be crossing one of the times of day when there are large numbers of people it really changes the experience.  There's no easy way to mitigate the massiveness of this boulevard, but on each of the corners there are gas stations,  a car wash, and a one story commercial building. Taller structures built to the corner might be the best way to reduce the feeling of exposure this intersection creates.  I can guess how the Homeowners' Owners Associations would respond to that.