Urban Space Privatization: Examining the Impacts and Modalities - Essay Sample

Introduction

Despite the dynamic debates concerning the impacts, modalities, as well as the degree of urban space privatization, the available literature particularly the study led by Gomes (2019) indicates that few analyses exist, which indicate the space's emergency in precise places. Moreover, based on the heels of the ongoing urban transition coupled with large-scale investments of urban infrastructure, along with the scarcity of land (van Noorloos, Klaufus & Steel, 2019), individuals are empowered individuals to pay close attention to urban space debates. As such, this paper aims at offering a comprehensive analysis of the downtown Los Angeles debate emphasizing livability and housing associated with homelessness featuring the five CD14 Candidates.

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Location of the Debate

The debate was mainly centered in the downtown LA (Downtown Los Angeles) area. The Downtown LA (DLA) is an urban space mainly representing the city center of LA, and a rich commercial region offering support for hundreds of thousands of its occupants, travellers and commuters. The space is divided into districts and neighborhoods, some overlapping. According to the 2000 USA census data the space population included 27,849 people (Laura Yax, WSCS, ASD, 2013). The space constitutes skid row, Old Bank District, Little Tokyo, jewelry district, industrial district, fashion district, Civic Center, as well as Bunker Hill. The figures below illustrate both the map as well as an image showcasing the structures located within the downtown LA urban space.

Arguments About the Site's Use

The five candidates contributed tremendously on two major topics that gave reliable information on the site's recent and future use, including liability as well as housing and homelessness.

Housing and Homelessness

The debate occurred during an on-going annual Los Angeles homeless count that took place Downtown. Slayton, (2020) states that according to the 2019 annual homeless count, the volunteer participants recorded 11% rise in the number of homeless individuals in the streets of the Los Angeles City Council District 14 (CD14) since the previous tally in 2018. De Leon who was among the candidates proposed the identification of all city-possessed land and building sites that were able to accommodate new housing projects. De Leon also proposed the use of prefabricated houses for allocation of the homeless as opposed to Otteson who projected the construction of low-barrier homes as a better short-term solution. Otteson mentioned provision of a municipal bank to settle the rent from the first and second month.

Livability

The candidates talked of improving on transportation in Downtown LA. All the five candidates were in support of the provision of electric scooters and introduction of the Downtown streetcar that would be operating down Seventh Street as well as Broadway which according to Slayton, (2020) was a proposal from Huizar the then representative of CD14. De Leon suggested the use of an electric bus in case the introduction of the streetcar could not be implemented. All five participants agreed on the development of more parks in the area. Otteson and Zamora argued over the need for additional public schools as Otteson stated that the increase in public schools would make sure all the families in Downtown would remain there. Additionally, all the five candidates talked of the necessity of expanding the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) foot patrols to improve on public safety.

Main Players/Actors in the Urban Space

The principle players featured in the debate included Five CD14 city council candidates, one debate moderator and approximately 117 persons who attended the forum. The CD14 city council candidates included Monica Garcia who is LA's Unified School District board member, Cyndi Otteson a former Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council Vice President, John Jimenez who is a nonprofit executive, Kevin de Leon as the former State Senate President pro tempore, and one social worker known as Raquel Zamora. The event moderator involved Jon Regardie, a former LA Downtown news editor this group can be described a strong ad loyal neighborhood group involving politicians, former employees from within the region and residents of the region with precise interest on the debate.

Historical Analysis

Downtown LA is the Los Angeles' chief business district that hosts about 58,000 people and 500,000 jobs. Downtown Los Angeles is divided into districts which are named according to the activities carried out during the recent and pre-historic times such as fashion, arts, theatre, banks, as well as jewelry districts. In 1893, Lewis L. Bradbury a gold-mining millionaire from LA commissioned a five-story office building office structure renowned for its beautiful ornate ironwork and sky lit atrium features. In 1917, a grand central market opened within the DLA urban space constituting a 30,000 square-foot retail marketplace and food emporium to celebrate myriad cultures and cuisines of LA. Six years later, the LA Baltimore Hotel was established across from Pershing Square; however currently the hotel is referred to as the Millennium Biltmore. In 1927, a 13-story building was developed within the debated space and became a leading movie theatre for the United Artists. However, currently the site is owned by the Ace Hotel organization, along with the Theatre of 1600 seats. During the same era in 1940, the Arroyo Seco Parkway was opened between DLA becoming the country's first controlled regulated limited access highway. Currently the LA region has approximately twenty-seven interconnecting freeways.

In 1971, the LACC (Los Angeles Convention Center) was opened and it is currently owned by the City of Los Angeles. Site attracts millions of visitors from across the globe annually. In 1999, STAPLES center was opened, which is currently owed by Anschutz Entertainment Group and Arturo L.A. Arena firm. The center served as a new home for professional hockey and basketball teams. In 2003, the Walt Disney Concert Hall was opened and became a home for the much-admired LA Philharmonic. The 2014 period involved cultural milestones including the Music Center's fiftieth anniversary, along with the opening of the modern art museum known as The Broad. As such, it is evident that, the debated space has always been a commercial hub since between the late eighteenth and all through the twentieth centuries. Most of the structures developed during this period are for recreation and business purposes.

Analysis of the Debate

The debate mainly featured two audiences including the CD14 candidates as well as the public with the discussion of two fundamental themes including livability, along with housing and homelessness facing the debated DLA space. One of the analytic aspects to consider when analyzing the CD14 debate involves the determination of the possibility of the either the plans or the arguments lay down by the debate contributors. Concerning the issue of homelessness, De Leon proposed on utilizing every city-owned real estate site for housing the homeless through modular prefabricated units. De Leon seemed to advertise his intended role on state Legislature to provide funds for the housing project. Zamora advocated for the expansion of local services to assist persons facing addiction and trauma across the streets of the debates space. Garsia's proposed plan involved establishing "innovative zones" along with the use of publicly owned spaces to house the homelessness. Otteson also agreed on the housing idea, but proposed other novel ideas for resolving the crisis including low-barrier shelters, as well as safe parking across the CD14 neighborhood.

In my opinion, the four candidates agreed on the concept of establishing housing units for the homelessness, but they never offered concrete solutions concerning how the structures would be created, for instance how to source for funds. Nonetheless, Wesson appeared to have a different positive approach for the housing crisis as he proposed for a municipal bank to be established within the debated space. I believe an achievement of establishing the municipal bank I downtown LA would provide a public option for managing the City's finances including the financing for the proposed housing units for the homeless persons. Additionally, according to Tran, and Roth (2018), through the municipal type of bank, the city council can cut their borrowing expenses in half while doubling their influence to invest in their communities, particularly with low-income housing for the homeless individuals. When considering the alternative of not having a municipal-owned city bank, the public funds circulating across the debated DTLA space would continue to be visible to the fraudulent, as well as the reckless behavior of bigger banks that according to Malpezzi (2017), caused the Great Recession. Otteson also proposed a department within the council for conducting homeless affairs. However, in my opinion, it highly probable that the newly proposed department would differ with the LAHSA, which is the current joint city-county agency tasked with supervising the homelessness crisis.

The other debated issue included livability, particularly concerning transportation as well as security issues. While deliberating on the concern of transportation and how to optimize mobility in the DTLA region, every candidate argued in support of Downtown streetcar down Broadway and Seventh Street proposed by Huizar during his prior tenure. When the candidates were asked about the use of electric scooters, as well as other dockless transit options, they agreed that the devices would provide the much required mobility options. However, Zamora and Otteson suggested the requirement for protected bike lanes within the DTLA region, along with calling for regulation of private scooter organizations aiming to operate within the debated space. One of the necessities for the regulation was highlighted by De Leon who mentioned that the dockless scooters require docking stations, which apparently disregards the role of the dockless automobiles. In my opinion, this argument is positive and consistent with the required regulation based on the fact that today approximately 3,300 dockless vehicles operate within the DTLA area. The theme of public safety drew significant attention from the audience. Nonetheless all the five candidates settled on the expansion of the LAPD foot patrols. Theses requirement is significant based on the fact that even though violent crime has minimized across the city, the Central Division of the LAPD reported approximately 4.2 % in crimes related to Part 1, which involves both property as well as violent offences (Slayton & Thomas, 2020).

Although violent crime is down overall in the city, the LAPD's Central Division (which covers most of Downtown Los Angeles) reported a 4.2% increase in Part 1 crime, which includes violent and property crime.

Future Impact

If the proposed plans including developing housing units for the homeless persons, expanding the LAPD foot patrols and creating an additional homeless affairs department, along with establishing a municipal city bank are implemented, future impact of the debated space would include limiting space for mobility, thus resulting in congestion and mobility impairment across the region.

Conclusion

This paper has deliberated on the analysis of the downtown Los Angeles debate emphasizing livability and housing associated with homelessness. Generally, even though almost every candidate who was central to the debate agreed on the concept of establishing housing units for the homelessness, but they never offered concrete solutions concerning how the structures would be created. However, there is need to establish a mun...