Government

How to Build a New Park So Its Neighbors Benefit

A new report from UCLA and the University of Utah surveys strategies for “greening without gentrification.”
Philadelphia's Rail Park project is transforming an abandoned rail line into an elevated park. The first phase opened last year.Matt Rourke/AP

The Los Angeles River only intermittently resembles an actual river, even though that’s what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entombed in concrete in the 1930s. Since then, its 51-mile course has been a trickling flood channel, the scene of countless movie car chases, and a punchline about how artificial L.A. can seem.

Now the river is coming back to life. A massive restoration scheme will peel away its hard gray sheath to create a living riverbank along an 11-mile stretch, flanked by walking and biking trails, cafes and river-centric activities, and lots of green space. L.A. is very much on course to build its answer to New York City’s High Line.