DISQUS

How can you not love Ryan?!? I am bummed to hear about U.Sea but understand.

Really, you're going to complain about that? I guess the first district is screwed now.

The issue of shrinking cities is not entirely new. Cities in Europe have struggled with it, some better than others. The idea of planned shrinkage can cure some of the ills of bad planning; conflicting land-uses, oversized/undersized mobility infrastructure, unequal open space access are all on the table. It’s a matter of how each community responds; some have turned towards higher learning (Pittsburgh) while others are looking towards being second cities (the entire rust belt around Chicago). It’s something completely foreign to Southern California, but that might change because of the recession. We should look to those communities already struggling with economic and population shrinkage for how to address it and perhaps take advantage of. Next American City had a couple interesting stories about Detroit relative to this issue. (http://americancity.org)

The nuclear bunker that cannot keep the rain out is the absolute opposite of what our public temple of knowledge should be. It should inspire the local citizenry to expand their minds while protecting the information that lies within it. One problem is maintenance, the other is fundamental design.

There is an opportunity to start over, expand and improve Lincoln Park, create an approachable center of government, a Library that inspires, and pay for it at least in part through private development that would also help give life to our civic center.

John, I love you but the Civic Center needs to go. It is one of the holes in downtown's doughnut and it needs to be fixed. The architecture of city hall and the main library should inspire a city's population and Lincoln Park should be an urban oasis for all. The fundamentals of the current civic center, courthouse and PD headquarters included are an urban design blight on the downtown, only to be reviled by Boston's City Hall, which is also under consideration for the wrecking ball.

I do love the Sumitomo building on Redondo. Please find a ClaimJumpers to move into it ;op

Theo, great topic to start the new year.

There is no one else in this city that I trust more to be on the City Council than Robert. That is not to say we will always agree, but I know that his heart is in the right place and he will always keep an open-mind. He is an incredibly intelligent person that is exteremely driven to improve his community in any way available to him. I could not ask for more in a Councilperson.

Great article Theo. El Cortez has a fascinating courtyard arrangement. Long Beach also has a lot of cottage alley courts, a number of them off of Alamitos Avenue in the central area of the city. Brenner Place (Alamitos/7th) is actually historically designated. The community next door is trying to get another alley court; Ewart Court (Orange/9th) designated. Glad to see more coverage of the city’s unique urban fabric.

Who would have thought old, underground bathrooms would be this cool?

Theo, You have a good point about the size of the park. It is small, but in that area every bit counts. To create a park of the scale you are talking about, you need to really think outside the box (not a strength of this city). I don't typically have people accuse me of thinking small. Maybe not quite as big as El Dorado or Rec., I've got another park concept cooking that should make you happy.