Building a community parklet, like those that now line the sidewalks
of cities across the country, usually means dealing with a lot of red
tape. LA’s new People St
program is making that easier with a DIY kit of parts for designing
parklets, plazas, and bike corrals. Any group approved through the
program can use the kit to quickly add new community space to a
neighborhood.
“The main goal is to get projects on the ground as fast as possible,” says Valerie Watson,
one of LA’s new pedestrian coordinators, who helped launch the program
after the city realized it needed a better process for all of the people
who suddenly wanted to work on local infrastructure. In 2012, in one
council district alone, community groups proposed four different parklet
projects, and each struggled separately to make it through the
labyrinthine system
Now, things will be much simpler: After a group shows that there’s
community support for a new project on a particular site and gets city
approval, it can use the city’s pre-approved kit of designs to sail
through the process. link
LA DIY Parklet Kit
