West Hollywood.

[CALGUY]

It is located in the metro Los Angeles area, so I think posting this thread here should be ok.
It has been years and years since I visited West Hollywood.
When I first moved here in 1970, it was the go to place to be among other gay people.
Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a drive to West Hollywood, and was absolutely blown away with what I saw.
The last time I visited was around 1980.
I can remember when their were train tracks going down the center of Santa Monica blvd.
I marveled at all the eateries and new high rise apartment/ condo buildings along the blvd.
I stayed on Santa Monica blvd the entire drive, until I took a right on Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

As I drove by restaurant after restaurant, I thought, wow, looks expensive.
The design of many of the building was something I did not expect.
The area seemed both people and traffic friendly.
Many sidewalk eateries with lots of people just out for a Sunday afternoon.

On my drive back home to the Northeast section of Los Angeles, the thought came to me, West Hollywood city planning is exactly what is needed in the Highland Park area.
Lately there are new restaurants opening up on Figueroa in the Highland Park area, but they couldn't come close to what I saw in West Hollywood.
City planners would do well to take a lesson from West Hollywood, and make Figueroa much like the vibe of West Hollywood, including it's high rise living quarters.
I will most certainly be going back to eat and shop and be absolutely amazed at what has transpired from the little gay hamlet I remember it as.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Sant..._kv5U-_HD_npig

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

On my drive back home to the Northeast section of Los Angeles, the thought came to me, West Hollywood city planning is exactly what is needed in the Highland Park area.
Lately there are new restaurants opening up on Figueroa in the Highland Park area, but they couldn't come close to what I saw in West Hollywood.
City planners would do well to take a lesson from West Hollywood, and make Figueroa much like the vibe of West Hollywood, including it's high rise living quarters

Highland Park has been gentrifying for years now. It may take awhile for high rise complexes to get there.

https://lataco.com/restaurants-gentr...-highland-park

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Highland Park has been gentrifying for years now. It may take awhile for high rise complexes to get there.

https://lataco.com/restaurants-gentr...-highland-park

Interesting article if one is interested in "stop the gentrification".
To those in the article posted, I reply, nothing last forever, and one needs to accept change.
Change happened in West Hollywood, and obviously for the better.
I would like to see that same change for Figueroa in Highland Park in the future.

A short drive which took about 1/2 hour on Santa Monica blvd showed me there is promise in redevelopment in any area, when it is done correctly.
All that new development on the blvd has obviously helped the city of West Hollywood maintain a healthy, economic, stability.
All those new businesses also add to the economic wealth of the city.
It was planned, and developed extremely well, and other areas in Los Angeles would do well to see the benefits of redevelopment on the scale that was used in West Hollywood.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Interesting article if one is interested in "stop the gentrification".

Not really; it's one of the few articles that isn't behind a paywall that describe some of how that area has changed in the past couple of decades.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Not really; it's one of the few articles that isn't behind a paywall that describe some of how that area has changed in the past couple of decades.

The article discussed changes to the area, but most of the article was about the "meanness" of gentrification as seen through the eyes of those who could not, or refused to accept change.

[apple92680]

The biggest issue here is that West Hollywood is its own municipal entity. Therefor, it's planning commission can control what gets built, and where, and timelines, etc., etc.

Highland Park, on the other hand, is part of the City of Los Angeles and is subject to Los Angeles codes, Los Angeles politics, Los Angeles timelines and the overall City of Los Angeles bureaucracy.

This is essentially the same reason why people in the San Fernando Valley have been so frustrated and why a proposed "break off" always rears its ugly head about every 20 years or so.

It has been proposed that Los Angeles adopt a "borough" system similar to New York City, to give groups of neighborhoods more control over their specific areas, rather than someone in a cubicle downtown.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by apple92680

The biggest issue here is that West Hollywood is its own municipal entity. Therefor, it's planning commission can control what gets built, and where, and timelines, etc., etc.

Highland Park, on the other hand, is part of the City of Los Angeles and is subject to Los Angeles codes, Los Angeles politics, Los Angeles timelines and the overall City of Los Angeles bureaucracy.

This is essentially the same reason why people in the San Fernando Valley have been so frustrated and why a proposed "break off" always rears its ugly head about every 20 years or so.

It has been proposed that Los Angeles adopt a "borough" system similar to New York City, to give groups of neighborhoods more control over their specific areas, rather than someone in a cubicle downtown.

I strongly agree with your assessment.
The city is to big, and should be broken up so local matters can be handled locally.
Presently the city council and planning department are involved in a revitalization venture for Huntington drive in the El Sereno area of Los Angeles.
For months they have been sending out mailers asking for public input.
I just replied to one I got in the mail yesterday.
I suggested the officials involved in this project, take a trip to Santa Monica blvd in West Hollywood, from LeBrea to Doheny, and see what thoughtful and diligent thinking can do in developing an area that is friendly to people/traffic, and public transportation.
They could learn something.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by apple92680

The biggest issue here is that West Hollywood is its own municipal entity. Therefor, it's planning commission can control what gets built, and where, and timelines, etc., etc.

Highland Park, on the other hand, is part of the City of Los Angeles and is subject to Los Angeles codes, Los Angeles politics, Los Angeles timelines and the overall City of Los Angeles bureaucracy.

This is essentially the same reason why people in the San Fernando Valley have been so frustrated and why a proposed "break off" always rears its ugly head about every 20 years or so.

It has been proposed that Los Angeles adopt a "borough" system similar to New York City, to give groups of neighborhoods more control over their specific areas, rather than someone in a cubicle downtown.

These are pertinent facts. Also, WeHo is dealing with an internal struggle with its leftist city government facing off against the overwhelmingly far leftist contingent which describes itself as "abolitionist". The city has made moves to underfund, reduce and antagonize police. There was an unarmed security group the city contracted with. That security team has proven to be pretty worthless, and so some have tried to pivot back to police. It's unclear now who will get their way: leftists, or overwhelmingly far leftist extremists. Safety is far from guaranteed these days in WeHo.

[Tex?Il?]

Highland Park and NE LA more broadly is meant to offer a different experience from Central-West LA. In West Hollywood and other nearby areas, the appeal is to be in the center of everything LA. HP and NELA on the other hand is meant to offer a more "village-y" type of atmosphere with the hills and non-grid streets offering a feeling of being tucked away, just enough from the hustle and bustle while having access to the rest of LA.

The appeal of LA is that there is something for everyone. I lived in Pasadena for nearly a decade, but not live in West Hollywood, where I recently moved in with my girlfriend. I drove along the Arroyo parkway multiple times a week for many years, and have done urban hiking in Mt. Washington, Montecito Hts, and still think its so cool that you don't even feel like you're in a city in some of those neighborhoods. Its especially beautiful in the late winter, spring when the grass is green.

Conversely I appreciate being within walking distance of Melrose, SM Boulevard, even the Grove/Fairfax Farmers Marker, and even Museum Row on Wilshire. Its more bustling, and wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life there, but its cool that you do have different experiences in different parts of LA County.