(Re)Inventing Downtown LA’s Urban Core

The City of Los Angeles is constantly evolving. People are healthier and living longer, which is fueling our growing population – a number that is expected to increase by 13 percent to 4.6 million by 2040. In the past, we would accommodate growth by expanding outward to the far stretches of the city. But this is no longer an option. We simply cannot expand beyond the confines of our mountains, deserts and ocean – so we must grow upward in parts of our city where there is transit and infrastructure that support future development. Nowhere is this growth better suited than in downtown. In the first three quarters of 2018, nearly 20 percent of all housing units approved by the City Planning Department were within the greater downtown area. This is a testament to how downtown has reclaimed its role as the vibrant, urban center of Southern California and a world-class destination. Since the late 1990s, parking lots previously surrounded by half-empty office buildings have been transformed into thousands of new housing units and creative office space. The reuse of historic buildings has breathed life into once-neglected neighborhoods. The influx of the clean-tech industry has ushered in new jobs in places like the Arts District. And the increasing population of residents and workers – sustained by investment in our regional transit system – has restored life to the streets of downtown. To continue this momentum, the City Planning Department will unveil an ambitious update to the Downtown Community Plan in 2019. As the cornerstone of the city’s long-range planning efforts, community plans set neighborhood-level policies and an overarching vision to guide future development decisions into motion. By its very design, the Downtown Community Plan will allow for a wider variety of land uses that will benefit future businesses. Many of these changes have the potential to result in high-quality, good-paying jobs that will have a lasting impact on the economy – reinforcing downtown’s role as the economic engine of Southern California. The plan will also support a diverse array of existing industries, including fashion, entertainment, hospitality and finance – creating additional opportunities for sectors of our economy that are shaping downtown’s skyline. Along with reinforcing the economic interests of our city, the plan will make room for more housing. It presents a creative mix of housing options – from micro units, live/work spaces, co-living, family housing, and, of course, affordable and supportive housing. And while the plan will respond to the need for change, it strikes a balance with preserving some of downtown’s most significant historic resources. New planning tools will be developed to incentivize the reuse of historic buildings along Broadway, the Historic Core, and the Arts District – and to support the needs of small businesses in Little Tokyo and Chinatown. By 2040, downtown is projected to welcome 125,000 new residents in addition to 55,000 new jobs. This growth will require us to be visionary in writing the next chapter of Los Angeles’ history and forward-thinking in prioritizing the needs of our growing population. With the help of our communities and elected officials, we are developing a framework that will advance a more livable, sustainable and well-designed metropolis. Vince P. Bertoni is the Director of Planning for Los Angeles’ Department of City Planning.