CityWatchLA - Brisbane has one, LA needs one. What’s the story?

CityWatch, Sept 8, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 72

At its heart, my Down Under Walkabout was simply a quest to connect with the people and the places that make up my past, my history, and my own personal story.

Having started in Melbourne, the Capital of Victoria, then moving through Sydney, the Capital of New South Wales, I finally arrived in Brisbane, the Capital of Queensland, the State where I was born.

My visit to Brisbane was a serendipitous journey, as I discovered the “City Machine” exhibit at the Museum of Brisbane (MoB), conveniently located on the first floor of Town Hall. Guests are invited to discover the city by examining the building blocks that make up the complex wholeness and the connectivity that keeps Brisbane humming. In short, Brisbane sets a new standard for Walkabout storytelling.

I initially visited Brisbane’s Town Hall aiming low, merely intent on visiting the Council Chambers for a moment or two of reflective contemplation on the inner workings of the city of 2 million and to catch the Lord Mayor and the City Council in action.

I was pleased enough to witness a motion to “Adjourn for afternoon tea!” The vote was unanimous and I appreciated the precision with which they concluded a lengthy debate over some monstrous funding issue exactly at 4 pm.

But as impressive as that moment in municipal synchronicity and bipartisan politics was for me, the MoB exhibit was what resonated. Overwhelmingly powerful in its effective presentation, it tells Brisbane’s story from the birth of the city, to the organizational growing pains that took it through its childhood, to its maturity as a world-class city, to its future.

Archival documents, photos, video, artifacts and relics tell the story of a community that grew in response to both crisis and opportunity, with the first demand being Public Health.

The parallels between the origins of Brisbane and Los Angeles are uncanny, with both communities organizing around the Public Works challenge of providing clean water to the residents.

In Brisbane, this resulted in the formation of the Public Works Department and in LA, it resulted in the hiring of the first municipal employee, an Indian woman who dipped water from the Zanja Madre and delivered to the local households. Thus was born the DWP.

Brisbane’s “City Machine” exhibit takes on the challenging task of turning the dry fodder of archival materials into a fast paced journey from the past to the present and into the future. Starting with simple public health challenges that motivated community organization and then moving to transportation needs, into public safety needs, and then into communications, the MoB puts a spin on the journey that brings it to life and engages the audience.

Through it all, it is rapidly apparent that as fast as the tools change, the challenges of a city remain the same. The rapid growth and maturation of the community is constantly presenting infrastructural and organizational challenges that require a highly sophisticated “City Machine” that connects, that communicates, that responds, and that has a clear mandate on purpose and on function and on process.

While both Brisbane and LA began with similar challenges and similar responses, it’s painfully apparent that the same “City Machine” metaphor has failed miserably for Los Angeles.

This past weekend, LA’s Birthday Party, typically celebrated with a 9-mile walk from San Gabriel to El Pueblo to honor the original Pobladores, was compromised by the poor air quality resulting from the Station Fire. The walk was cancelled and festivities were reduced to the minimum, proverbial icing on the municipal cake, and ironic in timing.

As Brisbane celebrates its 150th Birthday with an exhibit that honors the “City Machine,” Los Angeles cancels its Birthday celebration as it grapples with its failure to respond as a "Machine" to the Station Fire.

The Station Fire, now in its 13th day, started in Altadena and spread rapidly, throwing communities into evacuation mode and challenging the LA “City Machine.”

This time of crisis should have been the moment at which Los Angeles came together, functioning as “the Machine,” a complex assembly of many parts working in sync, communicating, connecting and concentrating energy, creating a “wholeness” and providing the leadership of LA with the mechanism to weather the storm.

Instead, the local community played a game of “Where’s Tony?” while the many departments of the City of LA followed disconnected mandates that left the locals self-evacuating under the direction and control of multiple agencies, all the while wondering “Who do you call?” as they faced life-and-death challenges.

In a situation such as the Station Fire, one would hope that the City of LA would provide proactive and effective communication to the community, instructing them on the roles the many City Departments would play in the management of the emergency, and delivered in a variety of mediums to ensure connection with the community.

One would also hope that the Department of Transportation would be on the scene, maintaining a large perimeter to keep the spectators from interfering with the evacuation and with the helicopters collecting water from the reservoir. In addition, it seems reasonable to expect that the LADOT would maintain a tight perimeter in order to keep open evacuation routes and direct local traffic.

It would also seem reasonable to have General Services and Rec & Parks on the scene, coordinating the opening of evacuation centers and communicating with the LAUSD so that people, animals and vehicles could be accommodated quickly and efficiently and safely.

A City the size of Los Angeles surely has an emergency communication network more sophisticated than a Sheriff’s car with a loud speaker rolling down residential streets, leaving a wake of “What did he just say?” as residents spent more time chasing rumors than in simply coordinating emergency response efforts.

With Community Emergency Response Teams, the Red Cross, LA’s Emergency Management Department, Neighborhood Councils, and Neighborhood Watches all standing by and ready to act, it seems that all that is missing is the mechanism for deploying the full force of “the Machine” and, of course, a leader who is available and empowered to direct “the Machine.”

Most of all, it seems fair to expect that when the largest City in the most populated State in the most powerful Country in the world is threatened with an emergency the size of the Station Fire, that it would be clear who was in charge, what the emergency plan was and how it was to be implemented.

Instead, community members from the neighborhoods most affected by the Station Fire charge that the Mayor was nowhere to be found, that communications were reactive and insignificant, that the many departments of the city who had a piece of the emergency plan were disconnected and ineffective and that there was a huge hole in the “wholeness” of LA’s “City Machine.”

All of which is in dramatic contrast to my experience in the Museum of Brisbane where the City went on record as positioning their ability to mobilize the full force of the city as the culmination of their journey and as the foundation of their vision for themselves as a world class city.

So far, my Down Under Walkabout has taken me to Melbourne, which has presented itself as the City on the Move, to Sydney which has presented itself as the City with a Vision, and to Brisbane which has presented itself as the City Machine.

As I return to my home in Los Angeles, I find myself asking “What’s LA’s story?” What is the narrative that defines us, that allows us to identify ourselves in the context of our relationship with each other, that connects us with our collective past, with our shared present and with our unified vision for the future.

These are challenging times for Los Angeles for many reasons, but most of all because we are in dire need of a leader who can deliver and direct a “City Machine” that functions effectively, with the many complex parts humming in sync, connecting us, and taking us into the future.

(Stephen Box is a transportation advocate and an observer of Los Angeles’ political and government system. And, he writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net) ◘

CityWatchLA - Great Cities Make Room for People

CityWatch, Aug 28, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 69

Great Cities are great for many reasons but they typically share one thing in common, a commitment to creating and maintaining a foundation of vibrant and dynamic public space that brings people together and creates community.

Los Angeles definitely qualifies as a Great Big City but as for the elements of greatness, LA comes up short when it comes to how it allocates and utilizes its public space. It’s not that there is a shortage; it’s just that the access and use is limited.

In Sydney, kids play cricket outside Town Hall. In Melbourne, mothers with prams meet under the Flinder Station Clock. In Budapest, locals congregate at Hösök Terén (Heroes Square).

Munich features Fischer Brunnen for those who need a meeting place. New Yorkers can find both solitude for the individual and concerts for the masses in Central Park. Meanwhile, Chicago raised the bar on public space with its innovative and versatile Millennium Park.

Around the world, Great Cities provide parks so people can walk, so they can picnic, so they can relax, so they can skate, so they can run, so they exercise, socialize, visualize, and romanticize.

Some Great Cities refer to their parks as the city’s lungs because they clean the air. Other cities build them on rooftops and use them to insulate and contribute to the sustainability of the buildings. Parks are even used to collect and clean rainwater and to contribute to the community’s water reclamation efforts.

As for public space in Los Angeles, well, that’s where you’ll most likely find people honing their parallel parking skills. After all, as for the utilization of public space, LA has more parking spaces per capita and less parkland space per capita than any of the Great Cities.

LA is parkland poor but parking space rich.

Los Angeles County has seven parking spaces for every registered car, all of them standing by on the off chance that a motorist somewhere might need to pick up some late night snacks at the local Piggly Wiggly. Heaven forbid he/she can’t find a parking space close to the front door. Angelinos somehow consider a parking space within walking distance to be a basic right, yet they yawn when confronted with the fact that only 34% of the children in Los Angeles live within walking distance of a public park.

The absurdity of this scenario is driven home when one considers that in LA, the nation’s capitol for homelessness, it’s illegal to have a homeless car but homeless people are simply irrelevant.

LA has it upside down!

On Friday, September 18, artists, urban planners, neighborhood councils and activists will address the allocation and utilization of LA’s public space by stepping up to the curb, putting a quarter in the meter and turning that curbside park[ing] space into a temporary park, all in a celebration of Park[ing] Day LA and in an attempt to start the dialogue that our city leadership has avoided for too long.

How does the largest City in the most populated State in the most powerful Nation in the World allow the rights of inanimate objects to take precedent over the rights of humans?

When is Los Angeles going to take a giant step toward becoming a Great City by committing to creating local community parks so that all Angelinos live within walking distance of a park.

East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, the park poorest NC in the City of Los Angeles, has two Park[ing] Day LA celebrations planned. The first park, “Rec Center,” will take place at Heliotrope & Melrose and will become a permanent pocket park after Park[ing] Day LA is over. LA Guerrilla Garden[ing] will repurpose the Park[ing] Day LA plants and leave East Hollywood one park richer.

The second East Hollywood Neighborhood Council Park will take place on Santa Monica Boulevard between Madison and Westmoreland, right in front of the City of LA’s Street Lighting Yard.

The Lighting Yard is a very large facility, nestled in the middle of a densely populated neighborhood and surrounded by a large number of elementary schools, all within walking distance.

It’s across the street from the Cahuenga Library; a beautiful old building that should be complemented with great public space. It’s bordered by an imposing chain link fence and it’s used to house LA’s light poles and fixtures and equipment.

It’s used for storage. It’s a lay-down yard, a staging facility. It could be anywhere but it’s right in the middle of a vital community and it’s an eyesore.

Meanwhile, kids play soccer in busy streets, vendors sell ice cream at the adjacent Metro Station, kids hang out at the 7-Eleven and community leaders look at the Light Yard and ask “Why not a Park?”

The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council will build a park outside the light yard on September 18 and they will demonstrate that Santa Monica Boulevard, right across the street from the Cahuenga Library, is a great place for a park.

If you’d like to participate in Park[ing] Day LA but are unsure as to where to start, how to build a park, how to frame your message or how to engage your community, come by East Hollywood on Saturday, September 5 for a Park[ing] Day LA workshop.

At 9 in the morning, the Greensters, LA’s first pedal powered transpo team, will be delivering Park[ing] Day LA materials to Santa Monica Boulevard.

From 10am to 2pm, join the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, local community activists, the Greensters, an Urban Forester and people who simply want to engage the leadership of Los Angeles in a robust discussion on LA’s public space.

Park[ing] Day LA Workshop
Saturday, September 5 from 10am until 2pm
4590 Santa Monica Blvd. LA, CA 90029
Between Madison and Westmoreland, south side of the street.
Two blocks east of the Santa Monica & Vermont Red Line Station.

Contact Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net for more information.

(Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist activist and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net.)Photo credit: Flickr. ◘

CityWatchLA - Aussies: Same Challenges, Different Solutions

CityWatch, Aug 25, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 68

Two weeks into my Australian Walkabout, I'm wandering the wilds of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, following the storylines of my family and connecting with the history of my country. I am, after all, an Australian by birth and an Angelino by choice.

It's apparent I've arrived just in the nick of time. This continent is populated by a stubborn bunch, all clinging to silly traditions and I've got my work cut out if I'm going to impart the wisdom of Los Angeles to my Rellies Down Under.

For example, here are five areas where Melbourne is simply upside down on its approach to some common opportunities:

1) In Melbourne, a city of 4 million people, they're completely unschooled in the fine art of moving motor vehicles. Boasting the world's most extensive Tram Network, supported by a significant Train System, complemented by an efficient Bus System, Melbourne has the audacity to throw cyclists and pedestrians into the mix, positioning motor vehicles at the bottom of the food chain. The fact that their scheme works brilliantly, efficiently, safely, and effectively is completely irrelevant as is the bustling street life and thriving economic environment.

The simple fact that the people of Melbourne would dare to challenge the primacy of the single occupant motor vehicle with such impunity and, of course, success, clearly demonstrates that Melbourne is no match for Los Angeles when it comes to mobility.

2) Melbourne simply fails to get in touch with its hugeness. Los Angeles and Melbourne are so similar in population and in size that they could be fraternal twins! The difference is this, Los Angeles is more mature and has grown comfortable with the fact that it's "built-out."

LA's leadership resists innovation, claiming that the city is simply too big and too cumbersome to manage, let alone change. Rarely does a departmental meeting take place without the twin paradigms of mediocrity (LA is a battleship that can't be turned quickly and true progress occurs slowly and in small increments) being advanced as excuses for inactivity and mediocrity.

Melbourne, on the other hand, has streets and buildings older than Australia, yet it embraces change and innovation as if there were no limits to progress. Dangerous stuff, this Heritage Preservation coupled with Urban Re-Purposing, topped off with parks and bike lanes and traffic circles and shared streets and traffic calming and all sorts of impossibilities!

If Melbourne continues to fix streets, sweep sidewalks, treat residents with respect and act with the municipal dexterity of a small village, it can only serve to destroy LA's excuse for stagnation. "We're just too big!"

3) Melbourne completely misses out on political opportunities by focusing on practical solutions. In addition to the many significant environmental challenges any large city faces, Melbourne finds itself in the 13th year of a severe drought. Water is in such short supply, crop irrigation has actually been threatened and bush fires have ravaged communities with tremendous loss of life and property.

Rather than pursue LA style "big-picture" political solutions that advance careers and enrich city coffers, Melbourne thinks little.

Everybody is Melbourne is an environmental steward and the resulting "swarm" of solutions includes smokers not butting in the gutter (to avoid rainwater runoff contamination) to residential rainwater collection. (my Rural Uncle brags that his tanks have sustained him for the last six months)

Water "polling" has become a point of pride and my Urban Aunt shared her water records with us, competing against her history and her goals to reduce her water usage. Toilets have half-flush features, water reclamation is routine, peer pressure drives conservation and the public good is evidently of greater value than personal excess.

Through it all, Melbourne maintains parks with drought resistant native plants, uses creative and natural ground cover and plants trees at a speed that seems designed to be the metric equivalent of San Antonio's Million Tree Campaign. (I'm betting they're planting at a rate 2.2 times that of LA!)

At the end of a hard day of environmental stewardship, Melbourne residents return home to power outlets that are turned off when not in use, to rooms that are not heated or cooled unless occupied and to lighting that is low energy and heavy-metal free.

This practical approach flies in the face of the LA Municipal model which relies on consumption in order to fund the city machine. Melbourne has so much to learn from LA, including the simple fact that there's money to be made by encouraging bad behavior!

Imagine if Melbourne invested in muni parking lots, sold more gas, used more power, consumed more water, polluted more air, produced more trash! Why, it would be a filthy rich city with a balanced budget, just like Los Angeles!'

4) Melbourne claims English as the native tongue but conversations are sprinkled with colloquialisms that require a bit of translation. For example, "living wage" means a basic wage that is suitable for...well...living on. "Affordable housing" refers to housing that is accessible and affordable to those earning a "living wage." Servers in restaurants blush when tipped, after all, they've "already been paid quite nicely, thank you!"

This honesty in communication, while refreshing, deprives the City leadership of the wiggle-room that the Los Angeles style of double-speak provides. Left unchecked, this Melbourne style of “Strine" could result in an expectation that "public servants" actually serve the public! Where's the political future in that?

5) Aussies love their sports. But they take it a little too far! They love to play, they love to watch and they love to gamble. They are so competitive, they turn everything into a challenge and they always know the score.

"The Eureka is the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere, the Southern Star is the largest observation wheel in the Southern Hemisphere, the Melbourne Cricket Ground has the largest retractable roof in the Southern Hemisphere."

This competitive spirit starts to get old, especially when everybody turns into a scorekeeper. The Transit authority posts their goals and performance numbers at the stations. The local authorities post their budgets and follow up with an accounting of the funds. Public Works leaves the price tag on their projects for all to see.

Melbourne would do well to relax a little, to learn from the leadership of Los Angeles who embrace a "softer" style of accountability based on intentions and motivations and efforts.

The Aussie approach translates into a style of governance that is so much more performance based with acute sensitivity to evaluation based on the numbers.

From Town Hall to the Train Station to public works, those involved in serving the public can tell you how they're doing based on the numbers. Where's the future in that?

In conclusion, I acknowledge that my Walkabout is not quite traditional, after all, it would typically take place in the outback, not in City Centre Boutique Hotels. Sustenance would most likely be bush tucker, not family reunion feasts. But who am I to get hung up on ritual when the real opportunity is to immerse myself in the journey of discovery and to explore the elements of Greatness that abound literally everywhere I walk.

As I wander, I recognize much that connects me with my past and I realize much more that will shape my future in Los Angeles. The Aussies are experiencing many of the same challenges and opportunities but their actions are a little different and this is the inspiration and connection that gives my Walkabout meaning.

In deference to my loved ones in Melbourne and in keeping with the spirit of a true blue Walkabout, I pass up opportunities for validation in favor of inspiration and I focus on my journey Down Under.

So it is that I find myself reconnecting to my people, my history and to the spirit of greatness that accepts no excuses and knows no limits.

(Stephen Box’ birthplace is Australia. He and his wife Enci have made Los Angeles their home. Box is a transportation advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net) Photo credits: StreetsBlog.com. ◘