The Studio’s guiding values and themes include matching Los Angeles’s remarkable private spaces in the public realm, elevating design expectations for private development, and promoting Los Angeles as a center of design innovation and experimentation.
The Urban Design Studio is spearheading several neighborhood-level and citywide design initiatives. Click below to read more about our current programs:
- Healthy Buildings, Healthy Places
- Reimagining Expo Square
- Re-Imagine Ventura: Greening the Boulevard
- LA River Wayfinding Program (details coming soon)
The Urban Design Studio offers planners and applicants project-specific recommendations, organized around three distinct yet interrelated approaches to design.
Pedestrian First
Understanding how buildings open up to the street front and can impact the pedestrian experience.
360° Design
Taking the impacts of the built environment on its surroundings into consideration—a 3600 approach to planning.
Climate-Adapted Design
Drawing upon the latest advancements in climate-adapted design, recognizing the role a building’s form can play in the local climate.
The Urban Design Studio’s staff is available to assist project applicants, community members, and public agencies:
Holly Harper, Planning Assistant, holly.harper@lacity.org, (213) 847-3706
Danai Zaire, City Planning Associate, danai.zaire@lacity.org, (213) 847-3709