When You Ride the Bus, You Ride With Big Data

Will Public Transit Apps Create Customers or Citizens?

When I first arrived in San Francisco in 1988, I often took a bus called the 22 Fillmore, which ran from Potrero Hill, made a right turn near the Castro, and out to the Tony Marina. On one end dwelled ancient socialites in little hats and on the other old longshoremen, with so much wackiness in between that the route was rightly called the “22 Fellini.” It was like the old canard about nudist camps—everyone on the bus was an equal, especially because none of us knew when the next …

By Lisa Margonelli | June 29, 2016

The Downsizing of the City of Outsized Dreams

L.A.'s Ambitions Have Given Way to Trepidation

by Joe Mathews | October 15, 2015

Has Los Angeles downsized its dreams?

In the last century, Southern Californians dreamed so big and global that the size of our aspirations came to define this place. We created a …

Once Upon a Time, the City of Angels Was Defined by Sprawl, Cars, and Racial Conflict

Now We're Clustering More in the Center, Slowly Gravitating Towards Public Transit, and Finding Ways to Be More Inclusive

By Manuel Pastor | October 15, 2015

People think they know three things about Angelenos and our aspirations. The first is that we want our own space and will embrace sprawl and long commutes to get it. …

Trains Are Great! But What L.A. Needs Are Bus Lanes

Seven Transportation Experts Push for a Bolder and More Inclusive Transportation System

August 17, 2015

“Nobody walks in L.A.,” or so goes the 1984 song by Missing Persons. That refrain is an exaggeration, of course, but L.A. is ranked below other cities in walkability and …

Can the City of Lights Solve the Traffic Woes of the City of Angels?

Looking to Paris and Other Global Cities to Help Southern California Get Moving

December 8, 2014

In London, tourists happily buy T-shirts and mugs with the city’s iconic Underground logo or “Mind the Gap” slogan. The New York subway’s signage for famous stops like Grand Central …

Long Dead Streetcars Still Shape L.A. Neighborhoods

Why Millions of Angelenos Live According to the Plan of an Extinct Transit System

by Leah Brooks and Byron Lutz | September 23, 2014

In the early 1900s, streetcars were the dominant mode of transit in the Los Angeles area. They ran from Pomona to the ocean, and from the San Fernando Valley to …

public transit