Intereseted in Street Standards and will attend the National APA Conference? You Should Attend: National Guidance on Street Standards: From AASHTO to NATCO and Beyond April 15, 2012 7:15 am – 8:30 am Current federal design guidance for bicycle and pedestrian facilities is over a decade old and does not reflect design practices that are currently becoming more commonplace.  As such, new design guidelines are being rapidly developed in the US. As cities are planning for innovative treatments, it is important for municipalities to understand the current status of federal guidelines and standards for bicycle and pedestrian planning.  Many current guidelines and standards are currently being updated, with some treatments seen as experimental while others received endorsement status.  From a municipal standpoint, it can be difficult to understand what federal guidelines are standards which must be followed and what guidelines are there to provide guidance. This panel will first lay out the legal framework of street design standards and guidelines, while[…]

The ideas and principles within the complete streets movement are consistently evolving and progressing.  Within the City of Los Angeles, for example, the Bicycle Master Plan was adopted in early 2011 and the Mobility Element of the City General Plan is currently being updated.  On a state level, 2011 is the first full year since the passing of the Caltrans Complete Streets Act.  Within these examples and more, the movement is experiencing increased momentum with an increased amount of on-the-ground projects. The second annual UCLA Complete Streets conference will look back at past accomplishments and will concretely analyze the most recent evolution of complete streets through research and examples of implementation. Streets play in a critical role in creating a more vibrant, productive, and sustainable California.  However, despite the benefits of complete streets challenges still remain, as many of the roles of streets are often competing.  This gathering of interdisciplinary professionals, faculty and students will discuss safety, multi-modality and a holistic approach[…]

Since its release in Oct, 2012, the “Model Design Manual for Living Streets” has generated visibility from national media outlets, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and municipalities across the country. Supported by a RENEW LA grant and the Luskin Center, this manual provides guidance for cities seeking to update their existing road standard manuals with new techniques to reflect a greater emphasis on active transportation. It expands on traditional street standards by including principles for reducing stormwater run-off and other strategies for environmental sustainability. Interest in the manual reveals a desire to move beyond the traditional standards, which since the 1950s have given us auto dependent communities. With challenges of traffic congestion, air pollution, obesity, and the costs of vehicles and petroluem, people in communities across the country are demanding more options for mobility, beyond single occupancy automobile use. At the same time, we are seeing opportunities to utilize streetscape environments to maximize environmental, economic and social benefits. As an[…]

Urban Planning Professor Brian D. Taylor has been named director of the Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, housed in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.  Taylor also serves as director of the School’s Institute of Transportation Studies.  Professor Taylor recently concluded a three-year term  as chair of the Department of Urban Planning.  After serving for four years as associate director of the center, Taylor steps into the post formerly held by Public Policy Associate Professor J.R. DeShazo, who now directs the Luskin Center for Innovation at the School. Commenting on the growth and achievement of the center, DeShazo said, “I am confident this growth will continue under the dynamic leadership of the new director, Dr. Brian Taylor, and associate director, Dr. Allison Yoh, as each of them has already contributed immensely to making the Lewis Center what it has become.” Taylor, whose research centers on transportation policy and planning, focuses on transportation finance, political influence[…]

Since “Carmageddon” became a household word in southern California, news outlets have been looking for traffic experts. Hear what some of the most knowledgeable have to say about this and other interesting traffic-related topics: Carmageddon brought out the ‘very best’ in people. What about next time? UCLA News|Week: How HOV lanes on the freeway work NBC Nightly News “Life’s Little Mysteries” Science Blog Bad Karma-geddon? Conjecture, Construction and Congestion in L.A.

The Lewis Center welcomes two new faculty fellows. Laura Abrams is associate professor of social welfare in the UCLA Luskin School, and is involved in several studies concerning juvenile justice and reentry in the Los Angeles area. Bridget Freisthler, assistant professor of social welfare in the UCLA Luskin School, focuses on the spatial ecology of problems, particularly child maltreatment, and the development of environmental interventions to prevent problems. They are working together on research using spatial analysis and ethnography to examine community mechanisms for protecting transition-age youth from risk of re-incarceration, homelessness, and other negative possibilities. Laura Abrams Bridget Freisthler

Edited by Professor Emeritus Daniel J.B. Mitchell of the UCLA Luskin School, California Policy Options is published each year by the Lewis Center and focuses on the critical issues facing Californians and policymakers. The 2011 edition arrives at a time of economic uncertainty, fiscal crisis, and a gridlocked political system. Contributing authors in 2011 analyze the economic landscape – both present and future – for California, evaluate California’s ccompetitiveness during the economic downturn, suggest models for resolving the state budget crisis, and assess California’s ability to pioneer the development of “green” industries. A copy of the publication can be downloaded by following the link below. 2011 California Policy Options

Lené Levy-Storms was awarded a one-year non-residential fellowship in the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program, selected from a national pool, based on her commitment to health and aging issues, leadership potential, and interest in influencing policy. Levy-Storms is a Lewis Center faculty fellow and an associate professor in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and David Geffen School of Medicine. Her core research is on communication issues between health care providers and older adults in longterm care settings. Lené Levy- Storms

Michael Stoll, professor and chair of public policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, finds that African Americans and Latinos continue to face racial segregation and a greater degree of jobs-housing mismatch. Stoll is a regularly cited expert on urban poverty and inequality, specifically the interplay among labor markets, race and ethnicity, geography, and policy. In a recent appearance on CBS Evening News, Stoll discussed new U.S. Census data and the anticipated poverty rate increase – from 13.2 percent to 15.0 percent, the highest single-year increase since the government began calculating poverty figures in 1959. Michael Stoll 2010 Census

With Lewis Center support, Paul Ong, professor of urban planning, is examining an environmental program adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to phase in the use of less toxic chemicals at dry cleaning establishments. AQMD provided financial incentives to switch early, prioritizing dry cleaners located in high poverty rates and neighborhoods with high levels of cumulative pollution exposure. Preliminary findings indicate that dry cleaners in low-income minority neighborhoods are less likely to be early adopters of green technologies. Paul Ong South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD)