Abstract
The iconic Los Angeles River used to be a free-flowing natural river that caused frequent and drastic floods in the neighborhoods through which it ran. In the 1960s, engineers channelized the entire fifty-one miles of the river, directing stormwater away from populated areas. The concrete channel—an efficient method of water conveyance–remains key to protecting people, property, and wildlife from flooding. The urban patterns and transportation that developed following the reconfiguration of the river banks have shaped LA's current urban morphologies. One million people live within one mile of the LA River, which closely ties them to the creatures that inhabit it. The abundance of wildlife and adjacency of urbanized settings have offered Angelenos various types of ecosystem services. The riparian biome in and around the LA River has led to continuous reimagining of ways to embrace and improve its urban presence. Can natural disaster be eliminated while celebrating a human-nature bounded system? This paper will explain how prioritizing urban ecology can be an effective approach for guiding urban design and enhancing urban resiliency. By partially naturalizing the river, the pilot project LA River Fish Passage creates habitats for target species, proposes a new form of public open space, and engages the community in protecting wildlife while minimizing the flood risks. The Passage project comes out of the 2020 LA River Master Plan that addresses strategies and opportunities for using and maintaining the public spaces within and along the LA River. This LA-based case study offers new possibilities for design solutions in cities around the globe: 35 other cities and regions featuring endemism of plants and animals are recognized as global hotspots alongside LA. Highlighting urban ecology could alleviate the impact of global warming, reducing climatic catastrophes that result in huge costs to urban areas.
