Through a process of outreach and community meetings, the Sustainability Committee has chosen the following projects for 2010. We welcome your involvement in any of these initiatives. Or, if you have other ideas, please email us at sustainability@dlanc.com
We've categorized these initiatives based on the general subject matter: Energy/Water; Green Business; Green Space; Mobility; Waste/Recycling.
Energy/Water: Stormwater Reuse and Pollution Prevention
- Long term goals: Increase stormwater reuse and pollution prevention through best practices.
- Short term goals: Minimize stormwater pollution through outreach and education. Understand the impact of dog waste and business waste on stormwater in Downtown Los Angeles.
- Next steps: TBD Long term goals: Empowering and educating businesses downtown
Green Business: Promoting Better Business Practices
- Short term goals: Form a certification program for green businesses; host a green business competition; and/or green business awareness event Next steps: Group will research existing resources for green business certifications; look into who we can partner with in the community; draft survey to understand needs of downtown businesses
Green Space: Greening We've Got
- Long term goals: Enhance the livability of Downtown Los Angeles through more green space (gardens, alleys, trees) to offset the impacts of density in our urban environment.
- Short term goals: Identify opportunities for small gardens in leftover (“interstitial) open space through a mapping exercise supported by a series of community events to map these areas. Coordinate the installation of native species gardens in the areas identified with the permission of landowners. Coordinate 1-3 pilot installations for Big Sunday (first weekend of May). Understand the benefits of converting small-scale open space into more sustainable places with the research done by the Harlem Place Project (click here for more information).
- Next steps: Develop survey and mapping protocol to start identifying these areas.
View "GreenPockets" of potential gardens in Downtown LA in a larger map
Mobility: Pedestrian and Bicycle-Friendly Downtown
- Long term goals: Improve the walkability of Downtown through improved safety and bicycle-friendly streetscapes.
- Short term goals: Increase the number of bike racks Downtown. Advocate for mid-block crosswalks to be re-timed for a more pedestrian-friendly environment. Support the planning of the first-ever CicLAvia event in 2010.
- Next steps: Research resources available for bike racks (City program does exist for this). Map mid-block crosswalks Downtown.
Waste/Recycling: Residential Recycling
- Long term goals: Increase multi-family housing participation in recycling programs by understanding the barriers to involvement in available services.
- Short term goals: Map buildings that currently have recycling programs in place to understand the scale of participation today.
- Next steps: Identify residential buildings in Downtown Los Angeles and develop survey to begin research. Check out this map we found to see if your building is correctly identified!
Waste/Recycling: Composting
- Long term goals: Increase participation in restaurant composting across Downtown.
- Short term goals: Research existing Bureau of Sanitation Restaurant Composting Pilot and identify local restaurants that might be interested in composting.
- Next steps: Contact Bureau of Sanitation to find out the current status of the existing pilot project.
