Curbed
Urbanism Editor at Curbed; former Urbanism Editor for Gizmodo; design writer for publications like Fast Company, Dwell, Wired, Details, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times; co-founder of design east of La Brea, an organization that produces design events in Los Angeles; design journalist for DnA: Design and Architecture
Could the fourth border be a ferry route? Communities along the Southern California coast generally do not use the sea as a transportation route. Why not? And might that change? DnA explores whether it could be possible for beach cities to be connected by ferry services.
Would getting rid of sidewalks be better for pedestrians? LA has the largest sidewalk network in the country and it’s in bad shape. The bad sidewalks may be a result of lack of investment in the walkways, less than one percent of all its transportation funds.
Silver Lake Reservoir gets filled, but not everyone is celebrating In the last couple of years, the Silver Lake Reservoir was a large, empty concrete hole. But as record snowpack levels in the Sierra are starting to melt, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is turning on the valves to start refilling the reservoir ahead of schedule.
Pokémon GO and Rethinking Cities What does Pokémon GO tell us about tech's role in the city of tomorrow? The digital treasure hunt game app has become a global phenomenon, and some city watchers say it has had an unintended consequence: people are suddenly engaging with their urban surroundings in a new way.
Riding the Expo Line The last time Los Angeles residents were able to take a train to the beach, it was the Red Car in 1953. But on May 20, Angelenos will be able to board an Expo Line train in downtown LA and take it to downtown Santa Monica, just blocks from the pier. The extension was delayed for decades over safety, environmental and funding concerns.
Should LA Host the Olympics? Boston dropped its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games yesterday after public support for the bid evaporated. Now, Los Angeles could become the designated American bidder. L.A. hosted the Summer games in 1932 and in 1984—and both times, the city made money. But not everyone is so sure that will happen again.
When Hollywood Sign NIMBYs Advertise on Airbnb Today, the fight over access to the Hollywood Sign is ongoing. In the latest twist, homeowners in the Hollywood Hills are suing the city to close all public access to the sign. But some of those same homeowners are advertising their proximity to the sign to attract Airbnb renters. Can they have it both ways?
Almonds Almonds are an $11 billion business in California, but they’ve come under scrutiny for being water intensive to grow. They’ve become like the Hummer during times of high gas prices: a symbol of waste or extravagance that might not make sense during drought conditions. But have almonds been unfairly-maligned?
Muji Comes to Hollywood Alissa Walker sets off to find out why Muji opened in Hollywood, L.A.'s tacky capital. She even meets the president of Muji USA; pulling out his Tap card, he reveals that he is thinking ahead to the emerging LA of high density and public transit.
LA Designer: Bari Ziperstein Ceramicist Bari Ziperstein talks to Alissa Walker about the design lessons she learned from cookie jars and other objects.
CalArts Students Face Debt Design entrepreneurs are part of the engine of LA economy – and fuel its reputation for innovation. But what happens when young designers who hope to start their own companies face the problem most graduates are facing nationwide: Huge debt.
LA Designer: Brendan Ravenhill In our ongoing coverage of LA designers DJ – design journalist – Alissa Walker went to visit Brendan Ravenhill in his Schindler House come studio in Echo Park, where he is getting ready to head to New York for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.
Shopping Locally for LA-Made Goods The design enthusiasts Marissa Gluck, Alissa Walker, Haily Zaki and Erin Cullerton together run de LaB , aka Design East of La Brea—a part-party, part-culture club that introduces Angelenos to LA contemporary design.
Walking Real-Life West Hollywood This Saturday, DnA, de LaB, and the LA Forum are presenting a walking tour of West Hollywood in memory of John Chase, dear friend, astute writer of books about L.A., and longtime urban designer for the City of Hollywood, whom we featured on an episode of DnA when he died last year.
Richard Diebenkorn at Weisman Museum at Pepperdine Hunter Drohojowska-Philp welcomes a show of previously unseen paintings.
A radical act of rezoning; UK prepares for Brexit Planners are calling Minneapolis the most radical city in America, after a vote to allow duplexes and triplexes to be built on lots previously zoned for only single-family homes. What are the chances something like this could happen in LA?
