Shifting the Tide: Transit-Oriented Development and Active Transportation Planning in Los Angeles

Los Angeles (LA) has the reputation of an auto dependent city. Although the region is served by a robust public transportation system, the majority of the population commutes by automobile and has developed in sprawling manner leading to poor air quality, traffic congestion and unsafe streets. Despite this, in recent years, the LA region has made significant headway in reversing sprawl and automobile use. This has included encouraging greater land use densities around transit stations, coupled with investments to active transportation systems. This article presents an overview of the historical context of automobile dependency in Los Angeles, the current transit-oriented development strategies underway, and the planning and implementation of Complete Street strategies. It uses this narrative to illustrate how the city is using these strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change. Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/focus Part of the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the City and Regional Planning at DigitalCommons@CalPoly. It has been accepted for inclusion in Focus by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@CalPoly. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Chamberlain, Forrest and Riggs, William W. (2016) "Shifting the Tide: Transit-Oriented Development and Active Transportation Planning in Los Angeles," Focus: Vol. 12: Iss. 1, Article 14. DOI: 10.15368/focus.2016v12n1.1 Available at: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/focus/vol12/iss1/14 Shifting the Tide: Transit-Oriented Development and Active Transportation Planning in Los Angeles