LA/2B

The new Expo Line train pulls into the Expo Park/USC Station on a picture perfect day.

The much anticipated Expo Line opened this weekend, finally bringing rail service between Downtown and the Westside. As part of the festivities along the line, the team from LA/2B was stationed at the Expo Park/USC station to promote our LA/2B Challenge and discover all the bright ideas Angelenos have for our future transporation.

Much like we have heard through our Virtual Townhall, our participants this weekend urged us to help create a more bikable and walkable Los Angeles with more reliable and  convenient transit options. Also, an overwhelming number of people who stopped by our booth stressed their desire for safer walking and biking facilities. Safety-minded Angelenos gave us ideas such as ”wider sidewalks”, “protected bicycle lanes”, “slower speeds near schools and parks”, “safer crosswalks”, and “better pedestrian lighting” again and again.

Some happy Angelenos with their great ideas (more after the jump):

Two young Angelenos with some bright ideas: "I wish I could walk on more wakable streets" (left) and "I wish I could take transit on more trains" (right).

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The LA/2B/GOOD team was out at Sunday’s CicLAvia event gathering mobility ideas and promoting the launch of the LA/2B Challenge!

With the contest we are asking participants to imagine their ideal car-free day in Los Angeles and to submit an itinerary through the GOOD MAKER website. The top-voted submission will receive $500 to implement their dream car-free day. Submission will be accepted through Tuesday May 15 at 12pm.

And of course the idea gathering never stops for the LA/2B team. Whether through our Ideas website, at our ThinkLabs, or at community events, conferences, and meetings, we are gathering every idea we can to help shape the mobility future of Los Angeles.

Inspired by artist Candy Chang,  we asked Angelenos  at CivLAvia to fill out and wear our “I Wish I Could Walk/Bike/Take Transit” name tags to share their ideas with us and the rest of Los Angeles.

Some amazing ideas were created!

LA/2B Participants @ CicLAVia

The subject of density in Los Angeles has been garnering a significant amount of attention in recent weeks. The Census Bureau recently released new population figures that showed the Los Angeles area (not city) is the densest region in the United States. The figures, which showed the Los Angeles region (#1) ahead of New York (#5) in terms of density, brought a slew of media attention to the issue. The issues of density vs. sprawl, Manhattanization, and city character in Los Angeles were all the subject of speculation in light of the newest density figures.

While the figures perhaps signal some sort of tipping point for LA, it’s important to remember that these are regional comparisons and not comparisons of the cities. The City of New York can still boast as being the densest big city in America. In fact, it is 3 times as dense as the City of Los Angeles. But comparisons aside, one thing is clear: Los Angeles is a decidedly urban city. A city to city comparison is an interesting exercise, but for the purposes of the Mobility Element we are interested in the varying densities within the City.

This map depicts the City’s population density in terms of numbers of persons per acre for each of the City’s Census blocks.

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In our ongoing map series we are examining the transportation system and structure in Los Angeles and their related factors. This series of maps move away from the transportation system and focuses on related land use and demographic factors. The data presented here demonstrate where Angelenos live and work, their rates of automobile ownership, land uses in the city, and commute travel times. While these might not be factors that appear to be intuitively link, there are connections that can be made between each of these four sets of data (and with the previous maps we have produced and those yet to come).

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Take a look at this fascinating infographic by College@Home that describes the impact our commutes have on our mental and physical health:

Shown here on this series of maps is the mode share of commuters, by census tract, for public transit users, bicyclists, pedestrians, and automobile users.

The maps show those census tracts that generate the largest share of trips for each of the four modes. Evident from the maps are the dispersion of pedestrian commuters throughout the city, particularly around Downtown, USC, Westwood, Northridge, and Hollywood. Bicycle commuters are found in more specific clusters around Venice, USC, Echo Park/Silver Lake, Hollywood, and Studio City/North Hollywood. The clusters of tracts with a high percentage of commuters using public transportation are found in East, South, and Central Los Angeles.  A high concentration of commuters in outer Valley neighborhoods and near LAX utilize the automobile.

And beyond an analysis by census block or at the citywide level, are the general neighborhood commuter patterns. What follows are the top neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles with the highest share of commuters for each of the four modes:

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Participants viewing the transportation map gallery at La Plaza Think Lab

We held our second set of Think Lab workshops this past weekend. Participants were intrigued by the museum style display of maps showcasing our current transportation system.  Many took pictures of the maps and located the areas where they live.  All workshop materials are available here.

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We’re excited to present LA/2B’s second infographic, which reveals how our streets actively shape our culture by connecting neighborhoods and people across Los Angeles. Designed in collaboration with local L.A. artist Brian Gosset, this infographic showcases the vitality of one of L.A.’s most important thoroughfares: Wilshire Blvd.

LA/2B: Our Streets. Our City.