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 Pacoima, Ca, Commercial Street Redevelopment
and Business Improvement District Formation
AIA
San Fernando Valley is working with the multi-cultural
community of
Pacoima to help plan its revitalization through commercial street
redevelopment.
Planners have envisioned and guided renewal of a Pacoima commercial
strip to help beautify the community and spur economic
development. In partnership with the Los Angeles Community
Redevelopment Agency’s East Valley District, they have
developed
a realistic plan to address current needs while promoting orderly
future growth and creating a Business Improvement District.
Local
architects have worked with community leaders to direct workshops and
create design guidelines and implementation plans for the development
of an economically sustainable urban area.
Throughout the program, the planning team has encouraged the
participation of elected officials, including the Mayor and Pacoima
Council members. AIA members have helped publicize
the
project through local media, and have included community leaders and
non-profit groups such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, and religious
institutions in addressing the following goals:
- Developing store façade
solutions
- Providing parking solutions
- Addressing public transportation
needs
- Redeveloping a coherent streetscape
- Improving street lighting
The planning effort takes into consideration the AIA’s
Principles
for Livable Communities, and applies them to the local
setting.
Community redevelopment principles include:
- Design on a human scale.
Create a
user-friendly system that allows everyone from the young to the elderly
to walk to and from streetcar stops for easy transportation.
- Provide choices. As a
result of a
renewed transportation system, people will be more likely to take
advantage of local amenities that previously took more effort to reach.
- Encourage mixed-use
development.
Include a variety of housing, stores, services, pedestrian spaces,
areas for art display, cultural institutions, recreation and employment
opportunities, which will flourish near the public transportation
system.
- Preserve urban centers.
Preserve
and connect areas of revitalization with other urban areas while
staying within the current infrastructure.
- Vary transportation
options. Allow
pedestrians to make easy connections between the streetcar system,
buses, and eventually a light rail system, thereby reducing their
reliance on cars.
- Build vibrant public
spaces.
Streetcar stops and new development will provide places for people to
meet and interact, like neighborhood markets, concerts in the park, and
art walks.
- Design matters. The
character of
the planning process will influence the design of the
community.
All partners in Pacoima’s planning process have improved
their
ability to advocate for responsible, sustainable, healthy design to
accommodate and improve their diverse community.
View
all Blueprint Initiatives |
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