L.A. Architects' Open Letter to City Officials: Planning Must Emerge As A City Priority April 23, 2006 As Los Angeles gets used to prospect of a more dense urban future, renowned L.A. architects Brenda Levin and Bill Fain offer insight to L.A.'s new generation of city government officials. The Planning Report April, 2006 With new general managers who will influence land use in the city of Los Angeles and a growing chorus heralding a more dense, more attractive built environment, this June's convention of the American Institute of Architects comes at a pivotal moment. In anticipation of that meeting, The Planning Report spoke with two of L.A.'s leading architects, Brenda Levin, of Levin+Associates, and William Fain, principal of Johnson/Fain and president of the L.A. chapter of the AIA, about the future of design in L.A. and the role its new public officials will—and should—play in shaping it. The city of Los Angeles has confirmed new City Planning Director Gail Goldberg, and Santa Monica is choosing its new director. What should the mandate of these new hires be? Should they mediate competing land use interests, or should they focus on creating and promoting livable, vibrant neighborhoods/city centers? Brenda Levin: Planning directors in the city of Los Angeles have typically not had a major impact on the character and quality of place-making, nor have they created an over-arching framework and plan for the city that is widely understood and endorsed. But we are at a significant turning point in the history of the city. The city, with its greenfields long gone, needs to house its growing population smartly -- to creatively infill rather than assume sprawl is still an available strategy. So, city planning has become more essential as scores of urban infill development projects are proposed and neighborhoods and commercial hubs are asked to accept more density. If Los Angeles is to remain livable, planning inevitably must emerge as a city priority... Link: Read the full article Education | Arts & Culture | Civic & Social | Urban Revitalization About Levin & Associates | News | Home