L.A. is overdeveloped
Thread started by
md2 at 12.9.09 - 8:45 am
On my flight this morning...., you look out the window and get the reminder: Wow, we really built up the land. House, next to house; building next building. If there is a hill, we'll build homes on it. If there's a beach, we want to be next to it....
it a way its beautiful and interesting enough. Amongst the chaos, there is a kind of order. Not the order we should have pursued, but design nonetheless.
I thought about how some of the hills, could be great parks, but better yet, mountain bike trails. We could have resisted building so close to the beach, and allowed the area to flourish. I thought about everyone commuting by bike... and what stood out was that we really need to knock down some infrastructure. I kept imagining holding a giant paint scrapper, and just scrapping a bunch of homes/building off the land (i would order an evacuation first of course).... but where would everyone go? I say to the mansions and big ass homes, where a 4 person family lives, but have 7 bedrooms.
More parks, more green area (Mom Ridaz dont get it wrong)...
Flew over Phoenix to my connecting flight, and Im reminded why Phoenix sucks ass.
The imagined a big earthquake, causing Phoenix to fall into the ocean, and creating a big beach area. Thats the best the residents could do for themselves (Sorry Phoenix ridazz).
Clouds are dope too. You should do a cloud ride.
Time to fly again.... flying sucks.
peace
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PLEASE TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES DURING THE TAKEOFF AND LANDING PROCEDURES, A REMINDER WILL APPEAR ON THE SCREEN TO LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT IS SAFE TO CONTINUE USING YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES.
_iJunes12.9.09 - 10:00 am
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Flying is only cool when you're the one flying the plane.
In a week or so, a single engine Cessna, 10 years from now, a twin engined Beechcraft.
bentstrider12.9.09 - 10:55 am
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you're welcome, Sergent ... you meant my comments about Phoenix, right?
By they way, does your bottle cage fit your new bike okay?
md2 responding to a
comment by la duderina
12.9.09 - 12:20 pm
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And I'm pulling barrel rolls while you're in it!!!!
Bring the soda crackers and dramamine(or whatever that motion sickness drug is called).
bentstrider responding to a
comment by la duderina
12.9.09 - 12:24 pm
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even though los angeles (and not just los angeles) is over developed, isn't it amazing in a sense of how far we've come when speaking of technology?
we have so much going on in a relatively small space, super crazy networks interconnecting everything.
i'm guessing you flew in during daytime where you could see all the shit going on, the grimeyness, and how everything looks all drab and grey.
i love flying back into LA at night.
so many lights, watching all the cars zip along on a freeway. it's like looking at a huge network of optical fibers.
and to think, to wonder, how things are going to look in another 50 or 100 years.
of course, we can all be some fuckin pessimistic bike hero, anti car folks and say cliche shit like, "the future is bleak! we're gonna be over run with cars, etc etc add some more mindless banter."
or we can look at the cool parts and think of all the crazy new technological advances we'll have.
ITS FUCKING CRAZZZYYY
KiMS112.9.09 - 12:33 pm
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well, they convinced you.
I can't wait to read about how you spin the smog
Trickmilla, what was that whole technological advancements thing doing for our privacy in the OC, again?
md2 responding to a
comment by KiMS1
12.9.09 - 12:36 pm
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I think L.A. is underdeveloped.
Where is our subay system?
Mexico city is 500 years old. Its on top a swamp that's on top of a volcano.
Yes some how they were able to build a comprehensive subway system in the ammount of time its take us to put in a few rail lines. Btw I think it still costs lest thana quarter to ride.
Where are thw mixed use high rises? The smart density. And of course the BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE.
Yess southern cali is sprawled out.
Development isn't all about covering every inch of land
Its about smartly developing the land.
Cities like ny and sf have limited space so they have had to come to terms with more wisely using the space they do have.
In LA we've done the cheap thing, the easy thing just spreading out and out and out.
That's one of there reasons that we gawk at amazment at what clean air actually looks for a few days after a rain.
LA is in desperate need of MORE development. It just needs to be smarter devlopment. That thinks further a head than the next fiscal year or the next election year.
trickmilla12.9.09 - 12:40 pm
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are we thread jumping here ... i guess its related.
well i'm no defender of the iron fist of the orange curtain
i'm just pointing out that with more cops and more surveillance
comes a better likelyhood of criminals getting caught in the act.
the mentality behind it also increases the likelihood of getting pulled over for having a broken window and a black girlfriend as i once was... but i digress.
maybe i can simplify. South OC: its a great place to be the victim of a hit-n-run but I wouldn't want to live there.
trickmilla responding to a
comment by md2
12.9.09 - 12:52 pm
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Im not trying to put a spin on anything. im just saying that with all bad things, there are cool things that come with it.
my point was that our city looks like shit in the daytime, but when ur flying in and night and see all the lights and think about how modern cities have developed, it's pretty wild.
and believe me, i hate the smog here and whenever i go ride, i get fucking gross ass boogers. but at the same time, i realize that LA is NOT a bike friendly city. and the way our city is set up, i don't think we'll ever get to a point where we can compare ourselves to cities such as minneapolis or new york. getting a solid public transportation system going here is going to cost way too much and with other factors that come into play, i dont see anything solid being developed for many decades.
we don't live in some bike friendly utopia. we live in fucking los angeles aka the land of cars and traffic jams.
so we can bitch and whine about urban sprawl and cars, or just deal with it and make the best of it until we figure out a way to get something solid planned out.
ya smell me?
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by md2
12.9.09 - 1:06 pm
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i think i live by you now.
or at least closer compared to where i was.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
12.9.09 - 1:09 pm
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so we can bitch and whine about urban sprawl and cars, or just deal with it and make the best of it until we figure out a way to get something solid planned out.
Simple, let's all become executives in sprawl-friendly development corporations and run them into the ground.
In their place, we'll designate "land-reclamation" companies.
Dynamite and tear up the recently abandoned and foreclosed, failed developments and replace them with whatever was there to begin with, plus some mobile home parks and log-cabins with wood-burning stoves.
As for transportation through these areas, trains, horse/bike paths, and those gondola thingies like they have at the San Diego Zoo.
bentstrider responding to a
comment by KiMS1
12.9.09 - 1:39 pm
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Its not the "sprawl", "overdevelopment", the age, geography, or the dubious claim that LA is "built out" that is preventing us from being a world class bike city.
It is only the cultural and political will.
period.
many cities that are much more bike friendly have worse weather, worse geography, and older infrastructure. In stead of making excuses (ala DOT) they made it happen.
we all know the great bike cities ... and they all have one thing in common: they had will to make their cities more bike friendly.
LA is slowy finding that will. But we are going to have to continue to shame and embarrass and cajole and encourage the people in charge to make the changes necessary to put LA on the map with other world class bike cities.
We inherently have EVERYTHING it takes to be the best in the world.
Its just a matter of finding the will.
trickmilla responding to a
comment by KiMS1
12.9.09 - 2:11 pm
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why couldn't you guys just respond with "repost"?
okay lets called it sprawled out...
i think L.A. is too sprawled out... and I think Phoenix should sink.
peace
"use your bottle cages wisely"
md2 responding to a
comment by trickmilla
12.9.09 - 2:13 pm
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Well said sir....Many of the "premium" bike cities in Europe went through a period where the cars were taking over....all it took was political will to reverse the car trend and make livable streets a reality.
Foldie responding to a
comment by trickmilla
12.9.09 - 2:14 pm
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Sadly, political intervention is always needed to make anyone budge these days.
bentstrider responding to a
comment by Foldie
12.9.09 - 2:38 pm
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well geography and weather wise, we have it fucking made. far more so than anybody else.
but don't you think that the way our city infrastructure is built, it makes it a bit difficult to get from point A to point B?
you could easily say, "hey, move closer to your work."
and yeah we'd all love to but we don't all have that luxury.
i used to live in northridge and had to commute to south pasadena for a year bc of work. for a summer i rode, took our bullshit subway and it fucking sucked. i now am fortunate enough to have found a new job in burbank and was lucky enough to find an affordable place to live down the street. most people don't get as lucky as i did.
try telling some dude in his mid to late 30's to stop being a pussy and ride a 30 mile commute at 5am. he'll kick your teeth in.
i feel like the only way this would work is if we either build an intricate subway that would be able to, at a certain extent take people places they need to go (such as work) or demolish everything and rebuild so we have numerous clusters of business areas rather than a couple large ones.
it'll take DECADES to get a solid subway system up and running and as far as demolishing everything, that's just retarded and im sure you know why.
so i wouldnt exactly say it's ONLY cultural and political will.
one thing that pisses me off more than anything is when people drive from point A to B when it's only a few miles.
i say that if you have to be somewhere 15 miles away and you don't have the time to spare, then yeah go ahead and drive but when you're driving 2-3 miles down the street to blockbuster, liquor store, etc. that shits just fucking weak.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by trickmilla
12.9.09 - 2:51 pm
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whats really sad is that we actually used to have a pretty decent light rail system back in the day.
:(
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by trickmilla
12.9.09 - 2:52 pm
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this article has so many fucking holes in it. shit is retarded.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by imachynna
12.9.09 - 3:37 pm
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Or Billy-Bob Big Rig from out of state has had enough of being trapped in the traffic himself and turns the 710 into a monster truck rally.
Either way, real change as far as transportation solutions will only come once enough people have been seriously maimed by something.
I mean, the Northridge quake was one of the primary reasons Metrolink bought up the abandoned UPRR right-of-way going to Lancaster.
Kind of weird how progress motivation is only generated when lives are lost or mangled.
bentstrider responding to a
comment by trickmilla
12.10.09 - 12:44 pm
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Ridazz Roulette!
