burbank boulevard + van nuys boulevard

Thanks again to Andy Hurvitz for the location request.

Here's another shot from the incredibly wide Van Nuys Blvd. (see last week's photo, too). The weirdest thing about this mammoth street has to be the white chevron median strip: its sole function seems to be as a left turn conduit, except that it's three lanes wide. Mysteries of the Valley like these still elude me, which probably means I need to take a trip either to Wikipedia, the library, or both. In any case, Van Nuys Blvd. seems to be the perfect candidate for narrowing-by-infill — it's so supersized that you could drop a whole row of buildings in the middle and still have multi-lane roads on either side. See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

crenshaw boulevard + martin luther king, jr. boulevard (II)

Travel south of the 10 freeway along Crenshaw Blvd., and you'll find yourself in the heart of one of the largest African-American neighborhoods in the country. Head further to Martin Luther King Blvd. and you'll reach a community gateway of sorts: a large shopping mall straddling MLK; nifty restaurants + local hangouts; a huge nearby park boasting facilities for tennis, baseball, and all kinds of other weekend activities. But standing at this massive crossroads, it's hard to get a sense of any of this activity when faced by the overwhelming, continuous roar of eight lanes of traffic travelling east-west and nine lanes streaming north-south. There's plenty of commerce here, along with churches and schools, but still no substantial street life to glue it all together. Why not spare some of that car-space for the actual people that make up the community itself? See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

friday favorites: portofino, italy

From Steve Mouzon, a luminous night photo taken in Portofino, Italy. Check out his zenfolio site for even more lovely pictures.

Every Friday I'll post a favorite narrow street snapshot from somewhere around the world. Got a Friday favorite of your own? Send me your photos!

silver lake boulevard + effie street, silver lake (II)

Another view of yesterday's Reader Request. See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

essay: looking vs. seeing when visualizing urban reform

Above: Re-imagining Lancaster, from the outstanding Urban Advantage.

Art classes typically talk about the difference between looking + seeing. When you "look" at a chair, you match its shape to the architectural model in your mind; you don't stop to notice all the details — you just recognize it as "chair" and mentally move on. When you "see" a chair, however, you study its every nuance: texture, silhouette, color, cultural caché. "Looking" is a metaphorical activity, whereas "seeing" is literal.

I think we tend to "look" at our surroundings more than we realize, boiling neighborhoods down to a list of bullet points: a place can be convenient to the freeway, located in a good school district, have ample parking, be close to the mall, and so on. It all looks good on paper, but what's it like in real life? What realities emerge when you stop "looking" and start "seeing?" Sure, that vast sidewalk stretches for miles — but is anyone walking? Or that park: it looks nice on a map, but is it quiet? Or the walk to school — is it something you'd let your child try out on their own? On foot? On a bicycle?

reader request: silver lake boulevard + effie street, silver lake (I)

Thanks to the indefatigable Ramon Martinez for the location request.

I've always had a hard time comprehending Silverlake. Aside from the obvious hipsterism of Sunset Junction, the neighborhood seems to hide its bars, clubs, and galleries out of sight, as if it were too busy shoegazing to notice its own importance as a musical + artistic mecca. Spaceland (above) is a perfect example: rock geeks seeking pilgrimage to this sacred temple might be disappointed to find themselves in a nondescript residential throughway with no other bars or clubs in sight. Maybe that's part of Silverlake's understated indie charm — but I still find it strange that a city as big as LA has almost no major rock 'n' roll drags besides the Sunset Strip. This stretch of Silver Lake Boulevard (with its eponymous reservoir rec space just up the street) begs for proper socialization. Narrowing it down would allow partygoers to crisscross the road safely + spontaneously, creating the perfect conditions for a thriving ecosystem of nightlife as well as the basis for becoming LA's next great hotspot. See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

reader request: van nuys boulevard + oxnard street, van nuys

Thanks to the very eloquent + impassioned Andy Hurvitz for the location request.

Stand at this colossal intersection of Van Nuys + Oxnard, and observe: not counting the sky, how much of the landscape before you involves car travel? Van Nuys Boulevard is improbably, insanely huge, nine lanes wide at points, wide enough to make me wonder what in Cthulu's name could've been the lunatic contingency these city planners were designing for: Space Shuttle ground delivery? Emergency Cylon landing? Big-rig drag racing?