Friday, July 19, 2019

The original New Deal was designed to bring the United States out of economic torpor and into the modern era. It was implemented at a time when California was an outpost and a refuge, when the Dust Bowl brought desperate migrants to its shores. Today, California has one of the most robust economies in the world. But it -- along with the rest of the world -- is facing a climate emergency whose magnitude dwarfs that of the Dust Bowl. 

Into this crisis steps the City of Los Angeles. While a Green New Deal may have little chance of passage in today's Congress, Los Angeles is taking matters into its own hands. Building on the Sustainable City pLAn of 2015, Mayor Eric Garcetti has proposed a range of initiatives, including increasing use of renewable energy, creating hundreds of thousands of "green jobs," and planting tens of thousands of trees to make the city cleaner, greener, and even more economically vibrant. It may call on developers to build more densely, commuters to wean themselves from gas-powered vehicles, and everyone to adapt to low-carbon lifestyles. 

This month at WUF, we will discuss the land-use implications of this proposal and debate its efficacy and viability: How realistic are these goals? What will they demand of developers, planners, and other land-use stakeholders? Is it a bold initiative to catalyze an era of green economic growth -- or too little too late?

This program is presented in collaboration with the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. 

Panelists
Evelyn Blumenberg, Director of Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies; Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA 
Lauren Faber, Chief Sustainability Officer, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti 
Susana Reyes, Vice President,  National Sierra Club Board of Directors (2017-2019)

Moderator
David Abel, Chair, VerdeXchange