Blog

  By CivicSpark Fellows Jonathan Dolan & Jose Torres  The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) held their Annual Meeting and Expo October 20-23, 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Two CivicSpark Water Action Fellows, representing the City of Culver City, were in... Read More →

    By David Early and Tiffany Eng  Imagine a California of healthy and thriving communities, where urban and rural neighborhoods have the tools to help prevent and reduce industrial pollution, provide open space and local organic food, develop affordable housing, preserve local culture,... Read More →

by Andrea Pavia   The metaphor of the city as human body has endured since the Renaissance, sustained by master designers and theorists, to give sense and structure to the city’s different parts, their functions and interrelations.   Using this metaphor, we can understand the city’s... Read More →

    By Richard Rojas On August 21, 2017, I had the privilege to attend the Planning for Health event as a representative of the APA Los Angeles Section Board. The event was hosted by the APA California Chapter, Planners4Health Initiative and California Chronic Disease Prevention project and... Read More →

People not just cars: the ongoing transformation of Venice Blvd   By Nathan Cherry INTRODUCTION Although being a bike commuter in Los Angeles is not easy, I am surprised that more don’t do it. In a health obsessed culture, biking is great aerobic exercise, the weather is perfect, and most... Read More →

by Andrea Pavia   Recently, as part of my work as a consultant, I participated in a debate on a proposed Complete Streets initiative for a segment of Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Colorado Boulevard is a major street in the Los Angeles region, spanning about 20 miles and connecting... Read More →

by Steve Gerhardt On June 3, more than 20 planners from Los Angeles and Orange County, with a few friends and family in tow, met at Alamitos Landing to kick off Summer in the City for 2017. June Gloom kept things cool as we headed out for the morning. We took a chartered Long Beach Transit bus... Read More →

by Karen Parolek Even though the California State legislature turned it down in its 2016 session, By-Right Zoning is getting a lot of buzz these days as a needed tool to help solve the affordable housing crisis many communities are facing. A zoning code is considered “by-right” if the approvals... Read More →

By James Rojas and Olivia Joncich  Students and planning professionals from Los Angeles and the Southern California region gathered at the University of Southern California for the 11th Annual American Planning Association (APA) LA Student Symposium on Saturday, February 11, 2017. The event is... Read More →