by admin | September 1, 2010 | 8:52AM
This is a re-post of a guest post on CleanTechLA blog by Kevin Lenhart, LAEDC Strategic Initiatives Intern, who has been working on the Greening of Los Angeles Economy project. Kevin is doing his internship in preparation for graduate study in sustainable development this fall. Since graduating in 2003 from UCLA, he has been touring and recording as a professional musician.
As the old adage goes, “What gets measured gets managed.”
The LAEDC is no stranger to this principle, having retained or attracted nearly 1,200 businesses to Los Angeles County since 1996. Such activity has generated a roughly $8 billion dollar direct impact on the regional economy.
To fully capitalize on the opportunities presented by the burgeoning clean tech sector, the LAEDC has undertaken an in-depth study of what it means to “green” the Los Angeles economy. To best address our urgent environmental goals we must first understand both where we currently stand with respect to sustainability, and where we must go. “Sustainability” should be thought of in an economic as well as ecological sense. Given our tandem economic and environmental goals, we require a solution that not only halts pollution and improves our environment’s health, but also creates jobs and grows our economy in an environmentally friendly way.
Simply put, environmental health cannot be separated from corresponding economic health. Such symbiosis is possible, but before these dual purposes can be achieved, a strategy is required.
Enter the LAEDC’s Greening of the Los Angeles Economy report. This study, [at press time] now nearing completion, examines the challenges, opportunities and threats associated with efforts to make the county’s economy more efficient, less polluting, and more sustainable. The study addresses four key questions:
- What is driving the greening of the L.A. economy?
- How will efforts to green the economy affect the existing industries and businesses that power the L.A. economy?
- What new opportunities will greening create?
- What can we do to make sure a greener L.A. is a stronger L.A.?
Read more after the jump.
(more…)
by admin | August 26, 2010 | 10:59AM
A special contribution from Christine Tatchell, LAEDC Strategic Initiatives Intern. Christine is a recent graduate from the University of Southern California and will be attending graduate school in London in the fall where she will be pursuing a degree in international public policy.
Los Angeles County well-known for its love affair with the automobile is trying to rekindle its long ago romance with the commuter rail.
Say “how you doin’?” to Metro’s 30/10 Intiative.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) 30/10 Initiative aims to accelerate 30 years worth of infrastructure work down to 10 years, in an effort to create an advanced and expanded transit system in Los Angeles county and expedite the job creation and economic benefits associated with such. The project relies on revenue from a half-cent sales tax from Measure R, which L.A. County voters overwhelmingly passed in late 2008 to increase funding for transportation and transit projects in the car-clogged city.
In using the long-term expected revenue collected from the Measure R sales tax as collateral for long-term bonds and a federal loan, the initiative would allow Metro to build 12 key mass transit projects in 10 years, rather than 30.
And moving fast in this love affair is a good thing.
Accelerating construction of these projects would result in considerable cost savings of almost $5 billion. Building the 12 rail lines over 30 years would cost an estimated $18.7 billion, but building them in just 10 years — eliminating the 20 subsequent years of rising costs — would cost just $14 billion.
Implementation of the 30/10 initiative would also accelerate Measure R’s benefits like creating thousands of much-needed jobs, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an ease in traffic congestion.
By moving quickly with the massive public works projects funded by Measure R, Southern California’s economy can get going again.
With 30/10, we can build clean transit lines faster, creating jobs, saving money, improving air quality, reducing traffic, and efficiently transporting millions of people every year. Since June 2006, the state has lost a mind-boggling 43% of its construction jobs — a little more than 400,000 overall. 30/10 has the potential to bring back 166,000 of those jobs in L.A. County.
An improved and extended rail system in Los Angeles County will allow for greater accessibility for commuters by reducing traffic congestion which in turn reducing emission and improve our air quality. Additionally, the project would achieve significant quality of life outcomes including adding 77 million new annual transit boardings, and reducing annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by at least 191 million miles, annual gallons of gasoline used by 10.3 million, and annual mobile source pollution emissions by 521,000 pounds.
What’s not to love!
The federal government has the capacity to do something about its most pressing pestilent problem of lack of jobs bylending now to help fund the projects and securing the loan using the special tax already approved by L.A. voters. But we need all the public and private support we can get to mobilize not only the L.A. County Congressional delegation but other members of congress and the Administration.
This means community and business leaders as well as individuals from all sectors of the L.A. economy weighing in on behalf of a better transportation future for Los Angeles.
With L.A. county as a key driver of the California economy and with California critical to the nation’s economic picture, 30/10 is a major project that affects not only Angelenos but also Americans everywhere regardless of political orientation. If successful, the plan to borrow billions from the federal government would result in the largest transit expansion project in the nation and serve as a model in other “self-help” regions.
The 30/10 initiative is both an unprecedented step forward for L.A. County and a model of progress for the entire nation.
And a testament that true love (for the commuter rail) never dies.
by admin | August 18, 2010 | 2:42PM
Create a Business-Friendly Environment: Objective 1/Strategy 3
The City of Los Angeles has made doing business a little bit easier.
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning recently streamlined the process for businesses to renew Conditional Use Permits (CUPs), which are one-time exemptions granted to property owners that allow uses otherwise prevented by the zoning code. Under the new rules, applications to renew CUPs will have fewer requirements and business owners will receive a decision within 75 days. The memorandum signed by Los Angeles City Chief Zoning Administrator Michael LoGrande states that the new procedure will “streamline this process and make better use of limited resources” in the city’s Office of Zoning Administration. This new policy allows the automatic renewal of any existing CUP if the business is still in compliance with its original conditions and is viewed as a win for restaurants and clubs, businesses that usually require a CUP.
Read the LA Business Journal story here.
by admin | August 11, 2010 | 3:37PM
Assemblymember Manuel Perez (D-80th District), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy, commends the L.A. County Strategic Plan for Economic Development. (View the letter in PDF.)
In his statement:
In developing the Los Angeles County Strategic Plan using such a collaborative and bottom up approach, you have created a blueprint that will lead the way in creating quality jobs that will benefit not only business, but the entire community…[The Plan] is one of the most comprehensive plans I have seen on protecting and enriching the economic solvency of the region.
California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado (California Senator at the time of statement) and Senator Ron Calderon also issued statements in support of the Plan.
by Oakley Boren | August 10, 2010 | 7:41AM
Build 21st Infrastructure: Objective 2, Strategy 3
The Huffington Post released their list of the 7 Unexpectedly Green Cities in the U.S. City of Long Beach nabbed a spot on the list for its walkability and, most importantly, their surprising new way of solar power generation.
Long Beach has already generated solar power from some creatively odd sources: trash cans, parking lots and a dog park. In 2008, the city began to use solar energy to condense 150 gallons of trash in each 32-gallon trash container to reduce the energy used for waste disposal.
The City of Long Beach also recently announced the 2010 Long Beach Solar Tour on October 2. According to Everything Long Beach, the annual solar tour is an opportunity to learn about many of the sustainability efforts that are taking place in Long Beach as a part of the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour, the world’s largest grassroots solar event.
Not only does Long Beach have a walk score of 70 as 52 percent of its residents prefer to walk, but by 2020, the city hopes to harvest 10 megawatts of solar power capacity. Long Beach has already generated solar power from some creatively odd sources: trash cans, parking lots and a dog park. In 2008, the city began to use solar energy to condense 150 gallons of trash in each 32-gallon trash container to reduce the energy used for waste disposal. According to the NRDC’s profile, this miraculous innovation is just one of the many solar powered methods that the city is implementing.
