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STUBBORN NAILS: Holdout Properties in Los Angeles and Around the World Carl Fredrickson had become very lonely. His wife and fellow adventurer Ellie had died decades earlier, leaving him alone in their dream home overlooking the scenic Paradise Falls, which they had restored together. Presumably, Carl had nice neighbors, but he lost those too, as developers had bought-out most of the homeowners in the neighborhood to build large skyscrapers. If it wasn’t bad enough that the place he called home his entire life was now unrecognizable, a court ordered him confined to a retirement home after he accidentally injured a construction worker. I won’t spoil the ending of this touching story, but I must inform you that it is not a true story: It is from the 2009 film Up. The events depicted in Up are fictitious, but many of the concepts are not, namely the concept of holdout properties. Commercial and residential buildings are referred to as holdouts when the owners refuse to sell them to developers (or re-developers), usually because of pride on the part of the owners, or because the owners do not accept the sum of money that the developer offers them. Or both. And why not? Some things are more important than money. Your dignity is one of them. Holdouts occur all over the world, and for reasons other than (maybe in addition to) pride and low-ball offers. We will discuss some of these reasons, as well as occurrences of holdout properties in Los Angeles and around the world.
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WHEELIE BAD PLACEMENT: A Critique of Certain Bike Lanes in Los Angeles (not ALL bike lanes.)1/24/2019 WHEELIE BAD PLACEMENT: A Critique of Certain Bike Lanes in Los Angeles (NOT ALL bike lanes.) Bike lanes are one of the most common features of multi-modal transportation systems, usually implemented as part of “great streets” or “road diet” programs in urban areas. Bike lanes provide a dedicated space for bicyclists and other small-wheelers to travel at top speed, while also being (somewhat) separate from cars and freeing up the sidewalks for foot commuters. However, the selection processes are flawed for some bicycle lanes in Los Angeles.
There are a few inherent effects brought on by the placement of bike lanes in busy commercial areas. First, it reduces the amount of parking in proximity to businesses. If these spaces are not replenished in some way, that particular block or stretch of roadway develops a reputation for scarce parking, and so folks park their cars (and possibly shop) elsewhere. Second, traffic builds up in the “dieted” area, making circulation more difficult—from left turns, to lane changes, to clearing lanes. This in turn can make dispersal more difficult in the case of an emergency, like an auto and/or pedestrian involved accident, and subsequent arrival of emergency vehicles. |
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June 2020
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