A Critical Look At Playa Vista

Writer Morris Newman takes a hard look at what's actually been built at Playa Vista, the long-planned development on the Los Angeles waterfront.

1 minute read

November 12, 2004, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen

Playa Vista had been one of the "great promises of New Urbanism. Early in the planning stages, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, co-founders of the Congress of New Urbanism (CNU), were involved in the planning, and Plater-Zyberk remained involved with the project for years. Later, Stefanos Polyzoides and Dan Solomon, two of Californias best-known urban designers and also CNU co-founders, consulted on the project.

...Nearly every project falls a little short of its initial promise and loses some of its visionary luster in the translation from idea to fact. Even with limited expectations, however, Playa Vista comes as an unpleasant jolt. The 1,085-acre housing development immediately south of Santa Monica is a striking example of the discrepancy between bright vision and on-the-ground reality."

Thanks to Peter Slatin

FULL STORY: Playa Pique

Wednesday, November 10, 2004 in The Slatin Report

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