LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[inSaeculaSaeculorum]

Completely agree with edluva. While there are some cute things LA is doing to bring itself up to San Diego standards, I'm always reading about and looking at truly ambitious modern things being done in cities across the globe, in new york, in europe and in asia. LA is considered a "alpha global" city but there is a huge disconnect...surely the developers, politicans and designers who are currently constructing this city have education. but what is disconnect here? i feel like these people don't respect the citizens of LA. and even worse i feel like they might be justified in that.

[inSaeculaSaeculorum]

Originally Posted by The Illusive Man

You'll be the guy that actually burned the building down because it didn't fit your criteria for a true urban walkable building or something nitpicky like that. Haha.

that doesn't even make sense. your reply amounts to "i know you are but what am i" playground taunt. brudy is right. we need to discard people like the "The Illusive Man" if we are ever truly to become a great city.

[tommaso]

L.A. is like everywhere else. It's taking its time growing. The struggle is when we come up with great ideas and nobody's putting money behind our hopes and dreams. Is it fair to want sweet energetic areas to visit in L.A. and to have pride as a city? Well, the energy is there. We just have to put money behind our vision. I can see L.A. including all of our visions. It's just gonna take patience. We'll get our slice. We'll do it in an L.A. minute. Don't get lulled to sleep. Just enjoy the ride

[The Illusive Man]

Originally Posted by inSaeculaSaeculorum

that doesn't even make sense. your reply amounts to "i know you are but what am i" playground taunt. brudy is right. we need to discard people like the "The Illusive Man" if we are ever truly to become a great city.

I just don't believe in the idea of being miserable like you guys. Life is way too short for that. Is there a crime in loving and enjoying what the city has to offer me? I don't understand why loving the city and actually being proud of the city makes me inferior, uneducated, etc according to that guy. LA lovers aren't the problem. It's the people that live here and dislike it.

I mean, it's not like someone is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to stay. You choose to be in an environment that doesn't appeal to you. I can't grasp that. Let us uneducated, sheepish, inferior fools enjoy the city.

Why not live in the cities with all these ambitious projects if that's the only thing that matters in making a city truly great?

I love LA and truly believe that it's a wonderful place. Yes, I just said that. I'll prepare my flame shield.

[ChelseaFC]

Having grown up here, I always thought LA was overrated. A little time away and I wanted to come back more than anything in the world. You truly don't realize how much this city has to offer until you're gone. Nothing about the city is homogenuous. It has incredibly interesting and diverse peoples, cultures, and geography. It's probably the best city in the world. There's a reason I have no interest living in Shanghai, Tokyo, or New York. I like what I have and I'm willing to take the good with the bad.

[bighomey3000]

Oh, did I stumble into the "Is Los Angeles overrated??" thread or "How does Los Angeles compare to other cities???" thread? Oh wait, I didn't. It's the Metro Project Rundown!

No one cares if you think LA is overrated / underrated / not rated. No one. Not your mom, not Jesus, not your dog, not your off-and-on again girlfriend who's cheating on you with a waiter. No one.

Both LA threads are full of pointless, endless bickering. Just stop it. Jesus. Post about development projects. Moderators please shut this crap down.

[The Illusive Man]

Originally Posted by bighomey3000

Oh, did I stumble into the "Is Los Angeles overrated thread?" or "How does Los Angeles compare to other cities???" Oh wait, I didn't. It's the Metro Project Rundown!

No one cares about if you thinks LA is overrated / underrated / not rated. No one. Not your mom, not Jesus, not your dog, not your off-and-on again girlfriend who's cheating on you with a waiter. No one.

Both LA threads are full of pointless endless bickering. Just stop it. Jesus. Post about development projects. Moderators please shut this crap down.

Hey, at least it keeps things interesting and these threads alive.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by bighomey3000

Oh, did I stumble into the "Is Los Angeles overrated??" thread or "How does Los Angeles compare to other cities???" thread? Oh wait, I didn't. It's the Metro Project Rundown!

No one cares if you think LA is overrated / underrated / not rated. No one. Not your mom, not Jesus, not your dog, not your off-and-on again girlfriend who's cheating on you with a waiter. No one.

Both LA threads are full of pointless, endless bickering. Just stop it. Jesus. Post about development projects. Moderators please shut this crap down.

Kinda ruins the impact when you have to edit your "angry" post.

[The Illusive Man]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Kinda ruins the impact when you have to edit your "angry" post.

hahahahaha. I love it when that happens.

[bighomey3000]

Originally Posted by The Illusive Man

Hey, at least it keeps things interesting and these threads alive.

There are plenty of projects to discuss that we can avoid this. Edit: There is nothing wrong with editing.

[Kingofthehill]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Having grown up here, I always thought LA was overrated. A little time away and I wanted to come back more than anything in the world. You truly don't realize how much this city has to offer until you're gone. Nothing about the city is homogenuous. It has incredibly interesting and diverse peoples, cultures, and geography. It's probably the best city in the world. There's a reason I have no interest living in Shanghai, Tokyo, or New York. I like what I have and I'm willing to take the good with the bad.

I fully agree. I grew up here, went to school here, lots of friends/family here, and had a casual/marginal appreciation of the city. Since growing up, I've lived in Buenos Aires, Washington, DC, Berlin, and have spent lots of time in Norway. Man, I love LA more than ever now! No doubt LA has alot of work ahead of itself, but the diversity, architecture, food, weather, and general laissez-affaire secular and liberal society are all unique and very distinct upon having resided elsewhere. Knowing what LA was like in the past (troubled, suburban, violent, punching under its weight culturally, nonexistent transit, etc) makes me even more appreciative of the strides LA has been and continues to make.

I saw Chinatown last night at the Million Dollar Theater on Broadway last night. Epic. The neighboring Grand Central Market was packed, and vendors and shopkeepers extended their evening hours to accommodate the crowd. It was one of the first times that I have felt that I lived in a truly big, urban, and sophisticated city.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by edluva

what? you mean the brain drain is good for LA? doubt it. there's already a shortage of talented people as it is

And LA also has countless narcissistic people just like you.

[blackcat23]

I spoke to a PR rep for Rios Clementi Hale, who told me these are updated renderings for Columbia Square, albeit still not finalized.

http://buildinglosangeles.blogspot.c...ia-square.html

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

I spoke to a PR rep for Rios Clementi Hale, who told me these are updated renderings for Columbia Square, albeit still not finalized.

http://buildinglosangeles.blogspot.c...ia-square.html

Not too bad.... I can accept this more than the previous two design concepts. it fits in nicely with the area so not bad at all.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Having grown up here, I always thought LA was overrated. A little time away and I wanted to come back more than anything in the world. You truly don't realize how much this city has to offer until you're gone. Nothing about the city is homogenuous. It has incredibly interesting and diverse peoples, cultures, and geography. It's probably the best city in the world. There's a reason I have no interest living in Shanghai, Tokyo, or New York. I like what I have and I'm willing to take the good with the bad.

I 100% agree with this. I'm a born and raised Angelino (with chunks of my youth spent in San Diego, and Riverside). I'm currently in Chicago which is the most impressive 'city' I've ever been in. Totally captures what it means to be American. In terms of quality architecture, you are not going to find a better city than Chicago. It's a museum of different times, and styles. But all my possessions for a Sunday at Venice Beach. There is no city that I would rather spend the rest of my life in than Los Angeles. Seeing how far it's come in a short period of time and seeing it's potential excites me more and more. How many cities of 4 million people have room to grow?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

I spoke to a PR rep for Rios Clementi Hale, who told me these are updated renderings for Columbia Square, albeit still not finalized.

http://buildinglosangeles.blogspot.c...ia-square.html

Damn, that's really hot. I can deal with this.

[Kingofthehill]

Those new renderings look amazing! That stretch of Sunset really is bulking up. It feels legit urban with all of these new projects. And to think, there is a ton of room to grow!

[WonderlandPark]

Wonder if the Hollywood Plan getting thrown out will kill Columbia Square and everything not out of the ground yet.

[blackcat23]

Columbia Square was approved back in 2010, so it predates the adoption of the Hollywood Community Plan. It should not be affected by the ruling.

Repealing the Hollywood Community Plan also doesn't mean that it's now impossible to build tall in Hollywood. The status quo remains, where developers have to jump through tons of hoops and apply for lots of extra entitlements.

[kalifese]

still trolling the forum with your egotistical highfalutin commentaries, eh edluva? if you despise LA so much, then why dont you do all los angelenos a favor and leave the city? it's a smart decision and win-win for everyone.

Originally Posted by edluva

No, I should have qualified brain drain to mean the skilled or educated class - the class of people who are most likely to make LA a better looking, more progressive, wealthier city. Don't get me wrong, there's still some vindication in size alone. Size means that LA has great stuff but you have to cut through a ton of lameness to find it. Other cities "get it" and are more consistently awesome.

So I'm no attacking our forumers perse, nor am I putting myself up high - I am an average guy with some privilege - highly educated, highly paid, and work in an industry with a really small footprint in LA (as most skilled labor tends to have here). I would like to see more educated people here; the kind of people who have a greater appreciation for urbanism, architecture, transit, etc. The kind of people who are more apt to "get it" as well. The kind of people who, in proportionately greater numbers, push the city to standards we all secretly know we want LA to meet. Every city has a prevailing vibe or culture. LA punches way below its weight for a city and it thinks small. That seems to be the theme here. Talks of ambitious projects falling to petty NIMBYism (see latest), small-time architecture, easy to impress public, failed great-fanfare bike plans, things being poorly conceived or carried out, unprofessionalism in general. The city of two steps back. The city of low capability. It just feels relatively easy to be a big-shot here.

yeah, the failed hollywood plan was a disappointment. we can't even get a fucking plan in hollywood. but we have continental crosswalks and somebody considers union station to be "great". Sorry, but I am not impresssed.