Slight C H A N G E of plans
I love freeways
I love LA
I love to drive
Most people who know me know that I am from LA and that I have a less than justified pride in being Californian – and particular pride in SoCal.
I know I am home when I fly over LA and see the overlapping freeways (not highways – we call them freeways) framing views of the city and the rest of this impressive infrastructure that defines Los Angeles in many ways. I admittedly do not mind traffic and enjoy perfecting the art of weaving in and out of lanes with efficiency and edge.
There is a different type of energy in Los Angeles. It may not be the most beautiful to some but there is a vibe that you cannot ignore and that cannot be duplicated. What is that attributed to? I don’t know for sure but I do believe the free spirit is somehow intertwined with the sense of independence once gains from driving.
After living in Boston for 3 years and going from one extreme of transportation to another, having the terms independent and dependent redefined every time I cross the country- there is something to be said about transportation in Los Angeles.
If you do not have a car in LA – you limit your social activity and your professional activity to your walking radius and occasionally to the bus routes you are comfortable taking. Unlike NY and Boston, most professionals in LA proper (not Downtown, but Santa Monica, West LA etc) do not take public transportation – they drive.
It is true that you cannot reorganize a city, and redo the infrastructure that holds it together but, you can revamp.
How did this change so much?
From the previous post…
“Could these types of project take place in the U.S, in a city like Los Angeles? Do I want to consider this…the idea is not that appealing right now. Moving forward!”
Moving forward - coming full circle back to that idea.
After talking to Nondita about thesis thoughts so far – it became very obvious that the stream of consciousness from the previous post was very heavily influenced by my studio project.
My beliefs are true and I am concerned about those issues but they relate so much more to the project in Mumbai right now. However, when speaking to her,“Los Angeles”/ urban setting seemed much more appropriate. Also, I think thesis should be an opportunity for me to explore something else…
So ----
Given: I am enamored with Freeways
New variable: Los Angeles
Question: How do you integrate public transportation into the existing freeway structure to make it accessible
The Equation
Given + Los Angeles + Question = X
Factors to define X:
Somewhere in the middle of the city. Light rail system/ subways etc exist in downtown and Long beach, once you get out of West LA. Yet when you are in West LA or in the heart of the city it is not time efficient or convenient to take a bus due to traffic.
LA is spread out and its not a strong grid structure like NYC – would the question and solution focus on one major junction/ part of the city?
The structure that would house the exchange would no disrupt the flow of traffic or the sectional/ elevation motif created by the overlapping freeways.
Research:
Precedents of other cities with existing transportation infrastructure similar to LA. Do they incorporate Light Rail systems? Why? Why not?
Chicago?
History of Los Angeles city planning - Why wasn’t public transportation accounted for? What has been done and why. What has failed?
Why is this necessary?
Projected population growth of Los Angeles – already traffic/ congestion/ etc. There has to be some alternative
Without a car in Los Angeles, you really can’t get to know the city, take advantage of it, and go much outside your living area – that seems absurd, and oddly restrictive for a city like Los Angeles.
Sources:
TBD
