Urban Planning - Mixed Use Development

Mix-Used Development In Downtown Los Angeles

Downtown mixed-use developments are solutions to solve

urban downtown challenges and impact the economy in

attracting business, people, investment, and tourist.

Downtown Los Angeles has gain success in changing zoning

ordinance to adaptive reuse. The private and public sectors

are working together to revitalize this area for

opportunity in many aspects. A dynamitic downtown will be

complete with addition of L.A Live, a mixed-use project

that will have entertainment, shopping, dinning, jobs, and

residential accommodations agglomerate together.

The mixed-use description is creating an urban

environment to attract people to live, work and play in the

same area. The mixed-use theory can beÐ' arranged in

differentÐ' techinques,Ð' the buildingsÐ' (one use above

another), the street (one use next to another) or the

neighborhood (groups of uses next to others)."Vital places

often have a mix of uses which involves different people

using the same parts of a building or place at different

times of the day, as well as different uses happening in

different parts of a building or space at the same

time."(http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm24.htm) Advantages of

mixed-use developments to reduce traffic, intergrating

residences, offices, and shopping, into concentrated common

areas' canÐ' reduce andÐ' elminateÐ' vechical trips. Today major

business coporations/residental developmentsÐ' have located

offices near shops, banks, and restaurants to save their

employees time during break.

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In recent years mixed-use developments has provided

Downtown Los Angeles with positive economic impacts. The

downtown has increasing business revenues, jobs, wages, and

tax revenues which are finical gains for the city. The city

of Los Angeles is aggressively marketing this area to

attribute and attract regional, national, and international

investment. When downtown thrives, the whole Los Angeles

Metropolitan Area also with new jobs and tax revenues are

spread to every neighborhood to enhance services.

TheÐ' "Adaptive Reuse Ordinance" was approve in 2000 by

mayorÐ' Antonio Villaraigosa. The look of Downtown Los

Angeles change to facilitate the conversion ofÐ'

brownfields, greyfields, and vacant building into housing

and live/work space. The private and public sectors are

working together on mixed-use developments reviving

Downtown Los Angeles to compete with San Diego and San

Francisco for convention center business. Downtown Los

Angeles plans to promoteÐ' assortmentÐ' land-use,

infrastructure, and servicesÐ' stragegy to reinforce the

economic, social, and physical health, safety, welfare, and

convenience of the people who live, work and invest in the

community.Ð' Also "balanced growth, builds on economic

strengths and opportunities while protecting the physical,

economic, and social investments in the community to the

extent reasonable andÐ' feasible"

(http://cityplanning.lacity.org/) for downtown.

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Los Angeles major future project in the downtown sports

and entertainment destination is L.A Live. This project is

4 million square ftÐ' and located next the Staples Center

Arena (Home of the Lakers), Los Angeles Convention Center,

and Metro Rail Blue Line. L.A Live is a mix-use project

will feature ESPN Zone Headquaters, NOKIA Plaza, and J.W

Marriott Hotel Headquaters, resturants, entertainment