Josh Stephens reports on the Pershing Square Renew Design Challenge, an effort to redo one of the "world's worst squares and plazas." The new Pershing Square may hearken back to the years before its misguided 1992 redesign.
For Next City, Josh Stephens discusses downtown L.A.'s unloved public square. "The same 1992 redesign that brought the follies and bold colors also built parapets, curb cuts and expanses of concrete that cordon off the square from the surrounding sidewalks and make it look more like a bunker than a park. It does not exactly encourage public assembly [...] Without the centuries-long history of pedestrian traffic that East Coast cities have, the square tries to inspire pedestrianism rather than respond to it."
After a lengthy process including public outreach and a design competition, those who want to resurrect Pershing Square are pushing forward. "Next week, three finalists will be chosen in the Pershing Square Renew Design Challenge [...] It may yet become the center that Los Angeles is so often accused of not having."
The new design may simply turn back the clock on 1992's garishness. "Pershing Square Renew’s design challenge therefore presents an exercise in restraint. Just as the current design is overproduced, the winning design may turn out to be the one that is the most understated."
"With a design team chosen by April, Pershing Square Renew hopes to secure funding to put the reopening of the square on track for 2019."
FULL STORY: Los Angeles Seeks to Revive “Worst Public Space in America”
L.A.'s New Pershing Square Will Be 'Radically Flat'
After stakeholder engagement and an international design competition, Agence Ter's plan for "radical flatness" has been selected to replace downtown L.A.'s current Pershing Square. The preferred alternative is, above all, simple.
L.A.'s Pershing Square Headed for Redesign
The first phases of a plan to remake the downtown Los Angeles plaza into a more inviting, accessible public space are going to kick off soon.
Los Angeles Searches for Improvements to the Much-Maligned Pershing Square
A series of public outreach events are being held in Pershing Square to determine how to make the park more engaging. Live music and fewer physical barriers to entry are among the ideas suggested.
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Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
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700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
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Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
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