Photo Credit: latimesblogs.latimes.com
Community Projects
Creating more park space and increasing the amount of the green in the city of Los Angeles, not only provides a venue for the community to gather, but also helps prevent unwanted runoff and contamination in the ocean and groundwater. Through the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP), the City seeks to revitalize and utilize its landmark resource, the Los Angeles River, by removing the concrete, adding bike paths, and making way for new real estate development. [1] Another initiative that has gained momentum in the city of Los Angeles is the Million Trees LA program, in which residents can adopt a tree to be planted by city departments on public property. [2] Through these programs, the city is building awareness of the necessity to embrace a greener and more sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously creating a more beautiful, environmentally friendly city for its residents.
The highest number of homeless residents in the country call the Central City East, or Skid Row, region of Los Angeles home, and the city is actively working towards creating a more sustainable community through not only the revitalization of the green space, but by providing permanent housing solutions for the homeless residing in the city of Los Angeles. [3] Project 50, which began as a pilot program in 2007, seeks to end homelessness in Los Angeles by “connecting isolate people to homes and stabilizing support”(Kanis) and showing that taxpayers actually save money in this model because those housed in the pilot program spent a combined 150 fewer days as hospital inpatients and 600 fewer days in jail, cutting jail and medical costs by over $550,000. [3] As a result of the success of Project 50, Los Angeles policymakers have embraced Home For Good, a historic plan that seeks to end chronic and veteran homelessness in five years. [4] As Los Angeles is at the forefront of revolutionary policies that have the ability to continue to transform the city into a model of urban sustainability, the sustainability of its residents is equally as important. By providing its residents the opportunity and support necessary to guarantee every man, woman, and child has a place to call home while implementing initiatives to guarantee that the community and environment is safe and accommodating to all, Los Angeles is truly rebuilding the city from the ground up and positioning itself as a premier representation of urban sustainability.
Creating more park space and increasing the amount of the green in the city of Los Angeles, not only provides a venue for the community to gather, but also helps prevent unwanted runoff and contamination in the ocean and groundwater. Through the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP), the City seeks to revitalize and utilize its landmark resource, the Los Angeles River, by removing the concrete, adding bike paths, and making way for new real estate development. [1] Another initiative that has gained momentum in the city of Los Angeles is the Million Trees LA program, in which residents can adopt a tree to be planted by city departments on public property. [2] Through these programs, the city is building awareness of the necessity to embrace a greener and more sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously creating a more beautiful, environmentally friendly city for its residents.
The highest number of homeless residents in the country call the Central City East, or Skid Row, region of Los Angeles home, and the city is actively working towards creating a more sustainable community through not only the revitalization of the green space, but by providing permanent housing solutions for the homeless residing in the city of Los Angeles. [3] Project 50, which began as a pilot program in 2007, seeks to end homelessness in Los Angeles by “connecting isolate people to homes and stabilizing support”(Kanis) and showing that taxpayers actually save money in this model because those housed in the pilot program spent a combined 150 fewer days as hospital inpatients and 600 fewer days in jail, cutting jail and medical costs by over $550,000. [3] As a result of the success of Project 50, Los Angeles policymakers have embraced Home For Good, a historic plan that seeks to end chronic and veteran homelessness in five years. [4] As Los Angeles is at the forefront of revolutionary policies that have the ability to continue to transform the city into a model of urban sustainability, the sustainability of its residents is equally as important. By providing its residents the opportunity and support necessary to guarantee every man, woman, and child has a place to call home while implementing initiatives to guarantee that the community and environment is safe and accommodating to all, Los Angeles is truly rebuilding the city from the ground up and positioning itself as a premier representation of urban sustainability.
References
1. "City of Los Angeles: Los Angeles River Revitalization." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2013-07-15. <http://www.lariver.org/>. 2. "L.A.'s million trees, more or less." Los Angeles Times. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-15. <http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/23/opinion/la-ed-million-trees-mayor-villaraigosa-20130423>. |
3. "Los Angeles' Project 50: Taking a Page from Community Solutions' Playbook for Resolving Homelessness." Community Solutions, Strengthening Communities Ending Homelessness. Retrieved 2013-07-15. <http://cmtysolutions.org/projects/los-angeles-project-50>. 4. "Home for Good." The New York Times. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-15. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/opinion/home-for-good.html?_r=0>. |