Signs along the Los Angeles River, 2000
Photograph by author
NEGLIGENCE
What if the urban design potential of the Los Angeles River was ignored in the next 25 years?
The population growth in those years will cause an even greater demand on already limited park and recreation resources. The urbanization that accompanies this population will also increase the storm runoff into the rivers. It is inevitable that the most recent effort to retrofit the flood control system by raising the concrete levees will need to be repeated. Millions of public dollars will be spent on a single-purpose infrastructure which ignores the rivers’ potential for organizing urban space. The storm water runoff into the ocean will thus increase beyond its current discharge, which is the equivilent yearly supply for 1,000,000 people. This is water that could re-charge the aquifers, from which a quarter of the region drawns its supplies. Instead of conservation of indigeneous water resources, the metropolis will have to purchase water from distant sources, in competition with other growing urban areas.