Culture and Coexistence into the Great Unknown
EcoJustice Radio talks with UCLA Prof Jon Christensen, who studies the threat of green gentrification around the country — parks and infrastructure improvements that increase rents and displace residents — and how cities respond to protect communities.
Environmental and social justice groups speak with EcoJustice Radio on the lack of vision and environmental, land use, and community protections in the LA River Revitalization Master Plan
Los Angeles currently imports a whopping 70% of their water. And getting it to LA is the largest use of electricity in the state of CA. When water is not captured and utilized within the system, it traverses through the city and out to the ocean. In order to shape a strong water future, we must manage the flow in way that ensures high quality, social equity, and solutions based in nature.
Takeaways from a recent Green Festival Expo discussion on the Los Angeles River Revitalization include that the job of planning for water resiliency belongs to all of us, not Frank Gehry regardless of his recent charge, and we must also consider how public access, parkland, ecosystem restoration, cargo and passenger rail, bicycle greenways, and anti-gentrification environmental justice will fit into the mix. Collaboration is the key.
After seven years of study, federal officials have recommended a $453-million plan that would restore an 11-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River but leave much of its banks steep and hard to reach. Advocates will continue to press for a more ambitious alternative that would bring more people to the river, improving parks and recreation as well as ecosystems.
The LA River, an over-engineered concrete “water-freeway,” is undergoing a long-term greening and revitalization. A 32-mile greenbelt, developed through numerous projects, promises to improve the health of the ecosystem and the value of the river as a regional public amenity, while managing flows and protecting properties.
The Rail~Volution Conference rolled into Los Angeles to illustrate how transit projects energize neighborhoods, meeting a significant demand for multi-density housing walkable to restaurants, offices, and shops. They can transform the landscape and mindset, in this case, of auto-addicted Southern California. One stop at a time.