Will Smart Growth Work In Los Angeles?

In Los Angeles, three major projects are underway: L.A. Live entertainment complex next to the Staples Center, the Grand Avenue development on Bunker Hill, and a major expansion of Universal City. The projects, at a combined cost of about $7.5 billion, will mix dense housing, retail and office space in village configurations near mass transit. Gail Goldberg, the city's planning director, explains: "This is the beginning. This will be the place where a model gets created. This is very different from past development in L.A. We have in the past seen sort of a limitless amount of land. And I think that there were opportunities for sprawl that don't exist anymore."

UCLA planning professor Richard Weinstein said single projects alone will not fundamentally alter Angelenos' shopping and commuting habits. He claims that the recent boom in upscale condos and lofts in downtown Los Angeles has been driven partly by the desire of people to cut their commutes and live close to work. Will people who move into the new developments be willing to alter their lifestyles? "It has much to do with changing people's perceptions of how they want to travel," says Weinstein.