Getting centered: Los Angeles welcomes New Urbanism with CNU XIII

Before it became famous for the nearly inescapable sprawl stretching from San Bernardino to Ventura, Los Angeles was a place of distinguished urbanism — a constellation of towns and compact cities that grew up along the stops of the “Red Car” rail service, which radiated from downtown in a hub-and-spokes pattern. Over time, sprawl engulfed these centers and robbed them of some of their identity. But now with the region straining to absorb explosive growth and maintain its automobile-dominated infrastructure, Los Angeles is rediscovering the importance of its legacy of traditional urbanism, as if its life — and certainly its quality of life — depended on it. Dan Solomon, a CNU cofounder, architect, and professor at UC-Berkeley, describes L.A. as “post sprawl,” with multiple centers of work, housing, government, and culture. “As L.A. has gotten more congested,” he explains, “the original small satellite centers have reemerged as different, distinctive centers.” Taken as a whole, it’s a polycentric city. With sprawl distorting many other regions and portending a similar polycentric future where downtowns coexist with edge cities and exurban nodes, Southern California is the ideal laboratory for determining how New Urbanism can help shape these places. Consequently, it is an exciting setting for the next Congress for the New Urbanism — CNU XIII: the Polycentric City — which will be held in Pasadena from June 9-12, 2005. Pasadena and communities such as Santa Monica and Culver City are leading Southern California in recasting their futures around celebrated public spaces, vibrant transit-oriented neighborhoods, efficient green designs, and other elements of great urbanism. “Within the sprawl of L.A., the original centers — and some new ones — are essentially ‘fighting back,’ creating identity and distinctiveness,” says Los Angeles architect John Dutton, who has closely assisted CNU co-founder and architect Elizabeth Moule in building the CNU XIII program. “This is partly an effect of grass-roots local activism and cultural assertion, and partly the effect of more “top-down’ planning.” planning for multiple centers With the Congress less than four months away, organizers have been busy designing a program that tackles New Urbanism’s most pressing issues, including those posed by the rise of polycentric regions. How can urban fabric be repaired to strengthen neighborhoods and towns? How can sprawling areas be retrofitted with urbanism to achieve similar results? How are rail transit systems being reestablished in polycentric settings, along with other systems that lessen dependence on the automobile? How can new urbanists help establish progressive environmental policies? How can the Transect, which envisions a spectrum of development from dense centers to agrarian reserves, be adapted to a place with many centers? And how can New Urbanism be implemented simply and successfully amid the overlapping layers of government rules and regulations that characterize a polycentric metropolis? To make sure attendees truly get the most out of the program, organizers are introducing a number of innovative features to escape the typical “Powerpoint-follows-Powerpoint” seminar routine and promote deeper discussions and true opportunities for audience participation. Many sessions will feature a single speaker giving a 45-minute lecture followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer period. Skillfully moderated “talk-show panels” feature experts who introduce themselves and then settle in for a structured discussion full of intellectual give-and-take. After many sessions, audience members will be able to follow speakers from a session to more informal “coffee bar” discussions held near espresso carts in the hallway. CNU XIII will also host evening “pin-ups” of works in progress. Participants will post their work on boards in the hallways and lobby of the Pasadena auditorium for discussion and review among their peers. Congress program organizer and CNU cofounder Elizabeth Moule says longtime new urbanists aren’t mistaken if they think some of these new elements would have seemed right at home at CNU I in Alexandria, VA, or other early Congresses known for fervent critique sessions and debates raging late into the night. “The point of many of the structural changes to the program is to bring back some of the intimacy and urgency found at early Congresses that had 200 participants to an event that now attracts 1,500 people,” says Moule. The format will also accommodate the in-depth discussions of practitioners from foreign countries and other new urbanist interest groups, she promises. A framework for discussion Refinements to the Congress program extend beyond the format of sessions and discussions to the organization of the subject matter itself. This year, Congress program planners are carefully organizing sessions by topic “threads,” or subthemes that weave their way through the Congress. Those interested primarily in one or two subject areas will find it convenient to track sessions in these threads over the three days of the Congress. Though some still have working titles at this point, the following threads are emerging as vital areas for exploration: • The transportation thread will navigate the ground between the limitations of automobile dependency and the challenges and promise associated with expanding transportation alternatives in multicentered metropolitan areas. Topics will include everything from corridor design to whether so-called smart cars are really smart, to how parking requirements compound the problems of sprawl, congestion, poor transit alternatives, and anemic downtown activity. • An implementation thread will tie together explorations of New Urbanism’s response to social and demographic trends and its interaction with policy and governance mechanisms. It’s a topic worthy of attention since social and demographic factors emerging in California, such as aging baby boomers, the burgeoning Latino population, and a shortage of affordable housing should and will impact how New Urbanism is implemented across the country. The thread also includes discussions of financial, governance, and code issues. • With its spectacular natural setting tested by intense growth, the environment is another area where Southern California is facing a more severe version of pressures facing the whole nation. The environment thread will review the new urbanist response to these problems, which includes impressive green buildings in urban settings and the creation of a set of standards for urban neighborhood developments. The thread will address questions of design and environmental stewardship and reaffirm the link between good urbanism and environmental benefits. Sessions will focus on developing neighborhood standards for LEED. • The final thread emphasizes physical form and the form of reurbanization, from suburban retrofits to statewide systems for form-based codes. Look forward to this thread bringing discussion of the Transect “beyond the pristine idea of concentric circles,” says Moule, “to how the Transect relates to a region of many, often overlapping centers.” Taking its cues from its polycentric metropolis, CNU XIII strives to be a constellation of ideas and innovations, illuminated by the distinct perspectives of top-notch speakers. An upcoming article will provide specific program and participant highlights. Meet you in Pasadena. u