An art installation called "The Back 9" is planned for Los Angeles' Skid Row to tackle the issues of gentrification, zoning, and back room deals for development rights.
The opening paragraph of an article by Linda Poon has to be read for itself and then probably reread to let it sink in:
Los Angeles’ newest miniature golf course will not be like any other. Instead of safari-themed obstacle courses, this one will feature edifices that address the city’s zoning issues. Oh, and it will sit right inside Skid Row, a neighborhood that has the densest concentration of homeless people in the country.
Educational artist Rosten Woo and the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) collaborated on the project, which is planned for exhibition at the Skid Row Museum in 2017. The installation received a $50,000 grant from the Mike Kelley Foundation, according to Poon.
Poon quotes John Malpede, founder and artistic director of LAPD, to describe the ideas behind "The Back 9," as the installation is called. The name refers to the golf format of the installation as well as the use of that term to describe clandestine conversations.
It’s a fitting name, Malpede says, because the project is all about transparency. “Are [zoning] decisions going to be made ‘on the back 9,’ or are they going to happen in a public process in which [decisions] aren’t predetermined by the time they’re public?”
FULL STORY: L.A. Is Putting a Mini-Golf Course on Skid Row
Still Gritty: Crime Wave in Downtown Los Angeles
As people and jobs stream into the district, downtown's long-simmering problems butt up against vigorous urban renewal. Crime is up, but so are property values.
Conflicting Stories From Los Angeles' Skid Row
As the city considers new ordinances making it easier for police to break up homeless camps, residents say forced displacement is already underway. Police deny an increase in homeless sweeps.
Residents Disillusioned with the Planning Process in Los Angeles' Chinatown
Sharon McNary reports on a proposed development in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles that predates, and could thus avoid, the guidelines put forward by one of the most progressive plans in the city—the Cornfield Arroyo Specific Plan.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service