Final Report - No 76

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.
76
76
Sustainable Land-Use Concentration

Spring 2015
Green Connections
Planning Report on the
Expo/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan
Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76
Executive Summary
Metros Exposition Transit Corridor Phase 2 aims to connect Culver City station to Santa Monica
(METRO, 2014)bringing the travel time from LA to Santa Monica to approximately 46 minutes even
during rush hour (Metro, 2012). The construction began in 2012 and is scheduled to be completed in
2015 with the line opening in 2016. The Expo Line is the first passenger train line on the Westside in
half a century (Brightwell, 2013). The 6.6-mile line will have seven new stations including the one at
Expo and Bundy.
The Expo/Bundy area is undergoing plans for transformation as part of the Transit Neighborhood Plan
of the city to develop areas along with their transit connections. The City plans to preserve the industrial value of the land and increase business and commercial activity to bring in jobs for the neighborhood and the surrounding area. By economic generation, other elements like affordable housing,
public benefits and street improvements will be created in the neighborhood. It is Neighborhood
Development through Transit development through Neighborhood Development.
This report provides a detailed analysis derived from the framework of the Exposition Corridor Neighborhood Plan, specific to Expo/Bundy Station and provides analysis using through Sustainability and
Smart Growth goals.
The first part of the report outlines the neighborhood and its characteristics to evaluate the scope of
planning intervention and identifies the challenges presented by the site. Using this data, a baseline
for development goals and scope is set to provide recommendations for the area merging sustainability into the transit oriented development. Recommendations relied on the smart growth, New Urbanism and LEED ND principles and included environmental, land use and climate specific actions like
Linear parks, green alleys, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, Stormwater Harvesting, Live/Work Spaces
and Innovation incubators for green businesses. These proposals fit under the larger framework of
Climate and Environment management.
The implementation of the proposals rely on both policy and planning with varying timeline due to
the difference in the scope of the various projects. Based on the needs and recommendations of the
area, the sustainability indicators to measure change in the land-use pattern are based on broad
and tangible metric with both quantitative and qualitative scope for analyzing the result. These data
determines success of the sustainability measures through numbers and the integrated indicator of
Livability provides input from the residents on tangible benefits as a result of this project.
This report is an extended proposal for providing structure to the Citys Vision.
The job industry in Expo/Bundy is the result of spillover from the various industrial uses in Santa Monica along with a concentrated political effort to increase job-focused development. For the Expo/Bundy
neighborhood to thrive and attract businesses and jobs in an independent and sustained manner, it
needs to create a unique identity for itself through branding and outreach. This proposal is a planningbased branding exercise to establish the identity of the area. It gives a sense of place and character
to the neighborhood that can position itself as a hub for the development of the creative industry and
businesses. The character is not restricted to only economic influx but also increases the cultural and
social value of the neighborhood. This allows for better evolution of ideas and balances the inherent
needs of the residents and community. The intent is not only to generate jobs but to create a robust
and vibrant neighborhood that can sustain itself Economically, Environmentally and Socially.
INTRODUCTION (Q1)
LOCAL CONTEXT
Site Boundary: Courtesy Google Earth
The Expo/Bundy Station is located at the intersection of Bundy Drive and Exposition and east of the
City of Santa Monica. The Expo/ Bundy neighborhood is predominantly zoned for industrial, single
family residential and commercial along with some
area zoned for public facilities. The Expo Line segregates the industrial zone to the north and the
residential and commercial zones to the south. The
Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan envisions the area as a hub for creative industries
and businesses, preserved single-family residential
units and supporting retail, all centered around the
transit station while increasing the job capital and
housing stock(Exposition Corridor TNP, 2015).
The LA Department of Water and Power substation

is located on the northern edge of the site and forms an important visual marker and landmark for
the neighborhood. The neighborhood also has large-footprint commercial uses such as Martin Cadillac car dealership, office high-rises, and big-box retail stores like Ralphs, Trader Joes, and Bed Bath
and Beyond. The area also has several schools north of Olympic Boulevard in the residential pockets.
South of Olympic Boulevard towards the Expo line is home to several garages, auto repair shops, and
public storage units.
REGIONAL CONTEXT
The Expo/Bundy station area is located within the West Los Angeles Community plan and the PalmsMar Vista-Del Rey Community Plan. The Expo/Bundy neighborhoods vastly industrial configuration
generates the second greatest job density of all project station along the expo line at 34 jobs per acre,
or 17000 jobs (City of Los Angeles, Expo/ Bundy Station, 2012). The employment base is serviced
by the surrounding residential development of the West LA community and is complemented by the
existing job sector of Santa Monica. The presence of the Santa Monica 10 Fwy and the 405 San Diego
Fwy nearby, adds to the influx in the neighborhood since it acts as a connector between Downtown
LA, Santa Monica, Culver City and Beverly Hills.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The predominant industrial area is comprised of professional, scientific, management, technical and
retail sector (Exposition Corridor TNP, 2015). The area has 20% white-collar jobs and is connected
to, or serves the growing entertainment, media, and information industry cluster. The majority of the
population is white followed by African-Americans and Hispanics. The population is relatively young
falling between the ages of 20- 40 years with high educational attainment levels. The neighborhood
has a housing occupancy rate of 95% with the average household size of 5.14. The median rent of
$1391 is low compared to the median household income of $64,106.
SITE EVALUATION
The station area is a transitional corridor between industrial uses and residential development. While
one is vital for the economic growth of the neighborhood, the other determines the livability and human context of the site. To realize this balance, certain planning elements need to be considered for
development in the neighborhood.
- Develop Transportation Choices
Auto-dependency in LA has led to
heavy traffic congestion, an increase in
greenhouse emissions and led to development that is catered to vehicles more
than pedestrians (US DOT, 2015). The
station area neighborhood is heavily
car-oriented with very few using public
transit and other means of transportation. Major intersections at Olympic
Boulevard and Bundy drive have heavy
traffic, making pedestrian movement Expo/ Bundy Transit Station Rendering:Courtesy Metro
difficult. This auto dependency produces more demand for bigger roads that further compromises
infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit. Currently, 77% of the population commutes
to work by driving alone in cars. The residents of Expo/Bundy Neighborhood need streets that accommodate all users and modes. This will reduce household transportation cost, promote public health,
and increase job connectivity.
- Increase Connectivity
For a community to thrive, it needs to have good connectivity with the neighborhood itself as well as
to its surrounding area. There should be good internal connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists, transitusers, and vehicles. An increase in street connectivity leads to an increase in walking and physical
fitness. Long blocks and inadequate multi-modal use will reduce street activity and increase issues
in public health and safety (LEED-NP). A good connected network makes access to public amenities
like parks, schools, transit etc. more convenient and accessible. The Expo/Bundy neighborhood has
a number of schools, retail, and institutional buildings that can benefit from increased connectivity.
Currently, lack of bike lanes, discontinuous sidewalks, and long blocks of industrial uses are hindering
unobstructed connectivity. Having street connectivity will increase the local pedestrian movement,
reduce commute time, increase in footfall for small businesses, improve use of public transit infrastructure, and reduce crime.
- Increase Diversity of Uses
Integrating different land uses and varied building types create diverse communities where all the
uses support each other (Lee, 2015). Mixing light industrial, commercial and residential to create
mixed-use development will incorporate a sense of character, decrease commute time to amenities
and act as economic boosters for all the uses. Having different housing typologies also encourages diversity of population and caters to a broader range of income level and family configurations through
different levels of affordability. The Expo/Bundy neighborhood strongly delineates its various uses.
The intersection of industries and residential is limited leading to contrasting characters on either sides
of the street. This decreases walkability of the neighborhood and pushes for segregation of interac-
tions between various demographics.

- Encourage Innovation and Design
To evolve as a vibrant and diverse urban center community, innovation, and design needs to be encouraged (EPA, 2012). The innovation starts from the built form to the conservation of the natural
systems along with the transitional spaces between them. New ideas of sustainability, resource management and streetscape improvement needs to be encouraged. The Expo/ Bundy station neighborhood faces the challenge of integrating multiple uses effectively without compromising on the existing
businesses. This requires a long-term vision with a focus on health and environment. The current
Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan does not address the issue of sustainability or green
practices to mitigate environmental impacts of the new development. This should be included as one
of the primary visions for the neighborhood.
SITE CHALLENGES
The major challenges in the station area is to
Integrate the current industries and manufacturing services with newer office, retail, and industrial developments.
Integrate the existing commercial and manufacturing development with residential development.
Increase the housing stock with more multi-family housing, without compromising on the existing single-family residences.
Increase transit ridership and change mode share from current auto dependency.
Create more environment sensitive context to development proposals
DEVELOPMENT GOALS (Q2)

Industrial growth that provides job opportunities for the Citys residents and maintains the Citys fiscal
viability
- City of Los Angeles General Plan Framework Land-Use Goal
The major development focus of LA City for the Expo/Bundy Neighborhood is to encourage job creation and bolster economic growth (Exposition Corridor TNP, 2015). Strategies like affordable housing, mixed-use development, and preserving local businesses are complimentary goals to this primary
idea.
The Exposition Corridor is a long-term public investment in citywide connectivity and will create Transit
Oriented Developments (TODs) along the stations. The new development will be concentrated near
the transit and will comprise a wide mix of uses. The impact of TODs on the existing land use will
change the dynamics for the affected community. All developmental goals of TODs are inter-related
and address the economic and social equity of a neighborhood (Transit Research Board, 2014).
- Industrial Density
The city of Los Angeles policy to preserve industrial lands is due to these areas offering employment
opportunities for residents of all skill and education levels, while generating taxes for the city and
funding city improvement projects like streets and other public amenities. Currently, the demand
for development in the industrial area is extremely high. The City has the lowest vacancy rate for
industrial land in the nation, remaining below two percent. Despite this, job-generating industries are
becoming scarce as non-industrial development like big-box retail, high-end housing developments
and public facilities infringe upon the space for industries (Industrial Land Use Policy Project, 2007).
It is vital to preserve and promote industries independent of residential development and commercial
encroachment. Smokestack industries are being replaced with more light-manufacturing, biomedical, and creative industries allowing for better integration with other uses (SCAG, 2008). The Expo/
Bundy line with its industrial land use zoning currently has a presence of professional, administrative,
auto and waste management service (Expo TNP, Spring 2014) but retail spaces, grocery stores, and
institutions take up a sizeable area of land from the industries creating friction between the uses.
- Housing and Affordability
Influx of job-generating industries creates demand for housing and increase in residential density.
This is a vital component for the success of TODs. The location of residences in the areas of employment opportunity promotes internal capture of trip origins and trip generations, feeding into the
walkability of the neighborhood (Freilich, 1998). Single- family housing cannot match this demand
and encouraging urban sprawl and increase in land prices. Housing for workers employed in industries
will subsequently face challenges of affordability. To counter this, many choose less expensive housing
option in distant communities, thereby creating lengthy daily commute trips resulting in traffic and
increase in greenhouse emissions (SCAG, 2008).
Housing in areas zoned for industrial land uses, lack a transition in scale and character while facing
challenges of commercial off-street parking, spillover traffic, and inadequate open spaces. Providing
multi-family housing, while vital to increase density, faces resistance from communities with concerns
of over-burden on the resources of the neighborhood. The Expo/Bundy neighborhood will encounter
these challenges with the current construction of the Exposition corridor. While industries and commercial uses are equally important to housing, a balance needs to be achieved to buffer the transitions
between the various uses.
- Influx of Commercial and Mixed Use Development
Commercial development in neighborhoods influences job and income creation, and based on the
scale, impacts physical improvement, and revitalization. Commercial developments are a source
of goods and services for local communities and
encourage social interactions. The Expo/Bundy
neighborhood currently has a big-box commercial
establishment on industrial zones, north of Olympic Blvd. and a commercial corridor on Pico Blvd.,
south of the Expo line.
These present two different challenges to the area. Strong Presence of Retail Chains in Expo/Bundy
The large commercial chain store development in the north affects traffic patterns and impinges on
areas that can be better developed for light industries and without sufficient residential uses around
it, increases auto-dependency. On the other hand, the small-scale commercial corridor on Pico Blvd.,
while catering to local residences does not benefit from visibility that retail chains provide, thereby
affecting their footfall and business. Bringing large commercial chains to this area without considering scale and user pattern will negatively affect small businesses with increase in rents. It is essential
that the Expo/Bundy neighborhood have a mix of uses that are complementary to each other. Jane
Jacobs advocacy of mixed-use development is key to community vitality as it promotes diversity of
uses and buildings.
SCOPE OF T.O.D (Q3)

OPPORTUNITIES
Location- The Expo/ Bundy neighborhood is located east of Santa Monica and benefits from the
commercial spillover. Its proximity to both the i10 and 405 ensures connectivity to other parts of
West LA.
Expo Line Phase 1 has been able to triple rail ridership and reduce daily driving by 40% of households within half-mile of a station. The same benefit can be expected out of the Expo/ Bundy TOD
(Exposition Corridor TNP, 2015).
The area around the station already has a large footprint of commercial uses that contribute to
the economy of the neighborhood and provide visibility and viability for future development.
The Expo/Bundy station has a high job density of 34 jobs per acre that provides increased market for transit ridership
The elevated nature of the transit station does not burden the thoroughfare traffic and maintains
easy connectivity to the amenities along Pico Boulevard.
Presence of existing office uses and retail development at close proximity to the site positively
affects ridership.
The site currently has roads of large widths that can be designed for pedestrians and bicyclists
while still accommodating cars.
By encouraging new developments through TODs, public amenities like streetscape improvements, open spaces and other amenities can be provided to enhance the transition and beautification between the various land uses in the neighborhood.
CONSIDERATIONS
Transit Oriented Developments have become an important urban planning strategy to combat sprawl
and auto dependencies. TODs advocate for high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods with easy access
to retail and public amenities and transit ridership over driving (Chatman, 2013). TODs especially in
Los Angeles, work on the objective of increasing job generation through rail transit connectivity. It is
inherently assumed that this will counter sprawl, increase walkability, boost economic value of communities, and reduce environmental pollution (Church, 2013).
The trend to direct new development within walking distance of transit raises the fear of favoring
economic progress by compromising on equitable communities. The residents of TOD-impacted areas
face parking problems associated with dense development (Belzer & Autler, 2002). Mixed Use development favoring housing, office, and retail spaces will subsequently cater to white-collar jobs over
blue-collar jobs. This undermines the equitable nature of development for low-income population with
limited education and skill.
According to a research conducted by Northeastern University, people of color, low income households and renters are more likely to use public transit and not own vehicles as compared to average
Americans. By not accounting for this diversity, TODs may lose ridership and create a disconnect
between the intended users and the actual users (Pollack, Bluestone, & Billingham, 2010). In another
study conducted by California Polytechnic State University, evaluating changes in demographics in the
LA Metro Green Line corridor revealed trends that suggest shifts in demographic composition, growth
in job and housing densities and increases in the cost of housing in the corridor (Desmuke, 2013).
Planners are then faced with the choice of investing in TODs and risk gentrification and loss of diversity as unintended consequences or avoid transit expansion in under-served communities and leave
the community with poor or no public transit.

The Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plans vision for Expo/Bundy line is to create creative
industries and businesses by encouraging infill development (Expo TNP, Spring 2014) . It currently
lacks the vision for addressing a wider range of demographics and livability principles for the neighborhood. It is dependent on the metro station to boost economic vitality. The already segregated land
uses in the area may face further division through uneven growth along the TOD and phasing-out of
existing businesses and housing typology. Focusing only on economic boosters through the TOD may
increase housing costs, generate wealth for the residents and lead to increased vehicle ownership or
it may bring in higher income residents who are car owners less likely to use public transit (Snyder,
2010). This observation corresponds to studies conducted of Manhattan and Hong Kong that showed
transit ridership has a positive increase in auto-ownership in the community serviced by the transit
(Loo, Chen, & Chan, 2011).
To balance this conflict of economic development with social equitability there needs to be shift from
Transit-Oriented Development to a more comprehensive vision for community development. Dena
Belzer and Gerald Autler in their paper Transit Oriented Development: Moving from Rhetoric to Reality outline six performance visions for a better functioning TOD: Location Efficiency, Value Recapture,
Livability, Financial Return, Choice and Efficient Regional Land Use Pattern (Belzer & Autler, 2002).
GUIDELINES
Applying these performance ideologies to the Expo/Bundy station, the vision of the Expo/ Bundy
needs to encompass a broader spectrum of development that caters to the present needs of all current users and increases resilience to sustain future trends.
The Expo/Bundy neighborhood should encourage denser development with quality transit to
ensure that there is efficient variety of uses and services maximizing the convenience of the residents instead of the current segregated land-use. In a well-rounded development, perception of
cars changes from a necessity to an option.
The Expo/Bundy station should not be the only major public transit initiative but form a multi-tier
interconnected network of transit options that will provide a greater outreach to the various parts
of the community. It should include walkability for everyday localized activity around the uses and
residences, bike network to provide a wider connection to the different nodes inside the neighborhood, public transit option to connect the surrounding neighborhoods and rail transit for regional
connections. This affects reduced household expenditure on automobile transportation for the
individual and translates to efficiency at the regional level, as investment in transit can move far
more people than investment in automobile infrastructure.
The presence of industrial public facilities near the neighborhood, large blocks of industrial uses
and busy car-oriented streets contribute to air pollution, long commute, traffic congestion, and
unsafe sidewalks. There is a need to improve the quality of life of the individual as well as the
community. This includes public health, safety, and increase in public spaces, active sidewalks, and
better air quality.
The success of the transit corridor neighborhood relies on investment returns for the private developers in the area. The return on investments then directly affects investment in public benefit.
The Expo/Bundy corridor should encourage maximum financial efficiency of its proposed uses
through strategic programming of the land uses.
Standard development breeds monotony and prevents the neighborhood from functioning to
its maximum potential. Residents should be given a broad range of choices in housing, shopping,
transportation modes, and public amenities. This promotes a diverse group of users as well as
uses.
Smart growth measures that prevent urban sprawl are not the only requirement for a successful
mixed-use community. The Expo/Bundy development should encourage management of its uses
and benefits and direct growth to surrounding areas that are best suited for it.
The Expo/Bundy line currently does not address
the environmental need of the community other
than reduction in gas emissions from auto usage.
Commercial and Industrial buildings consume
about 40% of total energy usage in US (U.S
Dept. of Energy, 2010).This puts a strain on the
efficiency of resources and increased emissions.
There is also a need to increase the greenscape
of the neighborhood and its sidewalks to encourage more activity and provide stormwater management. California is in the middle of a historic
water crisis. There is an urgent need to conserve
water in LA where it imports 88% for domestic use from neighboring watersheds (GRASS, Urgent need to address environment and water con2013) and only 5% is infiltrated as groundwater cerns: By Author
recharge. Increased development in the area will
add pressure to the existing water resource. It is therefore important that streets and public spaces
need to be designed to cool and humidify the neighborhood while recharging urban water table
through permeable surfaces and tree canopy (Cherry, 2015).
PART II
PROJECT VISION: GREEN CONNECTIONS
Taking into consideration the current composition of the site, there is a need to present a unifying
vision that is specific to the Expo/ Bundy neighborhood. The vision for the neighborhood will act as
a derivative product from the proposal laid out by Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan,
the West LA Transportation Improvement and Mitigation Plan, the West LA community plan and the
Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Community Plan. It will build on a foundation of sustainability practices to
support the proposal and incorporate an efficient long-term benefit for the neighborhood and its
inhabitants. Since the neighborhood will have a dominant presence of light industries, office spaces
and retail, design and programming intervention at the initial phases will be required to produce environmentally sensitive development to ensure the quality of their output. It is important to create
development that is sensitive to changes in density, usage, and interaction. There is a need to balance
programming of the industrial, commercial, residential and transportation uses that leads to better
interaction between them translating to an equitable growth in economics, sustainability, and social
components.
There will be two components for proposing strategies for sustainability- mitigating current environmental/ green challenges and designing for eco-sensitive future uses in the site. The designs will
propagate Low Impact Development (EPA, 2014)to manage stormwater and change it as a usable
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resource. This is vital for Los Angeles in the face of the current drought and the pressure urban development is putting on natural water resources. It will incorporate principles such as sensitive water
usage, reducing impervious surfaces, water sensitive landscape features, and Best Management Practice (BMPs) techniques for controls of stormwater runoff(EPA,2014).
The Expo/Bundy Transit Neighborhood is a prime spot for incubating creative economies, robust
residential typologies, innovative environmental practices, and active transportation network. In the
development accompanying the Exposition Corridor, the Expo/ Bundy Neighborhood will adapt and
develop into a hub for sustainable industrial and commercial diversity that complements the integrity
of the transportation-efficient and healthy neighborhoods while providing a canvas for innovation,
arts, recreation, and social interaction.
SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK (Q1)

The Expo/Bundy Neighborhood Transit Neighborhood development will follow the framework for
sustainability based on the principles of Smart Growth and New Urbanism. It is important that the
land- use of the area should be configured to achieve the maximum potential that TODs will offer. A
sustainable outlook ensures that the development does not hinder or compromise any aspect involving the community, ecology, and land-use dimensions.
The urgent need for sustainable development is attributed to the pace of urban growth in the last
century. The rise in population , advances in technology and science, and global connectivity of ideas
is progressing at an unprecedented pace in scale, size and function. The World Commission on Environment and Development in its Brundtland report, proposed the definition of sustainable development as:
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Report, 1987).
This requires equal attention to all three aspects of development: economic, social, and environmental. Compromising on any one aspect undermines the functioning of the other two to their full
prospect. These aspects are linked to each other to structure development to be equitable, livable and
viable (Tanguay, Rajaonson, Lefebvre, & Lanoie, 2009). Sustainability has evolved since then to focus
on meeting the goals of environment, economy and equity or the Three Es. Reconciling these three
goals is the primary challenge of sustainable development.
As a current planning tool to balance the Three Es, Smart growth can be defined as a set of techniques
and policy tools to concentrate population, housing and economic activity to dense transit-oriented
and walkable urban centers (Vicino, 2012). It aims to provide more choice to communities for housing, livability, and growth in a compact and dense pattern and increase interaction. This can be related
to Eyes on the Street theory of Jane Jacobs calling for mixed-use development and consideration
of human scale in planning (Jacobs, 1961). It has evolved from the various planning policies of land
and natural resource preservation, transportation reorientation and inner city revitalization (Burchell,
Listokin, & Galley, 2010). Transit Oriented Development as a Smart Growth tool, creates a mixeduse area and revitalize efficiency of neighborhood functions through maximizing transit connectivity.
While Smart growth can be considered a planning and policy framework for better communities, New
Urbanism can be interpreted as the design and aesthetic framework for community improvements.
To create efficient platform for the Expo/Bundy Neighborhood development, incorporation of Smart
growth is required at the policy and regional context providing management and; New Urbanism is
required at the local level to provide sustainable construction.
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S.W.O.T ANALYSIS FOR SMART GROWTH

Strength
There is clustering of businesses and retail establishment north of Olympic Boulevard creating
economically efficient pockets of development as per smart growth principles. The small-scale
auto repair and storage units on the south are more spread out in comparison.
The neighborhood gains sufficient visibility with the existing retail development as well as its location near Santa Monica and Culver City along with good connectivity due to the major freeways
nearby and the busy arterials of Exposition, Olympic and Pico.
The influx of jobs and commercial activity creates a ready market for an increase in food businesses that the neighborhood currently lacks. This will provide opportunities for small businesses
and contribute to the mixed-use development of the neighborhood.
The current demographics contribute to ready ridership for the transit line.
The already dense neighborhood makes an ideal location for diversity in housing options to cater
to the present and future demands.
The elevated nature of the Metro station provides a buffer between non-industrial uses and the
transit line.
The network of internal streets raise potential for Park-Once policy
Weakness
The average vehicles miles travelled in the neighborhood is 14.22 miles indicating the dependence of the area on automobiles. Commuters are travelling longer distances to reach places of
work (EXPO TNP, 2015).
The area currently lacks public facilities and amenities like civic centers and open spaces to cater
to public activity.
There is a lack of subdivisions in the neighborhood with no defined centers or edges to increase
walkability and place making.
There is a lack of diversity of scale and function in the commercial uses. Smaller businesses are
located only on the corridor of Pico while .north of the Expo line sees the clustered development
of big-box stores and retail chains.
There is a lack of bike and pedestrian network. Exposition Boulevard is the only bike path in the
neighborhood and Barrington having the only bike lane.
There is a lack of a continuous network of sidewalks aiding infiltration of stormwater.
The mega blocks surrounding the transit lead to poor pedestrian connectivity
Opportunities
Since many uses are already clustered together, land-use can be proposed without much reconfiguration of these businesses.
Residential land-use currently exists in the south of the Expo line and is predominantly singlefamily housing near the commercial corridor of Pico Boulevard. Upzoning the residential area leads
to higher density near commerce and transit.
There is a market demand for commercial uses and their existing presence further attracts offices and retail.
Smart growth calls for traffic calming measures along with no more than four travel lanes. Traffic studies can be conducted on Bundy drive, Pico Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard and Barrington
Avenue for reconfiguration of the lanes to include bike and pedestrian network.
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Threats
The existing Job-Housing ratio is 1.08 that is closer to the balanced ratio of 1.35 (taken from
Jordan report) but still indicates a slight misalignment increasing the commute time for the area.
Developments focusing on any one land use can tip this ratio negatively
The current zoning is segregated in its uses that go against the smart growth principle of mixeduse development. Any development in the current zoning will either conform to its segregation or
encroach upon the other uses.
Encroaching of industrial uses by commercial uses like retail and offices creates imbalance in the
diversity of the job market.
The major streets engage heavy traffic that compromises on the pedestrian uses especially on
Olympic boulevard.
Other than the under-construction Expo line, the neighborhood is only serviced by the Santa
Monica Big Blue Bus on Olympic, Bundy and Pico. There is a need for better integration of transit
network and direct connections.
The neighborhood has a large scale of impermeable surfaces that contribute in large degree to
the urban heat island effect. Single-family residences have large lawns with water-hungry plants
that affect ground water recharge.
The increase in density will lead to parking problems in an area with already insufficient parking.
Additional public parking may be required along the station for auto users using multiple modes
of transportation.
Seminal discussions and literatures generally advocate the balance of the Three Es of environment,
economy, and equity in sustainable development. In the realm of planning, policy, governance and
development conflicts arise in the separation of these goals. Applying the Three E framework in the
real world planning problems can expose conflict through divided advocacy among the affected stakeholders (Knox & Mayer, 2013). A major example of this conflict is the environmental and economic
trade-off between the depletion of the ozone layer and the growth of urban development and industries. The Limits of Growth debate of the early 1970s pitted the claims and restrictions of economics, environment, and society against each other (Wheeler, 2004). Social and environmental justice
movements are the result of these trade-offs. The conflict arises from the belief that the Three Es
are separate entities that need to find an elusive balance to exist together. Sustainable development
should progress towards the notion that the environment, economy, and equity are inter-connected
and inter-dependent goals that produce maximum efficiency when developed together (Giddings,
Hopwood, & O'Brien, 2002). The Expo/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan presents certain trade-offs
affecting the outcome of the project.
Conflicts of Equitability (Economic vs. Social)
The increase in job opportunities from the industrial land-use brings in an influx of cars leading to
increased demand for wider streets and parking. The increase in auto usage diverts allocation of
land for public amenities and viable development and channels it towards auto infrastructure. This
puts additional burden on the land and return on investment in vastly reduced. The efficiency of auto
infrastructure is also short-term, as it cannot account for the natural increase in demand over time.
The community and residents are subjected to compromised air quality from car emissions and inadequate public resources. Given the movement of vehicles in and out of the neighborhood, providing
transit options and multi modal transportation facilities will reduce the burden on the roads and allow
for walkable street infrastructure.
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Conflicts of Livability (Environment vs. Social)

Housing demand in the neighborhood has led to denser housing typologies and an absence of adequate open space and recreational facilities. The neighborhood does not have any parks of its own
and the nearest open space is the Stoner Recreation Center and Park in the north, two blocks away
from the edge of the site. While the land responds to the housing needs of the area and reduces
housing rates, park poverty and lack of open space creates environment imbalance and is known to
reduce housing value for the neighborhood. It denies the natural cooling and tree coverage for the
neighborhood and impacts infiltration and ground water recharge. The physical space of a place is
linked to the social fabric. When multi-family housing is not complemented with public spaces, the
social infrastructure that make communities possible is lost, leading to dead streets and increase in
crime.
Conflicts of Viability (Economic vs. Environmental Resources)
The current density of industries and commercial activities on the north of Olympic Boulevard along
with growth in luxury housing developments around the neighborhood, is putting pressure on energy
and water resources. It is also affecting air quality and pollution adversely. The economic outlook of
the development in the neighborhood has created sealed surfaces and little green space. In the face
of Californias drought, water conservation becomes challenging with the current infrastructure not
equipped to handle stormwater harvesting and management. On the other hand, density generates
job capital and taxes for the city while stabilizing the economy of the neighborhood and providing resources for public benefits. These public benefits pass on to the residents creating an improved quality
of life. The heavy hand of political will aligned towards economy ignores the long-term repercussions
of environmental degradation that will affect equitability in the future.
GREEN CONNECTIONS: PROPOSALS FOR SITE PLANNING (Q2)

EXPO TNP PROPOSAL AND SMART GROWTH
The Citys Draft Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan is a land-use Specific plan developed
by the Department of City Planning with a Metro Grant received in 2012. It focuses on activating the
locations of the metro station through planning interventions and in return increase transit ridership.
It is geared towards varying visions of TODs along the stretch of the corridor.
The Expo TNP intends to implement the vision of the various community plans and ensure that the
neighborhoods can accommodate new residential, mixed-use, commercial, and industrial developments. It does so by retaining industrial land around the transit stations for generating jobs. By configuring all the land uses that the neighborhood needs, it avoids the dominance of any particular use
through encroachment. By outlining the importance of industries, it is able to encourage clustering
of creative, clean-tech and high-tech jobs in the often overlooked industrial area. This will promote
investment from high paying jobs in the areas of media, technology and R&D. Along with ensuring
industrial development, it also allows for clusters of residential development to increase the housing
capacity in proximity to the transit station generating the desired ridership and support the housing
demand associated with the generation of jobs.
By strengthening the economic and transit core of a neighborhood, the Expo TNP reduces automobile
dependence and encourages alternate modes of transportation. It mandates that all non-residential
development demonstrate a 10 percent reduction in peak-hour vehicle trips or an Average Vehicle
Ridership of 1.5. It supports mobility strategies like bike sharing, car and taxi rental and bike parking
14
but as a part of the public benefits. It does not define any requirement or standards for infrastructure
for multi- modal network. The Expo TNP aims at only enhancing public access between transit stations. It is aimed at providing policy support to the Citys Bike Plan and the Mobility Plan 2035.
Similar to the New Urbanism strategies of form- based development, the Expo TNP looks at the
physical form of a neighborhood and lays out standards for both mixed-use/ industrial/ commercial
developments as well as multi-family residential developments. It sets out standards for building form,
orientation, architectural treatment, open spaces, parking design and streetscape improvements.
Despite the positive impacts of the Plan, the plan runs the risk of promoting generic growth of the
communities making them lose a distinctive sense of place. The environmental aspect of the neighborhood is not accounted other than providing open spaces as optional public benefit. Environmental
practices to preserve and enhance the biodiversity and ecology of the neighborhood are not addressed beyond the scope of goals. Lastly, the Plan does not set out guidelines for citizen and stakeholder participation the in the design and decision making process of the neighborhood beyond the
scope of public hearings. It loses touch with the needs of the community that are site specific and
impacts the quality and use of the transit as well as the neighborhood.
SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENT
The increased FAR ensures that development growth in the future can be sustained and accommodated in the area without the need for relocation of residents or business to other area and
further increasing the commute time and traffic burden.
By accommodating for residential and commercial development in the plan, it reduces the need
of encroachment of one use on the other that might create imbalance in the land use.
The Plan limits its recommendations to the site context and does not account for transition between the site area and the surrounding neighborhood. This may cause variance in the scale and
use.
The plan does not integrate or mitigate the segregation of uses on the both sides of the Expo
corridor. The north is predominantly industrial while the south has only residential uses. This affects the walkability and eyes-on- the-street ideology of smart growth and sustainable neighborhoods.
The Plan does not address the environmental impact and mitigation of such large scale development. The Environmental report is currently underway but having an Environmental Action plan
will encourage a better green infrastructure and promote the incubation of green tech and clean
tech corridors.
The plan does not provide for open space in the area. The dense development in the area will
add to the park poverty and make it difficult to create a healthier and robust neighborhood
The Expo TNP is led by the Citys Department of Planning with partnership from Metro. The plan
is coordinated internally through the citys various departments and neighboring cities like Santa
Monica. There needs to be an additional network of partnership from private developers, business
associations, non-profit organization and most importantly, environmental organization to create
better outreach of the goals of the plan considering all stakeholder aspects.
Based on this the following land use recommendations can be implemented to address the shortcoming of the plan. These recommendations are specific to the needs of the site as well as address the
sustainability of the project as an overarching goal, equal in importance to economic growth. This
will lead to trickle-down effect of better social equity for the users if the site. The plan provides for
introduction of open spaces, creating greens connections, convert sidewalks into assets for walking
15
and stormwater receptors, increase cultural and social dimension and fostering sustainable and green
industries through better technology. Together, these recommendations will help achieve the vision of
a vibrant neighborhood attracting growth that can anticipate future needs without compromising on
present interactions.
GREEN RECOMMENDATIONS
Linear Park
The presence of dense development with no vacant space makes transitioning from a park poor area
difficult to achieve. The economic and social values associated with industrial/commercial and residential properties respectively, does not allow for replacement or elimination. At the same time, it is
vital to provide a green open space for the public to interact. The proposal will convert the Exposition
boulevard stretch from Centinela Avenue to Barrington into a linear park with pedestrian walkways,
seating, and jogging and bike paths. The park will be broken into two parts at the intersection of
exposition and Bundy to allow for traffic movement from north to south. The linear park will be sunk
by 1.5 feet below grade and surrounding land will be sloped towards the park. This will help to capture surface runoffs from the metro line as well as the neighboring residences. The stretch will also
have xeriscaping that reduces the strain on irrigation needs to prevent strain on the water resource
in LA. This will act as a buffer between the transit line and the residences. Since the majority of the
residential uses are located on this side, the linear park can function at high capacity and encourage
pedestrian mobility.
Green Alleys
The industrial and commercial developments in the site create alleys between each other. These
negative spaces are generally 8-15 feet wide and are used for dumping garbage or unregulated parking or left vacant. These spaces can be converted into green alleyways that can be used as breakout
spaces for the employees and surrounding neighborhoods. These alleys will be designed to provide
seating, small parklets and landscape strips to reduce the hardscape and increase soil permeability.
These small green alleyways will be maintained by the adjoining businesses and will be implemented
throughout the industrial land-use of the site, varying in scale and function.
Pedestrian Bridge
To enhance walkability and promote pedestrian friendly development, a visual statement will be made
by designing a pedestrian bridge over the metro line on Barrington. The bridge will take a designcentric approach through collaboration with nearby universities as a competitive urban design challenge. It will include seating as well as have generous space for movement. It will break the monotony
of space in the site and will act as a visual anchor for the neighborhood.
Neighborhood Electric Vehicle
To enhance exchange of ideas, resources and integrate the various industrial uses, connectivity plays
a vital role. There is increased movement of workforce in these areas that increases trips around the
area. To promote cleaner air and reducing auto usage, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles will be introduced in the area for short daily commutes. Initially industrial users will be encouraged and will later
expand to include every commute for the residences. The NEVs will be used predominantly in the
internal roads to prevent obstruction of traffic flow.
Public Plaza with Xeriscaping captured by

freeing up parking
Metro Corridor
Expo/ Bundy Station
Residential RAS4-1VL
Residential R3- 1
Commercial
Residential RD1.5
Sustainable Roundabout Space Under Metro Sta- Live/ Work Area with
with stormwater harvesting tion opened for food mandatory open space/
to break width of street stall and Vendors
courtyard provided
Industrial- Job Emphasis

Industrial- Residential
Emphasis
New Industries
Proposed Greenway Project by the

City
Green Alleys Converting

Street Identified for Parking Bundling to free Innovation Center for Commercial Corridor
negative space to usable Streetscape Improvements surface space through Clean & Green Tech Connecting Pico Blvd
public breakout plazas
and Green Corridors mechanical parking lots Businesses and R&D to Olympic Blvd

16
Exposition Blvd Converted to linear Park as

green buffer
17
LAND USE RECOMMENDATIONS

Micro Food Spaces
The space under the metro bridge on either side of the road currently lies vacant. This area can be
better used to provide stalls and spaces for food and newspaper vendors at relatively low rates as
compared to other areas of the city. The area currently does not have many eateries and dining options. Since the metro ridership consists of people travelling for jobs, providing food option near the
metro will increase the economic viability of the station. It will also provide opportunities for small
business to function that would otherwise face difficulty in renting space in the neighborhood. This will
help promote diversity of income-generation for the neighborhood and activate dead space. The area
will also introduce electric vehicle charging points at regular interval and dedicated parking spaces to
promote energy efficient and environment friendly transportation alternatives.
Bike Network
To increase the connectivity of the people working and living in the area, a network of bike infrastructure will be created on the site. Olympic Boulevard, Bundy Drive, Pico Boulevard and Barrington will
have dedicated bike lanes in both directions. La Grande Avenue, Stoner Avenue, Tennessee Avenue
and the linear park at Exposition boulevard will have bike paths and the other internal streets will be
made bike-friendly in accordance with the Citys Bike Enhanced Network. The City will also implement
bike share programs from in key areas of the neighborhood including the Metro Station. This bike
network will be subject to transportation study and implemented accordingly. Providing for bicycle
infrastructure proves to be a cheap and convenient mode of transportation for both the residents
as well as the floating population. It promotes healthy living, cleaner quality of air and fosters better
interactions in the community.
Bundling of Parking
There is currently a dominance of surface parking lots in the industrial area of the neighborhood catering to the businesses nearby. These parking lots, take up valuable space and more importantly creates large impervious, heat absorbing surfaces that does not allow infiltration and creates heat islands
(EPA, 2008). To reduce the consumption of land for parking while addressing parking needs, parking
spaces of adjacent properties will be bundled up in the center in small-scale mechanical parking lots
and will be installed with frontage treatment for increased aesthetical value. These are more efficient
as they provide adequate parking without the need for a spread out use.
Public Courtyard and Creative Gathering Space
The space freed through bundling of parking at the junction of Bundy Drive and Missouri Avenue will
be used as a green initiative public courtyard and gathering space. The courtyard design will provide
a platform for multiple uses ranging from leisure spaces and recreation space for the nearby school to
exhibitions, farmers market, and open fitness studios. The plaza will have public programmable area
and have flexible design modules and sustainable roof design to provide compatibility to sustainable
design.
The junction of Tennessee Avenue and Grainville is a wide intersection with no stop sign, medians,
or traffic diverting markers or streetlights. In a heavily residential area, this proves dangerous for the
residents and reduces walkable and usable space. Providing a roundabout in this junction that is open
for public use and features stormwater management will increase safety, provide green spaces and
enhance the social equity of the place.
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Live/Work Space
Land Use designated for Hybrid Industrial Use: Residential emphasis along Bundy Drive will be converted to Live/Work Spaces. This will house small-scale businesses along with affordable housing
options for the workforce. Residential development will be introduced along with the industries and
later commercial will be introduced to ensure profitable economics for the businesses. Regulations
and guidelines will be introduced for the design and street interactions to ensure compatibility of uses
is maintained and human-scale of the sidewalks is not compromised. There will be emphasis for sustainability benefits like waste management, water recycling and energy conservations in the project
and LEED compliant developments will be incentivized.
Innovation Incubator
An Innovation Incubator campus will be established at the junction of Mississippi Avenue and Stoner
Avenue to act as an anchor for clean tech business and industrial R&D centers for the area. This will
incentivize industrial development focusing on technology and green practices to establish here. Current users converting to the sustainable requirement will also be incentivized. The location is the ideal
as it provides a buffer between the waste disposal facility currently located and the neighboring residential uses. The incubator will also be responsible for incorporating ideas for better and safer waste
management to the facility.
Commercial Plaza
The length of Barrington Avenue from Pico Boulevard to the intersection at Exposition Boulevard will
be zoned for commercial purposes. This will continue the commercial corridor from Pico to Olympic
and connect the business on both sides of the metro line. Buildings at the intersection of Exposition
and Barrington will be set back further and sidewalks widened to increase pedestrian traffic. The
Metro line will be integrated with the plaza design to provide a seamless and safe sharing of streets
by vehicles, light rail and pedestrians.
CLIMATE POLICY FOR GREEN CONNECTIONS (Q4)

The Urban Heat Island can be described as the tendency of urban area to have higher air temperatures than rural or coastal surrounding as a result of hardscapes through infrastructure development
like building, roads and sidewalks replacing open land and vegetation to change permeable and moist
surfaces into impermeable and dry ( (Akbari, 2005). According to EPA, Urban Heat Island Effect
(UHIE) could create a temperature difference of 1-3 degree Celsius for a city with 1 million populations. Urban Heat Island effect causes increase in energy demand, use of artificial cooling technologies, air pollution, heat related illness, and undermines water conservation from runoffs (EPA, 2003).
This creates problems of sustainability from an urban planning perspective of development versus environment. The Expo/Bundy area especially presents an elevated case of UHIE due to maximum land
utilized by industries with urban infrastructure of roads and surface parking to support it. Large public
facility like the LA DWP sub station and the waste recycling facility around the site are rigid uses that
cannot be relocated or modified easily. The area has large roads with 4- 6 lanes cutting across the site.
Almost the entire site has been paved with little tree coverage or climate suitable landscaping. There
are currently no vacant lots or open spaces in the area and sidewalks are discontinuous and barren.
To further compound the problem, the drought in LA has turned water into a scarce commodity that
cannot irrigate large greenscape projects. To intervene at an early stage will produce maximum outcome through a policy framework.
19
Climate Action Policy

LA County drafted a Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) in 2007 address emissions from building
energy, land-use, transportation, water consumption, and waste generation with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions (LA County, 2009). The CCAP would tie together the Countys climate initiative
and the City of Los Angeless climate action plan, Green LA in May 2007 (City of Los Angeles, 2007).
The plan provided action items energy conservation and reducing water consumption.
Since development and environmental pattern is constantly changing, there needs to be a Climate Action Policy that acts as living document, that changes and upgrades itself through a constant process
of research and learning and technological advances. This document should be used as a framework
to incorporate climate sensitive outlook to general plans, specific plans, and community plans. The
specific plans should modify the document to fit into the site context. The current action plan currently
does not propose specific mitigation strategies for UHIE hence specific plans as the Expo TNP needs
to incorporate climate challenges specific to urban development and provide a matrix of potential
solutions to that address these concerns. Similar to the Hawaii Climate Adaptation Policy the current
legislation must be amended to include the climate action policy as a mandatory consideration in the
land-use and programming decisions. There should be special focus given to interagency acceptance
of the policy.
Greenspace Plan for Expo/

Bundy Transit Neighborhood
Corridor
Industrial
Residential
Commercial
Metro Corridor
Metro Station
Amenities:
Transportation
Amenities:
Residential
Street Zoning
Urban sustainability problems are vastly related to streetscapes parking and sidewalks. Street design
cannot be generic and need to adapt to different land use requirements. The current plans outline
street standards but there are no overarching definition of acceptable street patterns and mandatory
recommendations. Many times street improvements are passed on a public benefits.
A new approach that can be tested for feasibility is the creation of Street Zoning. Like zoning controls
the use of land and dictates how property can and cannot be used in specific ways, Street zoning
20
will lay out basic standards requirement of street and sidewalk patterns that correspond to the need
of the land-use. It will act as a tool that ensures land-use plans do not adversely impact quality of
street and connectors. It will include designations for freeways, arterial roads, interior streets, lane ,
sidewalks, parking spaces and alleys and also incorporate environmental concerns. It will be supplemental to land-use documents and the specialized focus on this large but ignored component of
urban development will lead to a more detailed planning regulation.
Recommendation
Based on the recommendations for landuse and environment along with the
policy outlook mentioned above, the site
will also have a climate and environment
sensitive street design. The site will have
a network of green connections that
will enhance sustainability of the future
dense development. Along with the proposal for green alleys, the site will have
green streets connecting these alleys to
form an integrated network. To improve
the climate livability of the neighborhood,
the sustainable design will start at the
building level and end at ground water
recharge. This network will increase the
ratio of permeable surface and vegetative cover in the area, thereby, reducing
the UHIE. The system of street design
for better green development can be understood through the flow diagram presented alongside.
IMPLEMENTATION (Q2 /Q4)
The proposal for the area is currently by
the City of Los Angeless Expo TNP to
activate neighborhoods along the transit
corridor. This is widely supported by the
proponents of the TODs and organizations like the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
The area is currently a part of multiple
specific plans and community plans like
the West LA Transportation Improvement and Mitigation Specific Plan, the
West LA community plan and the Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Community Plan. These plans provide
varied goals and purposes for the site that may not align with each other. The Expo TNP therefore,
needs to actively integrate the various proposal and recommendations of the site and apply them to
the site with a clear framework and context for the site. This will require a dedicated study of the area
independent from the rest of the expo line.
21
The project involves zoning and land use changes that will vastly affect density. To ensure the successful implementation of these changes, a committed participation is required from the public and
the stakeholders. The input should begin from the initial conceptual stage until the completion of the
proposal. This will ensure that all voices and concerns are heard and addressed accordingly, which will
translate to further support for the project. The public participation process could include periodical
design charrettes and community meetings. Since the area will cater to a large number of business
owners, a committee should be created by them to provide their input on the project. To ensure sustainability is at the forefront of the proposal, collaborations with technical institutes, research wings,
and nearby universities should be encouraged.
The current traffic-heavy and industrial image of the area needs to be rebranded to create a vision for
a more robust neighborhood. Softening the landscape, better sidewalks, and active innovation needs
to be advertised through outreach programs.
SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS (Q3)

Integration and inclusion of Economic, Environment and Social goals to achieve sustainable development can be measured through various indicators. Every indicator can be studied through various
modules and parameters. They can be quantitative or qualitative in nature. Since the indicators below
pertain to a small area and need to be measured as short-term outcome, weighing the indicators will
not accurately represent the development. Measuring change through identifiable metrics will yield a
better picture of community development (Cherry, 2014).
ENVIRONMENTAL
Open Space and Tree Coverage
Measuring the amount of open space is dominant in most major sustainability indicators like Sustainable Seattle (1995), SustainLanes US City Rankings (2008) and Green Metro Index by World Resources Institute (1993). Open Space can be quantified in numbers after setting up a framework of what
categorizes as open space. It can also be measured through Built to Unbuilt ratio. Tree coverage can
be measured by taking counts of the trees in the neighborhood and classifying them according to their
canopy. The park poverty in the Expo/Bundy area and its barren streetscape is an important focus of
the proposal. The success of the proposals can be measured by evaluating the change in number for
the green spaces in the neighborhood.
Water Conservation
The heavy industrial area along with future increased density in housing will put additional burden on
the requirement for water. In the light of the existing shortage of supply, the proposal gives recommendations for stormwater harvesting and recycling of grey water (Sustainable Communities Index,
2004). These metrics can be measured through change in input-output calculation of water consumption and through change in percentage share of water sources.
Environmental Impact: Air and water
Air quality is a cause for concern in the area as it fall in the 80s percentile of air pollution (CalEnviroScreen Tool, 2014). This can be attributed to high auto usage and industries. By proposing for
reduction in auto usage and bringing in green technologies for the industries, the Air Quality can be
measured using reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and particles in the air for specific pollutants
(Portney, 2003). The data will be sourced from the Southern California Air Quality Management District.
22
SOCIAL
Public Health
The quality of health is cause for concern in the area. It is important to measure the impact of the
development on the health of the residents. The proposal like linear park, bike network, live work
spaces, green tech incubator and public spaces, all impact the quality of health in the neighborhood.
The United Nations Development Report of 2014 outlines indicators like expenditure on health and
number of health issues in a region to calculate human development trends. LA County Department
of Public Health will provide the data for this study
Mode Split/ Mode Share: Ratio of Transit to Auto Usage
Since the whole proposal is to create a Transit Oriented Development and shift usage from automobiles to public transport, success of the proposal can be measured through studying the reduction in
auto usage versus increase in transit ridership over the same period. The Los Angeles Department of
Transportation and Metro can collect the data from traffic counts. Distribution of ridership will reflect
through the proposals of the plan to introduce bike networks, activating space around metro and
bundling parking.
Access to Amenities: Average Distance
The success of a sustainability community can be measured by looking at the convenience of the
residents for social amenities like workplaces, groceries, gas, dining, retail, school and institutions,
health care and public safety services. These closer these services are through an easily reachable
network of streets, the lesser dependence on automobile and shorter commute times. This indicator
can be measured through a variety of scales like average commute time and number of amenities in
a1/2 mile radius. This data can be collected through the LA County Department of Regional Planning
GIS Data portal and the LADOT.
ECONOMICAL
Cost of Living: Rent Vs. Income
The development of the transit line and the increase in the housing stock will provide a range of options for bringing in a diverse range of residents. The economic growth due to the live/work space,
innovative industries, and a balance of mixed uses in the area will provide boost to the income of
the population. This will reduce the cost of housing that is currently very high in the city or equip the
residents with more household income to balance the ratio of rent and living expenditure with earnings. This information can be collected through census tracts from the US census bureau or through
city data using GIS applications. A good balance of the income and rent ratio reduces the transitional
nature of renters and stabilizes the movement of residents from one location to another.
Job- Housing Ratio
This refers to the distribution of employment opportunities and workforce population across a geographical area. This index is important in the Expo/Bundy Area working towards increasing job opportunities through its transit plan. This balance can be measured quantitatively as the proportion of
jobs per household or qualitatively through changing trends in the type and demand of jobs, and also
the sectors of maximum job growth. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will aid in the data that will
determine the impact through the different economic and development proposal for the site.
Income generation
Proposing long-term developments for the site and implementing them requires huge capital and
23
resource investment from the City. It is becomes vital for the city to get a return on its investments.
This indicator is policy oriented and by marking this revenue growth, further plans for development
and subsequent channeling of funds can be initiated for the growth of the area as well as the city. This
data is generally available through the Mayors Office of Economic & Business Policy. The proposals of
the site act as economic boosters and their success translates into tax revenues and additional business investment in the area for the city aiding in the strengthening of the job market and expansion
of improved infrastructure for the area.
AN INTEGRATED SET FOR LIVABILITY
While the above data helps interpret the sustainable development of data through metrics and statistics for the area as a whole, it may not always reflect on the actual relevance of the development on a
micro level. The interpretation of the impact of the proposal may vary on an individual level. A better
indicator for the measure of success will be through community meeting and surveys of the residents
and the work force and their input on the changes and effects from the proposal. Similar ideas have
been implemented on a regional and national scale like the Happiness Index and Santa Monicas Local Well-Being Index. These indexes act as overarching measures of all the proposal and produce an
overall status of the intended impact of the vision for the area.
CONCLUSION
The Expo/ Bundy Neighborhood is an area of strategic advantage and huge economic potential. The
presence of well-established economic anchors in the area along with the starting of the Metro Line
in 2016, heralds a great influx of growth in the coming years. Capitalizing on its merits, the neighborhood should prepare itself and its resources to meet the challenge of new development. The investment from the City and the Metro through the Expo Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan has presented
the area with a new land-use framework to meet the future demand. These developments will in turn
translate to an increase in revenue for the area along with better infrastructure and value for living.
However, the area should equip itself with the necessary planning tools to channelize this growth in
a sustained and controlled manner. Care should be taken to ensure that all three aspects of sustainability: Social, Economic and Environmental are equally represented to provide a well rounded development for the area. This is vital to ensure that the development functions smoothly without the
clashing of these goals. Sudden change in land-use patterns through the advent of businesses or new
residents may cause disruption of time and quality of life through which, the city might not be able to
offset these problems.
By looking at sustainability at the beginning of the project itself, measures can be taken to ensure
that the neighborhood is able to optimize its growth while mitigating environmental problems, that it
currently neglects.
This proposal used as a supplement to the Expo Corridor TNP defines specific planning recommendations for the site based on the Specific Plan as well as the Community Plans. The recommendations
are geared towards ensuring the compatibility of the various uses as well as improvement in the environmental quality in the area. These recommendations are cohesive with the transport study, height
restrictions, design standards and the new zoning classifications for the area.
The major component of the recommendations is to ensure that the issue of water conservation and
climate sensitivity is addressed and incorporated into the initial planning goals of this project. The
green connected network of buildings, sidewalks, streets, and alleys is a step towards softening the
landscape of the area and introduce livable spaces for its inhabitants. Landscape features are modi-
24
fied to be drought friendly and consume less water. All the environmental recommendations are sensitive to water conservation and can be implemented piecemeal.
These proposal are consistent with the Citys plan to bring Clean tech and Green Tech businesses
in the area and would aid in the green initiative. Anchors for all the uses are spread throughout the
site to ensure better outreach. The proposal looks into innovative solutions to the parking issues and
street design.
The proposal along with the public benefits mentioned in the Expo Corridor TNP will achieve better
air quality, water management and conservation practices, improved water quality, increased public
space and active multi-modal transportation. Industrials waste recycling and management and Green
building practices will be propagated to ensure compliance with the green vision of the project. It will
achieve the balance between supporting infrastructure for a more robust industrial system with ensuring the livability factor for the residents is enhanced.
The Expo/ Bundy Station is a few years from completion, setting the timeline for a sustainable action
plan. On the successful implementation of the Transit Neighborhood Plan, the Expo/Bundy area will
be a prime center for growth and change while setting standards of sustainability for other areas to
follow. The pilot projects in the area will act as incubators for future innovations and context based
planning, leading the way for successful Live/Work transit neighborhoods in the City.
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Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.

Sustainable Land-Use Concentration

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

Site Boundary: Courtesy Google Earth

The LA Department of Water and Power substation

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

tions between various demographics.

DEVELOPMENT GOALS (Q2)

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Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

SCOPE OF T.O.D (Q3)

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the community with poor or no public transit.

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK (Q1)

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S.W.O.T ANALYSIS FOR SMART GROWTH

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Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

Conflicts of Livability (Environment vs. Social)

GREEN CONNECTIONS: PROPOSALS FOR SITE PLANNING (Q2)

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Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

Public Plaza with Xeriscaping captured by

Industrial- Job Emphasis

Proposed Greenway Project by the

Green Alleys Converting

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Exposition Blvd Converted to linear Park as

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LAND USE RECOMMENDATIONS

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CLIMATE POLICY FOR GREEN CONNECTIONS (Q4)

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Climate Action Policy

Greenspace Plan for Expo/

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Exposition/ Bundy Transit Neighborhood Plan - No.76

SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS (Q3)

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(2004). Sustainable Communities Index. San Francisco: Sustainable Communities Collective.

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