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Publications: |
Feature Articles |
Reality Check on Growth Event a Huge SuccessOctober 23, 2002"The participants worked in teams that were mixed with people from clashing backgrounds. Developers had to work with environmentalists. Low-income housing advocates stood alongside elected officials from wealthy suburbs. Consensus did not come easily." - Los Angeles TimesBy Jack Skelly The 17 million people of the Los Angeles Basin -- a region embracing five counties (Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside) and 88 cities -- have traditionally been bound more by a shared geography than a common vision. “We are together but separate,” said Dan Garcia, former president of the Los Angeles city planning commission and a speaker at the “Reality Check on Growth” conference held Oct. 10 at the USC Campus. Presented by the Lusk Center for Real Estate and the Los Angeles District Council of the Urban Land Institute, the conference brought together traditional developers, builders, public officials, environmentalists, urban planners and others for a day-long “growth visioning” exercise. It’s a new planning approach designed to bring people in a neighborhood, city or an entire region together to get beyond polarized positions, work out differences and agree on a growth plan. It’s based on the idea that a compelling, unifying vision, not narrow parochial interests, should drive land use decisions. Under the guidance of the Southern California Association of Government, more visioning exercises will be held across the Los Angeles region over the next two years for a crosssection of community and business leaders and citizens. The goal is to establish visioning as the new standard for local and regional planning. “This is an enormously important project,” said Felicia Marcus, chief operating officer of the Trust for Public Land. “We need to help people feel connected to something larger than themselves.” A similar visioning exercise was tried with great success in Salt Lake City and resulted in an innovative growth plan for the area. Watch the video >> Full LA Times Article - Crowded Future Challenges Imaginations of Planners | |
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