A stretch with no specific beginning or ending. A place to see and be seen in. A space defined by myth, spectacle, expectation and experience. The Los Angeles River is transformed into a great American public space – The Post-motopian Strip.
A new urban strategy for the Los Angeles River area is inspired by the charm bracelet. The chain with its lucky charms that signify important events in the life of the wearer is combined with the American strip typology to create a place filled with spectacular morality and a new notion of access. The Strip is defined as a route that one can enter at any point along its length and experience while in motion. It is an urban corridor, utilizing the areas, existing functions, buildings and infrastructure it passes through in order to support it. The lucky charms take the form of a series of urban interventions while the Strip forms the bracelet that connect them along the river. The charms consist of unique zones that act as thematic generators for the Strip, interacting with the neighborhoods they meet along their way. They cross the river, thereby physically and symbolically bridging its two sides. Because nowhere is the divide between east and west more apparent than along the stretch of river located downtown. The placement of the Strip at this strategic point enables it to act as an attractor with its charms tying to the city that surround them, knitting the urban fabric together 10
at its most disconnected point. Since the charms are based on the areas they connect to, they become a source of pride for the surrounding communities, fueling further growth. The quality of the Strip as an endless chain suggests that it can grow and transform over time, either by expanding outward or increasing in length, thereby becoming a model for continued urban growth with regional implications. While some features of the Strip should be civic initiatives, others are more appropriate for bottom-up strategies. Combining the formal and informal, and turning exhibitionism and spectacularity into a new content for the city, is a strategy stemming from the qualities that make Los Angeles unique. The Strip becomes a tool for bridging the gap that presently exists along the river and provides a mediating ground – a free zone for spectacular and unexpected events to occur. The Post-motopian Strip enables the lost river to re-emerge. It can become a new type of American public space along a transformed riverbed.
THE FIFTH ECOLOGY. Beyond Desire: Los Angeles