Without any real skin in the game maybe he can stand up to the development community. If he did have any, as in; he's an architect, or an engineer, or a planner, or an investor, he would cave. Plus, no talk about traffic and congestion. Certainly every new front door in LA accounts for at least two more cars/SUVs/trucks clogging the grid - it being SoCal two is wishful thinking. And finally, interesting choices of favorites. I wish him luck.
With regard to the design czar story, autonomous ride sharing services will probably be among the biggest factors determining our public design future. I think it is important for anyone involved with this endeavor to educate themselves and fully comprehend the enormous impact self driving vehicles will have within the next 15 to 25 years and beyond. We will likely have the ability to reclaim large swaths of land that were once parking lots and parking garages. Rather than simply turn these newly acquired spaces into commercial buildings, we need to seriously consider low-cost, small form factor housing; one example that comes to mind is Kasita modular homes (www.kasita.com).
Protest the Cheeto's visit! Be proud, loud and strong! I miss California to the very core of my being.
~Bay Area Native Driven Out By $$$
5
It's not clear to me what the "chief design officer" does. In LA, as in many cities, any concept of design is far less important than political contributions from developers.
It will also be interesting to see how they build more housing when they have no water and severe transit problems. Despite a few notable success, such as light rail to Santa Monica, ridership on transit has been declining.
2
He's an unelected official who will have a tremendous influence on who will receive vast amounts of the people's money.
Choices for favorites are strange. Central library is mid century Stalinist and Eames house is creative but eclectic. The "Case Study Houses" offer at least a mention as examples of the importance attached to good design in the LA basin at mid century.
DTLA Central Library (1926) is art deco style and it complements City Hall. Historically speaking, it bridges a period when Bunker Hill was the dominant neighborhood of Los Angeles, through a period of urban blight and the city's expansion to the West Side, and then redevelopment with the construction of the US Bank Tower back on Bunker Hill. After a series of fires the library was beautifully restored and expanded with modern amenities; it is a great architectural respresentative of Los Angeles. The stunning tile and murals are emblematic of Southern California heritage, and have no relationship to Stalin.