“Blame it on the Boogie”
Who can resist a classic MJ tune? No one I know. While yesterday was very heartbreaking with the passing of our beloved Michael, I must admit that I was never so energized by hearing his music – and I LOVE to rock out to MJ. We have been blessed in the last 24 hours with more Michael Jackson music than we have heard in a long time, so while I am devastated that the King may never collaborate again with Jay Z, I am completely loving the MJ craze that is happening everywhere I turn. Even KCRW played MJ for hours straight last night. And my coworker is finding amazing MJ raver remixes that we are jamming out to at our desks. In the end, some happiness has come from this sad event. I will leave you with these parting words from MJ himself: “Don’t blame it on the sunshine, don’t blame it on the moonlight, don’t blame it on the good times, blame it on the boogie….”
But, on a lighter note, tonight is once again Barnsdall Fridays Weekly Wine Tasting with Silverlake Wine – my new favorite pastime. While LA is known to suffer from a lack of public space, Barnsdall Fridays attempts to make up for this negative. And if I were you, I would check it out. Barnsdall is one of LA’s best-kept secrets. Barnsdall Art Park is the site of Frank Lloyd Wright’s infamous Hollyhock House. Originally owned by Aline Barnsdall, the park rests at the top of Olive Hill, near the intersection of Hollywood and Vermont, and is now owned by the City of Los Angeles. Barnsdall is also home to the Junior Arts Center.
If you enjoy laying on soft grass, viewing the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory, drinking delicious wine, listening to soothing music, and surrounding yourself with others who enjoy the exact same things, this is the event for you. And who can pass up a juicy dog from Let’s Be Frank, followed by a architecturally-famed ice cream sandwich from the folks at the Coolhaus mobile truck.
See you there!
Silver Lake Reservoir Facebook Fan Page
Please check out my newly created Facebook Fan Page for the Silver Lake Reservoir.
Los Angeles Public Transportation Survey
Twelve Los Angeles residents were asked to take part in a 10-question survey on public transportation in Los Angeles. Only 11 participants completed the survey. Respondents of this survey live in a plethora of neighborhoods throughout the city, including Santa Monica, Glendale, the Pacific Palisades, Mid-City West, and Downtown LA. Below is a brief overview of the results of the survey, which was created on Survey Monkey for PPD 599, Internet Technologies and Planning. “Click Here to take survey“>
75% of the respondents have taken public transportation in Los Angeles, with Rapid Bus being the most popular form of transit for the respondents (66.7% of the respondents use/have used Rapid Bus more than any other form of Los Angeles public transportation).
100% of the respondents support the funding of greater public transportation throughout the Los Angeles region. Underground Subway and Light Rail tied for being the type of transportation to which the respondents most wish to see funding allocated. Local Bus and Rapid Bus received the most votes for receiving the least amount of funding. 90.0% of the respondents would prefer to see high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco, rather than from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
When asked which four streets in Los Angeles should have a dedicated bus lane for bus rapid transit, the respondents agreed most on Wilshire Blvd. (8 votes total). Olympic Blvd. received 6 votes, Venice Blvd. received 4 votes, and Santa Monica, Sunset, and Vermont tied with 3 votes each. When asked on a scale of 1 to 5, the importance of bikes lanes in your neighborhood, 70% of the respondents chose 5, being very important.
Regarding parking on commercial corridors in the City of Los Angeles, 63.6% of the respondents chose “metered parking from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday,” as their first choice (out of five choices). 60% chose “no metered or permit parking at any time” as their last choice.
When asked which two cities Los Angeles should emulate in terms of public transportation, the majority of the respondents chose San Francisco, followed by a tie between London and Portland.
PPD 599 Final Project Memo
To: Chris Steins, steins@urbaninsight.com
From: Amanda Bromberg, amandabromberg@mac.com
Subject: PPD 599, Final Project Case Study Proposal
Date: March 23, 2009
The purpose of this memo is to present the specifics of my final project case study for PPD 599. This proposal will lay the groundwork for my research and next steps for the project.
Project:
The project I have chosen to investigate is Napa Redevelopment Partners’ Napa Pipe development. This 154-acre property located in south Napa County is occupied by large industrial buildings and is currently zoned for industrial uses. The proposed multi-use development seeks to remedy major challenges facing Napa County: California’s Housing Requirement must be met and there are not enough reasonably priced home for the 21,000 inbound commuters that work in Napa County each day. This proposed development, however, is extremely controversial, as Napa County has been an agricultural preserve since 1968 and the state has continually pressured the county to build more affordable housing to meet its housing requirements.
The website “A Home for Napans” http://www.ahomefornapans.com clearly lays out the proposed project, the challenges it faces, and the history of the site, as well ways to get involved in the development process.
Research and Interviews:
A detailed examination of the above-mentioned site, as well as press related to the controversial project will set the stage for my interviews. Because Napa Pipe is so controversial, the developer, Napa Redevelopment Partners, hired Davies Public Affairs to mitigate the negativity surrounding the project and to garner support from the community and county stakeholders. I hope to discuss with the following individuals the project and the use of the website in propelling the project forward:
1. Sasha Boghosian – Senior Project Manager, Davies’ Real Estate Practice
2. A project manager from Napa Redevelopment Partners
3. A Napa County or City official
Significance for Planning/Policy:
This case study will hopefully reveal a best practice in online community engagement for controversial planning and real estate development projects.
Proposed Project Outline:
• Project Introduction
• The case for community engagement via the web
o Overview of interviews
• Website Explanation
o Screenshots from “A Home for Napans” http://www.ahomefornapans.com
o Comparison between “A Home for Napans” and the Cornfields-Arroyo Seco Specific Plan website http://cornfieldsla.googlepages.com/index
• Project Significance
o How has this online component affected the Napa Pipe development?
• Conclusion
o How can all planning and real estate development projects utilize the web, even if they are less controversial than the Napa Pipe project?
Wiki Fun
For my class, Internet Technologies and Planning, we were asked to create our own wiki, as well as contribute to the class wiki, “Best Places to Visit in Los Angeles.” A wiki is an editable website that can be shared between a number of people. My first experience with using a wiki was during the fall 2006 semester. For a USC urban design lab based on the rebuilding of USC, the students utilized a class wiki to present projects that would aid in the cities recovery. This wiki was only accessible by the students of the class, but some wikis, such as Wikipedia, are accessible, and editable, by the vast public. Wikis of this size tend to be self-correcting, as so many people are overseeing the site and watching out for the truth in the text.
For this project, I created a wiki for my public art studies class. We are creating a small publication for our graduation and I created this wiki so we can easily share out text and ideas. This is the perfect way for everyone to see each other’s work, while contributing to the overall project. To access this wiki, please click on the following link: http://publicartstudies.pbwiki.com/
For Internet Technologies and Planning, we were asked to contribute to the class wiki, “Best Places to Visit in Los Angeles.” My contribution to the wiki was the Silver Lake Reservoir. To see the class wiki, click here: http://melrose.pbwiki.com/ To see my individual page, click here: http://melrose.pbwiki.com/Silver-Lake-Reservoir
Favorite Spots in Silver Lake
Here is a google map mashup of my 7 favorite spots in Silver Lake. You can click on each marker to learn more about the site.
View Larger Map
View From My Balcony
For a class project I had to learn how to create and upload a video onto YouTube. Not as simple as you think. At least that is coming from a technologically challenged person. I guess millions of others have not had that much trouble.
Regardless, here is my video: a view from my apartment balcony in Silver Lake. Quite a view, even on an overcast day. I love LA…
Urban Eating Habits Survey
In an effort to understand how respondents utilize the resources provided by their urban environment when making choices related to food consumption, the survey “Urban Eating Habits” was created. Using Google Docs Forms, the survey presented 10 questions that touched upon subjects ranging from the tendency towards delivery/take-out to the frequency of visits to a famer’s market. Urban Interpretations hopes that this brief online survey will begin to expose a general trend amongst city dwellers with regard to their eating habits.
While the survey is too narrow to paint a clear picture of how respondents, and a greater urban population, truly dine, both in and out of the house, this exercise will prepare Urban Interpretations for the continued use of Google Docs Forms in its work. This web-based tool provides a simple means for broader community engagement and Urban Interpretations looks forward to the continued utilization of this device.
To access the online survey, please click on the following link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cFNULTBHcUZfeVFQV3ZyUHV5b19NZnc6MA..
Summary of Findings:
Twelve respondents took part in the first Urban Eating Habits survey of 2009. Interesting highlights from the survey include the following: Of these 12 respondents, 67% make coffee or tea in their home in the morning and 58%, will only do take-out/delivery once a week. While 43% of respondents go out to eat 2 times a week, 58% say that price is somewhat of a factor when choosing a restaurant. Respondents are spread across the board in terms of how often they visit a farmer’s market in a month; however, Trader Joe’s is by far the most popular grocery store amongst the respondents.
This chart represents each respondent’s number of visits to a farmer’s market in a month:
To access the complete data set, please click the following link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pST-0GqF_yQPWvrPuyo_Mfw
Requirements Document – Santa Obispo Economic Development Corporation
Online Membership Directory Project
Prepared for: Santa Obispo Economic Development Corporation
Prepared by: Amanda Bromberg
Prepared on: February 17, 2009
Reference: 2.17.09.01
Version: V1
Filename: so_edc_omd.doc
Project Summary:
Urban Interpretations has been contracted by the Santa Obispo Economic Development Corporation (SOEDC) to develop a secure online membership directory for its 200-some members. While an annual membership directory has been published in the past, the client wishes to reduce its costs through the implementation of an online directory, which its staff can easily update when new membership information becomes available. This user-friendly online database will allow for a more streamlined and accessible membership directory, available at any moment to all active SOEDC members.
1. Member Usage Requirements
Requirements ID Description
R1.1 Members will be required to use a login to access this secure site.
R1.2 Member directory will offer members a way to reset their passwords automatically.
R1.3 Members will not have the authority to update their own contact information on the online membership directory.
2. Design and Structural Requirements
Requirements ID Description
R2.1 Each membership listing will include the member’s name, company, title, address, email, website address, and a color photo.
R2.2 Member directory will list members by both last name and company name.
R2.3 Member directory will be searchable by members’ last name, company name, as well as by keyword.
R2.4 The online membership directory will contain a running log of those who sign in at all times for review only by the Santa Obispo EDC.
R2.5 A weekly report of this sign-in log will be emailed to the Santa Obispo EDC system administrator.
3. Authority and Security Requirements
Requirements ID Description
R3.1 Only the staff at the Santa Obispo Economic Development Corporation will be granted the authority to update members’ contact information on the online membership directory, members will not have this power.
R3.2 Membership data will continue to be stored in SalesforceCRM and only the staff at the Santa Obispo Economic Development Corporation will be granted the authority to update members’ contact information on the online membership directory.
R3.3 Only active members will be granted the approval to log into the online membership directory.
R3.4 Online directory will be located on a secure website.
R3.5 All data stored and transferred on the site must remain completely secure.
R3.6 The online membership directory will be backed up daily.
4. Project Risks
Urban Interpretations believes in the power of transparency in our work; therefore, we wish to list the following potential risks associated with this project:
Clunky Updating Process: The project wishes to deny members the ability to update their own information on the online membership directory. By granting permission to only the SOEDC staff, the updating process contains an extra, time-consuming step in order to keep all membership information stored in both the SalesforceCRM and the online directory up-to-date. Furthermore, this added step creates the possibility for error when transferring updated membership information from SalesforceCRM to the online directory.
Security Issues: By granting members the ability to reset their password automatically, SOEDC allows for the possibility that non-members will gain access to these updated passwords. Through access to a member’s email, a non-member could easily trace the member’s new password and enter the online membership directory. With the potential for so many new passwords floating in cyberspace, tracing the offender will become a difficult task.
