Living Car Free Should Not Be Challenging

So, the other day Beth, who all of a sudden is going challengicious on everyone's ass, challenged people to live a week without a car and then blog about it.

Now I decided to rise to her challenge because I am hard-core like that.

Heh.

But it is true that I have been car-free since September. And guys, I have to tell you, it's so freaking awesome.

But here's what's really awesome about being car free in London. It's not a challenge. Not even a small one. Not even a teensy tiny challenge.

Because the truth is the fastest way for me to get to school is ... to walk. There's no other faster way. Not kidding. I've tried the bus, I've tried the tube. I haven't tried biking, but given how long it would take me to park my bike, walking still comes out ahead. Walking is simply the most efficient method for me to commute. It's fantastic. I get some fresh air, I get some exercise, and it's about as carbon light as you can get!

Of course, any time I need to get anywhere further away, I rely on the amazing system of public transit that London offers. The tube is beloved by many, and it is a wonderful system (except for the frickin Victoria line. Don't ask me what's up with that line.) But, personally, if I have the time, I prefer to sit atop a double-decker bus and watch the city go by.

So, for me, not driving a car is not much of a sacrifice. In fact, driving a car, that would be the sacrifice, given the insurance, parking, and congestion fees that I'd have to pay. (If you want to drive in Central London during work hours Monday through Friday, you have to pay what's called a congestion charge.) Not to mention the traffic. If I had to drive around in Central London every day, I'd probably go mad. (Well, to be fair, I'd probably die before I went mad because I'd end up driving on the wrong side of the road. But, you know what I mean.)

I think it's great that Beth is challenging everyone to go a week without driving. But from an urban policy perspective, my opinion is, if you live in a reasonably dense area, and it's a sacrifice to take public transit, then that means the public transit system isn't designed correctly and it needs to be fixed. Personally, after living in LA, and attempting to commute via public transit, and then moving to London, I do not think that taking public transit should be challenge worthy.

Fixing public transit doesn't have to be expensive either. There are plenty of examples, like Curitiba, of very inexpensive but well designed public transit systems. What is required is innovative urban planners and some political will. Los Angeles has one line (the Orange Line for the Angelenos in the hizzouse) through the Valley that mimics the Curitiba plan. But, frankly, in my opinion, LA could stand to have a few more rapid transit bus lines in the city. I'd probably add rapid transit bus to Sunset, Wilshire, La Cienega, Sepulveda, and Vermont. You could do that at a fraction of the cost of the planned subway to the West side, and if you had rapid bus transit on those five streets, you could get from Los Feliz to Santa Monica in half an hour. Villaraigosa, do you hear me?!

Anyway, forgive me for rambling on about rapid transit buses like a rapid transit bus maniac, but in the end, here's my basic take away point. Colin once wrote a very nice post about how living sustainably should be like falling off a log. That's how I feel about public transit. Taking public transit, should be like falling off a log.

To paraphrase former Bogota mayor, Enrique Peñalosa, we can design cities to support people not cars.

All it takes is our will to change.

P.S. If you are car-free in general, or willing to go car-free for a week, please do join in on Beth's challenge, and blog about your experiences.

Well, What Do You Know

I was doing some research on Amsterdam for a presentation on sustainable cities, and somehow I came across this article in the Economist. Without being able to examine the Brooking's Institution's methodology, I'm a little suspicious, but frankly it doesn't surprise me as much as it probably surprises others that Los Angeles came out fairly green.

The authors make a good point that the weather works to LA's advantage. If you remember, I went without both heat and a/c for a whole year in LA with no problems whatsoever. Obviously most people are turning on their heat and a/c a little, but you need surprisingly little of either in LA. The coastal breezes keep things cool in the summer, and the desert climate means that the temperature drops substantially at night.

As for the length of commute, anecdotally I think it's probably true that a good number of Angelenos don't actually commute that far. I commuted about 10 miles a day to my job, and that is, I think, fairly average.

Like I said, without looking at the Brooking's report myself, I can't really critique their methodology ... excluding industry is also a problem, and given LA's aviation industry, that would probably make LA's numbers worse. But I imagine the report also ignored average food miles, which would probably work to LA's benefit.

Hmmmm ... I may have to move back to Los Angeles after all. :)

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

All right, let's get that cranky post off the top of this blog, shall we? Sorry about that, folks, but I'm better today! Also, in order to rectify the balance of the universe after my extremely dismal post, Chile has volunteered to sing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" in a red Annie-style wig. 

'Volunteer,' 'knows nothing about it and was volunteered by me,' whatever. Same difference right? You'll do it, right Chile? Come on! It'll be fun!!

Anyway, so today, I want to talk some more about Jane Jacobs. Sorry, I can't get enough of her, I think, because it is somewhat amazing to me how relevant a book from 1961 is in the building of sustainable cities. A week ago, I read her chapter on reducing car flow in cities. Her brilliant, yet when you think about it, totally obvious answer?

Make driving a car more annoying.

As Jacobs explains, and any incisive observer of LA traffic patterns could intuit, adding lanes and roads doesn't make traffic flow much better, because more cars end up on the road. Adding lanes/roads etc only works if there is a finite number of cars at one time. Since there is not, adding lanes is unlikely to decrease traffic.

Thus, Jacobs suggests that if we want to reduce car flow, we need to widen sidewalks, instead of narrowing them. This will have the result that some people will find travel sufficiently annoying, and will use another mode of transport.

So in the vein of Jane Jacobs, I have a suggestion for LA.

Get rid of some of the parking lots.

Now I know that many Angelenos reading this blog are likely to think I'm insane. Why would we DECREASE the amount of available parking in LA?

Simply, because it's too easy to park in LA. And because it's too easy to park, people in LA don't walk. Even though LA is a city with weather conducive to walking.

Melinda and I actually had this conversation several months ago about walkability. She listed her walk score for her new neighborhood in Seattle, so I asked her what the walkability was for her neighborhood in LA, because mine was surprisingly high. And she was similarly surprised with the relatively high walkability for her old neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Ever since then, I've formed this theory that part of the reason that LA has such an ingrained car culture is because it's too easy to park. If you can easily pull into a parking spot, might as well drive even if you're only traveling a quarter of a mile.

So here's my wacky suggestion for LA this week that will both reduce parking and strengthen public transit.

On most of the large streets, cars are allowed to park in a way that blocks the right-most lane except during rush hour, when the right-most lane becomes an extra lane for traffic. But instead of letting cars park in the right-most lane most of the time, why not use that lane for dedicated rapid bus transit?  

By cutting parking options (and cutting a lane for cars during rush hour), driving will become more annoying. At the same time, public transit will become LESS annoying, which will push some people out of their cars and into buses.

Oh sure, the whole idea is political suicide, and all, but at the same time ... wouldn't it be awesome if you could take rapid transit bus from the Sunset Strip to Hollywood? Or say, if you could go to Sky Bar, not pay $20 to park, have as much to drink as you want, and then take rapid bus transit down La Cienega and across Wilshire to your apartment in Hancock Park? Not every major street would need a dedicated bus transit lane; you could get pretty far if there were dedicated bus lanes on say Sunset, Santa Monica, Wilshire, La Cienega and La Brea. And we wouldn't have to wait 20 billion years for the subway to expand. Hell, we could do this tomorrow if we wanted to.

Sure, I know, ain't gonna happen. But a girl can dream, right?

Informal Space

I'm reading The Death and Life of Great American Cities right now by Jane Jacobs, which is a really, really fantastic book. I'll do a review when I finish it, but after 84 pages, I can already recommend it to you all.

It's about building cities, you know, for people. Jacobs wrote the book in 1961, when things like sustainability and climate change and what not were not on anyone's radar. So it's alternatively amazing and alternately life-affirming that what makes cities good for people is exactly what makes cities good for the environment.

The things Jacobs mentions? Lively sidewalks. People out on the streets. Informal gathering places. Small shops.

It's interesting, in retrospect, because the discussion takes me back several years to ... 2003. I had been living in LA for two years, and I really, really hated it. The city seemed to me to be a maze of concrete and palm trees. It was an awful, artificial city, and I leaped at any chance to leave for a weekend or two.

And then, and I honestly, don't remember the details of how this happened, but through a friend, I ended up spending all my time in a neighborhood in LA with lively street life. Where people would hang out at the coffee shop until 2:00 am playing chess. Or drink cheap wine at the Italian restaurant down the street. Or have a cosmo at the hipster Indian restaurant up the street. Where everyone knew the name of the guys who worked at the 7-11, and they, in turn, knew our names.

Gradually, as I started spending more and more time in the neighborhood, I became more and more woven into the fabric of its streets. And as the city started to mean more to me than an assortment of freeways, I became more and more of an Angeleno.

As I got busier with my job, I spent less in the neighborhood. I no longer had time to hang out at the coffee shop, or eat at the Indian restaurant. And yet, my walk from the metro to my apartment continued to take me through the neighborhood. And even though I no longer participated in the 'street culture' per se, I was still a part of the fabric of the neighborhood. I still ran into acquaintances right and left. And the street was still littered with my many memories of Los Angeles.

Now some might think that the point of this story is that love for a city is about forming long lasting solid friendships with your fellow city denizens. But this is emphatically not the point. Instead, the point, as Jacobs explains, is about forming a strong web of connections with strangers, acquaintances, and friendly acquaintances.

Indeed, I have only stayed in touch with a couple of the people who I met on this street. Most of my strong friendships were formed elsewhere. And yet, when I think of LA, when I think of where I left my heart in Los Angeles, I think of this street. And all the assorted people who wandered through it, who wandered through my life from time to time. I think of the sense of belonging I felt as I walked down the street.

And that's what is so interesting about LA, and I think, might have something to do with my LA experience versus ... everyone else's.

My love of LA stems from a neighborhood in LA where everyone walks to the neighboring restaurants, the coffee shops, the bars, the grocery, the bank. A bunch of my acquaintances from the neighborhood didn't even have cars! Sidewalks were wide to allow outside seating at the many restaurants on the street, and pedestrians remained until the wee hours of the morning.

When you find these pockets of LA, there isn't really much that can beat it. Because, frankly, the weather is fabulous, you get local strawberries in January, the restaurants are amazing, and the city is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world.

Unfortunately, too many people in LA get caught in the concrete, unsustainable jungle. They spend too much time in their cars, sequestered away from everyone else. But if people in Los Angeles would just get out of their cars a little, they would find out that they live in a city filled with vibrant, eclectic, creative people. That off the freeways, you smell jasmine, and not smog. And that walking in LA is the only way to you are ever going to hear the heartbeat of the City of Angels, a city, truly deserving of its name, if ever you take the time to get to know it.

My Funny Valentine

To say I cried today would be the world's biggest understatement ever. I cried, and cried, and bawled and then teared up some more. 

Seriously. It was a little ridiculous at times. I even cried as I dashed into the elevator at work because that would be my LAST. EVER. MORNING. DASH. TO. THE. ELEVATOR!!

Um, yeah. Can we say pathetic much?

Everyone at work was just amazing. I'm not even sure I want to talk about how amazing they were because it will just make me start sobbing again. But basically, every single person I work with was supportive of me. And they all said ridiculously nice things about me, and people, I don't know how I got this lucky. How did I get such wonderful co-workers and friends and family? And how am I leaving them all?

**********************

In eleven days, I would have lived in LA for seven years. Seven freaking years. And oh man, I love this city so much it hurts. I love everything about it: its freeways, its freakish weather, the palm trees, the hills, the beaches, the 101 and the 5. But not the 405 because, I'm maudlin and sentimental, I haven't taken leave of my senses.

Mostly I love that this city is littered with memories. I remember that apartment in Palms that Honda and I checked out that looked like it had literally been the site of a drug bust like the night before. I'm not exactly sure why they showed us the place ... did we look like the kind of people who preferred our windows smashed and our walls caved in?

I remember the apartment in Hollywood where the landlord opened up the place, and we walked in on a girl lying on the floor having an overdose.

Yeah.

I remember the apartment in Hollywood which we finally chose. It was next door to a meth lab, sure, and there were screaming children in the courtyard at all hours of the day, and the balcony was built wrong so when it rained, water seeped into the bedroom and ruined the carpets, and the roof leaked, but it was home for five years. And I loved it.

And I remember my current apartment. And what a bitch it was to paint with the high ceilings, but how much I freaking loved the color.

I remember the street in Los Feliz, which to this day, I still can't walk down without running into someone I know.

I remember eating Korean Barbecue, and then driving to Mashti Malones for ice-cream. (Mashti Malones, in case you were wondering, is an Iranian ice-cream place that took the place of an Irish pub called Molly Malones many years ago. The sign from the pub was left over, so the new Iranian owners decided to incorporate the Irish name into their Iranian ice-cream shop.)

I remember singing my heart out at The Brass Monkey.

I remember hearing the Silversun Pickups at the Echo. And then at the Wiltern.

I remember hearing the most amazing jazz vocalist at a tiny little bar off of Crenshaw. 

I remember eating the most delicious pancakes with a bacon-infused syrup at this great restaurant that only serves local and sustainable food. If you're in LA, go there! It's called Square One and it's basically on the corner of Fountain and L. Ron Hubbard Way.

Yes, there is an L. Ron Hubbard Way.

Several years ago, when I worked in casting, I remember meeting an actor who had just moved out here from New York. The casting director asked her how she liked LA comparatively.

She paused and thought about it and said, "You know, it's different. When I lived in New York, it was very obvious where the fun! cool! places were. It's like they basically had neon signs above them saying, 'This place is fun! Come here!' Whereas in LA, there are no signs telling you where the fun places are. It's more like a treasure hunt. But then once you find the fun, it's even more special, because you had to search for it."

In all my years here, I have never heard a more apt description for LA. 

LA, I found the fun. And you, my City of Angels, are my heart. I love you.

Until we meet again.

Friday Things

Things I Have Done:

• Given notice at work.
• Given notice at my apartment.
• Sent in my visa application.
• Sent in my student aid paperwork.
• Taken torn clothes to be repaired.
• Purchased books from my "non-required" reading list.
• Taken car in because the check engine light went on (of course, and of course it was nothing.)
• Taken computer in to be fixed. (The battery pack kept falling out because this one teensy plastic circle broke, and as a result, the whole bottom casing of my laptop has to be replaced. You can bet Apple got an earful from me about the environmental impact or replacing the whole casing.)
• Set a date for yard sale.

Things I Have Not Done:

• Stopeed working.
• Received my visa.
• Picked up my clothes from the tailor.
• Read.
• Washed my car.
• Listed my car for sale.
• Painted my apartment. Or hired painters.
• Cleaned my apartment.
• Sent out invites for my going away party.
• Started advertising yard sale.
• Taken my clothes to the the non-toxic drycleaners.
• Packed.

Things I Am Doing:

• Spending time with friends.
• Working.
• Seeing Les Miz in concert at the Hollywood Bowl!

Things I Am Not Doing:

• Packing.

Things That Have Fallen By The Wayside:

• Sleeping.
• Eating proper food.
• Taking public transit to and from work.
• Exercise.

Things That Have Not Fallen By The Wayside:

• N/A

Things That Get Me Through The Day:

• My fantastic family.
• My fantastic friends.
• My fantastic co-workers.
• My fantastic City of Angels.

Things That Make Me Sad:

• Saying good-bye to the above.

A Need For More Public Parks

On Sunday, Miss V and I decided to go see Kung Fu Panda at the Glendale Americana. For those of you who have never heard of the Americana, it's basically like the Grove or Santana Row. Essentially, it's a European-styled outdoor shopping mall complete with fountains, tacky interesting statues, a playground, and luxury condos above the stores.

On Sunday, the Americana was packed. But what was remarkable was that the stores themselves weren't crowded. Instead, everyone was outside, sitting on the grass, hanging out by the fountain, or watching their kids on the playground. And while there were plenty of people eating on the Cheesecake Factory's outside patio, there was a conspicuous lack of shopping bags.

It seemed like everyone had gone to the mall ... to sit outside on the grass.

I'm not exactly sure why no one was shopping on Sunday. It could be because of the recession, or because the Americana mostly features upscale expensive shops like Barney's and Kate Spade. But I can tell you why people flock to the Americana all the same. It's because there's a paucity of public parks in LA. With a few exceptions, such as Griffith Park or MacArthur Park, there are relatively few neighborhood parks in Los Angeles where you can sprawl on the lawn and read a book or throw a ball around with a friend.

Now I know, I know. Lawns aren't eco-friendly in a drought-prone area like LA. But the truth is, people like grass and trees, and a village green is much more eco-friendly than everyone having their own backyard lawn. And especially in a place like Los Angeles, where it's sunny all the time, people need more spaces where they can enjoy the outdoors.

Unfortunately, land is also expensive, and so instead of getting more parks, we end up with outdoor malls. Contrast this with Prague, where I went two summers ago. Prague is famous for its old buildings of course, but it is also justifiably famous for its parks and gardens. And there are parks EVERYWHERE. And if you turn into a random alleyway, chances are good you will land up in some public garden.

I read once that one of the reasons the Czech are so outdoorsy is because when the Communist Regime controlled the media, people headed outdoors because it was the only place to escape the government.

But even those of us in messy capitalist democracies need to escape outside now and then. We all need time to lean against a tree, or to teach our child how to throw a frisbee. It would be nice if we could have more parks, but until then, people are going to make do. 

And so people will probably continue to visit the Americana and not shop. Because LA didn't REALLY need another mall, but we desperately needed that patch of green.

When Public Transit Gets Depressing

Have I mentioned that I hate the bus? I hate the bus. Haaaaaaaaaaate. Buses are slow, they get stuck in traffic, and they don't adhere to any schedule.

But today was without question, the worst experience I’ve ever had on a bus in the whole of my 28 years.

This morning, I got off at the metro station, and was very excited to see the local bus pulling up to the bus stop.

Everyone piled on the bus, and the bus was almost full when the bus driver slammed the door in the face of this young African-American guy who was about to get on the bus.

Immediately, the red flags went up. "Uh oh," I thought. "I think I'm on a large vehicle being operated by a scary bus driver."

I kind of wanted off the bus, but at this point the bus was moving, and I needed to get to work.

“Oh well,” I thought. “How bad could this guy be, really?”

Pretty bad as it turns out.

One of the women sitting at the very front of the bus got really upset that the driver had shut the door on this guy and not allowed him to get on the bus. So … they started arguing.

The bus driver insisted he had a schedule to keep and that he had waited two minutes at the stop.

The woman insisted that it wouldn’t have delayed us really to let that one guy on the bus.

They went back and forth a bit, and then things got really ugly.

The driver started ranting, “I have a schedule! I have my business to keep! Maybe, in your country the buses can keep waiting forever, but I have to keep to the schedule!”

Of course that made the woman FURIOUS. “My country? This is my country!” she yelled at him.

And then he pulled the “No you di’int just say that,” line.

“Why don’t you just go back to your own country?” he spat at her.

Let me say here, I could tell by their accents that both the bus driver and the woman were clearly immigrants. So for them to be engaging in this kind of vitriol, for the bus driver to be telling this woman to “go back to her country” when he himself CLEARLY wasn’t born here was … profoundly depressing. I can handle xenophobic native-born. I’m not saying I like it, but I can handle it. But there is something worse about a xenophobic immigrant. Something more corrosive.

Then the driver pulled up to the first bus stop after the metro station, and stopped. He demanded she get off the bus.

She refused.

So he refused to move.

We stayed at the bus stop for two minutes. Then three. Then five.

I started wondering what happened to his precious schedule now?

People started pleading with the bus driver. Other people started asking the woman to get off the bus.

Neither would budge.

Finally, pretty much everyone else EXCEPT for the bus driver and the woman exited the bus.

I called a co-worker to see if she could pick me up.

And then, after ten minutes of being stranded, the bus driver for a rapid bus courteously stopped and picked us up even though we weren’t at a rapid bus stop.

Thankfully I was only fifteen minutes late to work.

The first thing I did when I arrived at work was to call Metro to report the bus driver. Metro, of course, took a very different view of the situation than I did. The customer service rep told me that bus drivers are trained to stop at a station if they get into a fight which would impact their driving.

I get it. But frankly? I don’t think the driver stopped the bus because he was too angry to drive. I think the whole thing was a power-play.

And while I admit that the woman was out of line haranguing the bus driver while he drove, he’s the one who escalated it. Besides, crazy people heckle bus drivers every day. If he can’t handle it, should he really be driving the bus at all?

And finally, I believe that if the young black man trying to get on the bus had been white, the bus driver wouldn’t have slammed the door on his face. Am I reading too much into it?

I’d kind of like to believe that the angry bus driver was just angry and would have slammed the door in the face of any person, white, black, Latino, or Asian. But I really don’t believe that.

And now I kind of want to drive to work tomorrow. I wish that the Metro customer service rep had seemed more upset by my report.

I really hate the bus.

WWFD? (What Would Frodo Do?)

I'm outing myself here as somewhat of a geek, but I love The Lord of the Rings. I've probably read the whole series, cover to cover, about ten times. For those of you who haven't read it or watched the movies, this is the basic plot of LOTR:

Frodo walks to Mordor to toss a ring into a pit of fire.

Some other stuff happens as well, but that's pretty much the main plot. And yes, on occasion, Frodo gets to ride on a horse/pony/eagle/whatever, but much of the time, he's walking.

On Saturday, as I was walking a mile and a half to my local library, I became curious. Just how far does Frodo walk? Luckily, there are people on the internets way more geeky than I, who had not only PONDERED this question, but figured it out. According to these directions, it's 1,841.8 miles from the Shire to Mordor! Sheesh, Frodo! Maybe next time you're traveling to Mordor, consider a Greyhound bus!

Clearly, I don't think that people should consider walking as an alternative form of transportation next time they decide to travel 2,000 miles, but I think it is worth rethinking what is walkable and what isn't. Walkability means different things for different people, but the culture of a city can also affect what is considered walkable.

For example, when I went to college, I lived in a university town. I walked 1.7 miles from my apartment to the theatre building where most of my classes were located, and I made that round trip walk at least once a day, sometimes several times a day, in the sunshine, in the rain, and in the icy wind and snow.

I did it because I had no other choice. I didn't have a car with me in college. But, to be perfectly fair, I also did it because it was normal. Had everyone driven, I would have probably bought a car, or driven my car out from California. Because most of my friends walked everywhere, I walked as well.

And then I moved to Los Angeles. Los Angeles is a peculiar city. You see, we are blessed with some of the best weather on the planet, and yet we choose to spend the majority of our days in our little (or sometimes very large) vehicles. Even though I had always walked several miles a day, even in the snow, once I moved to LA , walking became unthinkable.

I started to drive everywhere. A mile, a half mile, two blocks. It's a cliche, and it's not entirely true that "nobody walks in LA," but it's true that the attitude towards walking is vastly different in LA than in San Francisco, Chicago, or New York. In LA, if the only parking spot is three blocks away, it means you should probably just valet.

I don't mean to take anyone's cars away from them. Personally, I still love my car even though I use her a little less frequently than I used to. And there is nothing more magical than driving on an LA freeway at 2:00 am. Part of the reason I am so vocal about electric cars is because I have hope that to a certain extent, Angelenos will one day be able to have their cake and eat it too: that is, I dream of a day when we are able to drive cars powered by that beautiful Southern California sunshine.

But at the same time, I think we can do a better job of assessing whether we really need to drive to every little errand. In the past month, I've walked to the metro, to Honda's house, to the bulk food store, to Trader Joe's, to the video rental, to restaurants, and more.

And you know what I've found?

That LA is freaking beautiful. While walking, I can fully appreciate the dazzling array of flowers, the palm trees that litter every block, the aroma of jasmine in the morning. I've also had time to admire some of the man-made beauty in LA: Craftsman houses, Tudors, mission style homes, we've got it all.

You know what else I've found?

That I look better and feel better.

My muscles are more toned, I have no problem running a couple flights of stairs anymore, and, dude, I'm tan! Okay, I'm Indian so I'm always tan, but seriously. I'm tann-er!

Now some of my fellow Angelenos may think, That's great Arduous, but isn't walking everywhere really inconvenient? Or, I could never walk TWO miles to the Metro. That's insane! I just don't have time for that.

And you know what? Maybe you don't have time for that. But let's do the math, shall we?

I walk for about 70 minutes every day. The rest of my commute (via subway and bus) takes about half an hour each way, just five minutes longer than my drive would be.

It does make for a somewhat long commute. But you know what I don't do? I don't drive twenty minutes to a gym that charges me $80 a month so that I can WALK on a machine that seems more suited to HAMSTERS THAN HUMANS! And THEN, I don't pay more money to have some people spray some stuff on me so that it looks like I've been in the sun!

So, the next time you are about to jump in your car on an errand, take a moment to think to yourself, What Would Frodo Do?

The answer is, he'd probably walk. And you should too.

Sustainability in the City

START TITLES:

Arduous is walking down the street wearing a tutu clutching her Klean Kanteen, when a bus rolls by. It is prominently featuring a picture of Arduous the label "CNG fuel." As the bus goes by, Arduous runs toward it like her life depends on it. She catches the bus, but her Klean Kanteen spills, splashing water all across her chest.

FADE OUT

All right, so maybe my life isn't all Manolo Blahniks and questionable fashion choices, but I love living in the city. In this, I suspect I am in a minority among enviro-bloggers. Most eco-nuts dream of large gardens with chickens. Call me chicken shit (ba dum pum), but I have absolutely zero desire to ever own a live chicken. As for the garden, I'd be perfectly content with a small plot in a community garden. (Honestly, I'm pretty happy to just BUY my produce from other people because, well I'm LAZY, but in theory a community garden sounds lovely.) As such, I've always approached sustainable living from an urban perspective. Now, I do believe that a sustainable life is possible wherever, should you choose to make it so. However, I'd like to make a case here for the city. In my opinion and experience, it is much EASIER to live a sustainable lifestyle in a city. Here's why:

1. Access to public transit: This is by far the biggest upside to city living and one of the huge downsides to living in a more rural area. Much as I bemoan LA Metro, and long for the NYC Subway, or the "El," or even BART, I have to admit that yes, you can get around LA without a car. If you're far from the subway, you will be subject to the mercies of the bus system, but the point is, there ARE buses and they DO go most everywhere.
2. Access to farmers' markets: Off the top of my head, there are at least ten farmers' markets held within 10 miles of my house. In fact, there are probably more.
3. Access to theatre and culture: I know this one isn't as big a deal for a lot of people, but personally, I'm not willing to live my life only seeing a play or a live music performance once every year or so. Of course there are plenty of people who live in Los Angeles who don't take advantage of the wealth of cultural opportunities in the city. But if you care to look, you'll find amazing bands performing most nights (often for no to little cover charge), art openings (free wine!), and innovative theatre happening in converted store fronts.
4. Limited space: Some of you are thinking, "That's good?" Yes, from an environmental perspective, it's better to live in smaller places. In a city, most people tend to live in small apartments. And small apartments generally use less energy than houses. One of the reasons my electric bill is 11% of the average American's is because my apartment is just SMALL. Apartment buildings also allow people to share resources better. The obvious example is the washer and dryer. A typical suburban family owns one washer and one dryer for four people. My apartment building has two washers and two dryers and probably 40 people. Other apartment buildings have gyms which can cut down on individual elliptical machine ownership. Still others have rec rooms with stashes of board games. And let's not forget that we have 40 people "sharing" our small lawn and planter boxes. Our lawn is smaller than most suburban lawns as it is, but split amongst 40 people, the per person water use must be fairly negligible.
5. Jobs: let's face it. It's hard to live a sustainable lifestyle when you can't make ends meet. Cities are (generally) where the jobs are. And the closer you live to your job, the less time you have to spend commuting, the more time you have for everything else.

A couple weeks ago, Melinda at Elements in Time and I had somewhat of a difference of opinion on the sustainability of Los Angeles. Melinda lived in LA for ten years, and I've lived here for going on seven, so we both clearly know the city fairly well. Melinda's opinion was that Los Angeles was not a sustainable place to live, and she cited "water issues, lack of urban planning, increasing fires, and more," as reasons Los Angeles is not particularly sustainable.

Now, I recognize the validity of her reasoning. I remember only too well the fires from last summer- in particular one that happened almost on top of me. And I certainly respect Melinda's viewpoint. But personally, I am more optimistic about the sustainability of Los Angeles.

Yes, we have water issues. But, according to the LA Times, "Thirty-nine percent of residential water use in California occurs outdoors, mainly when homeowners water their lawns." As I mentioned, cities tend to have more people per lawn than suburbs. In addition, there are economies of scale that occur when a large group of people live in one area. Simply put, it's cheaper to direct water to one place and have a few million people benefit, than it is to direct water to a couple hundred different rural outposts.

As for the urban planning, it's true that Los Angeles is no New York or San Francisco. But it's changing. When I first moved to the Hollywood ghetto (no, I no longer live there) there's was almost nothing in walking distance. One dive bar, one beyond-dive bar. One British pub with an exceedingly un-British Melrose Place-like courtyard. And a Bally's Total Fitness.

Seven years later there are several cute brunch places, a Borders, and a Bed, Bath & Beyond. There's the Arclight Theatre, and Amoeba Records. The effect has been dramatic. What was once a rather seedy area is now vibrant and teeming with people.

It is possible that development will not continue at such a fast pace now that the housing market has crashed, and the country is verging on recession. But cities have been much more insulated from the housing crash than the suburbs and exurbs. The reason? Young people are still moving into the cities in droves. And what's more, they are living there for much longer than previous generations.

Los Angeles also has the advantage of having a fairly mild climate. I basically went the whole winter with no heat. And the dryness in the summer means that air conditioning isn't quite the necessity it is in say Chicago. And living in California makes eating local food much easier since everything is grown here already!

In the end, I think if you work at it enough you can live sustainably anywhere. Los Angeles isn't for everyone, and every single person isn't going to find it personally sustainable. But for me, it's a pretty good fit. Because in the end, Los Angeles is where my community is. And it's just more fun to sit in your heatless apartment when you're drinking a bottle of wine with a good friend.

LA Metro: Normal People Need Not Ride

I have a shameful secret to tell you all. Come closer. Closer. Closer. Okay, too close, move back just a tad. Okay, you ready?

Here is my secret: I have lived in LA for 6 1/2 years and prior to ApPTMo, I had used public transportation in LA exactly ... once.

Yes, you read that correctly. Un, Uno, Ek, however you want to say it, ONE time. And what's more, for five of those 6 1/2 years, I even lived about 15 minutes walking from a metro station.

And yet, it never occurred to me to you know, use it.

A few days ago, Orgie commented on how different the perception of public transport is in LA compared to New York. This is actually a pretty important point. The attitude towards the metro is very different in LA. Just today, it came up in email conversation that I took the metro to work today, and the response I got was, "Wow, who knew that normal people did that!"

Who, indeed. I know that some of you are probably surprised by that response, and I admit, it gave me a moment's pause, but the truth is, there is a kernel of truth to her response. If we substitute the cavalier use of the word "normal" for "person who owns/can afford a car" she's pretty much dead on.

Los Angeles likes to boast its very high metro ridership numbers, but those numbers have to be looked at in context. Obviously Los Angeles has high ridership. Its a city of 3.8 million. But what percentage of Angelenos use public transit? And here LA falls flat on its face. By this calculation, LA ranks a dismal 34th at 10.64% of the population using public transportation to get to work. In fact, LA does worse than Seattle, Oakland, Portland, and surprisingly, Daly City, California and Buffalo, New York. (Okay, well I guess Daly City probably has a decent number of residents who take BART to San Francisco, but Buffalo, really?)

So, it's all very well for LA to boast their ridership, but frankly, in my mind, a successful public transit program doesn't just reach those who have no other option. A truly successful public transport program reaches beyond those who can't afford a car, and attracts riders who CAN afford a car, but choose to commute via PT because its easier/faster/more relaxing, etc. The LA Metro is generally none of these things. And thus, anyone who can afford to drive, drives.

Hopefully, one day, I'll mention that I took the metro to work, and I'll be met with a casual, "Oh yeah, me too." But I've got to be honest, I'm not holding my breath.

Green Drinks Recap

I went to an LA Green Drinks event last night. Sadly, I had to leave early because I was dying of hunger (it was held at a restaurant, so I went without eating assuming other people would be ordering food and then that turned out not to be the case.)

In general though, it was a really great experience and I am really looking forward to the next Green Drinks event. It was nice to meet some people who are truly passionate about the environment. I spent a lot of time talking to one woman, who is a freelance graphic designer. And as she described all the changes she's made to her business, from switching to recycled paper to running her printers on alternative energy ... well it warmed my little heart. Yes, she told me that making her business green DID cost money, but that at the end of the day, profit wasn't everything.

Now this is something I believe, and in fact I've probably said as much, but, frankly, it's easy for me to say to businesses, oh profit isn't everything. But if my personal income was on the line, I might feel differently. (I hope I wouldn't, but I don't know for sure.) The fact that she does what she does when her income is on the line is pretty darn awesome.

All in all, I met some cool people, and learned about some interesting eco-events going on in my city. (By the by, if you're an Angeleno, check out GotoGreenLA.com for a cool calendar of green events happening in the next month.) I only wish I had found out about this group SOONER.

P.S. Also, for the Angelenos in the hizzouse, local LA band The Pity Party needs your old cereal boxes. (They make their album covers out of them complete with original art.) If you have cereal boxes to donate to the cause, Mouse has the details of how to contact The Pity Party up on his blog. They're getting my cereal boxes this weekend. :)

Why Never To Invite Me To Your Party

I know most of you think that because I live in LA, my life must naturally be super glamorous and involve a lot of booze, hookers and blow. And I mean, well OBVIOUSLY it does, that's pretty much the law here. I DO however do my part for the environment, and insist on only the finest organic blow though. Preferably fair black market trade.

(Heh, can I tell you that I actually just had to look up blow on Wikipedia to make sure it really was the drug I thought it was. I am so cool. Lindsey, Paris, call me!)

Anyway, last night I was in Hollywood, doing the Hollywood drink thang. And look, I can talk shop with the best of them, I read my trades, I occasionally peruse Defamer. I know that TMZ stands for thirty-mile zone. But I'm not used to it so much anymore, I've been kind of a bad networker lately, preferring to spend my free time seeing music shows or making crackers or reading books or drinking wine with a close friend. So, I'm a little out of it amongst people for whom this is a nightly ritual. I was doing my best though, and it was all going well.

And then... okay first of all, I want to START by blaming the wine. When I get drunk, I start losing inhibitions and when I start losing inhibitions the eco-nut in me comes out.

So here's what happened. I was talking to this guy and somehow Sharper Image came up. And we got started talking about all the pointless junk items there are in the world, and we were making fun of all the dumb gadgets we'd seen or coveted or even ended up BUYING for God knows what reason. And then I couldn't help it and I totally blabbed about my non-consumer project which FASCINATED him, so that encouraged me to talk more, and somehow we ended up talking about health care and from there on we ended up talking about libertarianism, states rights, CAFOs and then I started quoting Michael Pollan.

By then I was starting to sober up, and as such, was sort of realizing to my chagrin that I had just spent two hours not at all talking shop. And that this guy was a stranger who was now probably going to know me as Crazy Lady Who Hasn't Bought New Clothes In Seven Months. So, I began apologizing for the weighty tone our conversation had taken.

"Oh no!" he said. "It's so cool to have an ACTUAL conversation in Hollywood," and he handed me his business card. "Let's keep in touch."

"Sure," I said, "I'll email you so you have my info."

I am not a natural at networking. I don't like it, and I don't work at it as much as I should. So, I don't think I've ever before gone to drinks with a bunch of people I didn't know, and actually made a viable contact in one night. Which is kind of okay by me. I still make contacts, I just make them slowly, and build stronger ties with the fewer contacts I have. But it was kind of cool to drive home and realize, hey, I totally kicked networking ASS tonight!

Which brings me to the moral of my story:

1) I am a total nerd and deserve to never be invited to anything ever again.
2) If you give them a chance, people will totally surprise you. I've always said that while there are a lot of shallow people in LA, there are also a lot of really cool, intelligent people here. Even in Hollywood. Last night, my acquaintance proved me right.

Tonight I'm planning on going to an LA Green Drinks event. (Though I reserve the right to chicken out because I'm not going to know ANYONE there at ALL, and as much as I kicked networking ass and all, two nights in a row might be too much for me.) But it'll be interesting to see how tonight contrasts with last night. I'll let you know....

Freeze Yer Buns?

Not These Buns!

There are some many days when LA drives me nuts. But there are other days, when I remember exactly why I love this sun soaked city of mine. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to enjoy being outside.

Note to Self: You Are Old

Note to self:

You might think that you are able to hang out with these two all night on a Monday and not go to bed until 2:00 am. You might be convinced that this band is worth staying up for, and truthfully, they probably are worth staying up for.

You might think, "I'm not that old! I'm only in my late twenties. I can keep up with these kids."

You are wrong.

Because, while on paper, there is only a few years difference between your early twenties and your late twenties, the reality on the ground is much different. You know this because you remember your early twenties. You used to stay up until dawn, watch the sunrise, come home at 7:00 am, make some coffee for your roommate, go to bed, wake up at noon, and head to work perky and upbeat.

You are not that girl anymore.

For one, you have a regular job now. You can't sleep in until noon. You can't come home and take a nap. For another, you barely ever drink anymore which means that one PBR (you are probably too old for Pabst Blue Ribbon, btw) will affect you way more than it rightfully should.

The next day you will wake up, and while your fellow compatriots in staying up late will probably feel slightly tired, but quickly pick themselves up, you will feel like s**t. Then you will head to work, and everything will feel hazy and you will feel like your head is filled with cotton and you will require several cups of caffeine to stay with it.

You might be tempted to take pride in the fact that you stayed up so late. Don't. You can (barely) handle this once a month. Maybe, maybe, once every couple weeks. You can't handle this day in and day out anymore. Just like you can't handle eating junk day in and day out anymore. Or like how you can't give up working out for months on end and then magically manage to run a few miles without pain.

It is sad, but true. You are getting old. You have to face facts.

"It's still worth it though, to do this occasionally. Staying up late, hearing great music, being a piece of this vibrant community. It's still worth it. Even with the ramifications," you will think.

And you would be right.

Raindrops on Roses

It's twenty after midnight, and I am cozily snuggled up under my down comforter with my book by my side. Through my window I can hear the soothing constant patter of rain.

There's nothing more I love than being warm in my bed on a rainy night. I am particularly grateful to not be driving the flooded streets of LA right now. It is true what they say, that Angelenos are woefully bad at driving in the rain. Though in our defense, it is not so easy to drive our flooded streets -our drainage system can't handle anything beyond a drizzle and anywhere the road dips, the water collects, which means you'll be merrily driving down Melrose and then Melrose will turn into a small pond. (Also, LA traffic gods? You might want to think about REFLECTIVE PAINT on the roads. You know the kind? The kind that is in EVERY OTHER PLACE IN THE COUNTRY? The kind that let's you see where the lanes are when it's raining at night, so you don't accidentally veer off into the next lane? Yeah, that.)

Time for bed. The first full work week of the year starts today.

The City She Loves Me

I am never more in love with my city than after spending an evening in one of its amazing music venues. Spaceland, it had been too long, but I swear, I'll be back soon.
Outside it's raining. I should be asleep, but I'm too wound up, so instead, I'm enjoying the peaceful Los Angeles night.

Why "Freeze Yer Buns" Isn't So Arduous

It was a sunny 85 degrees in Los Angeles yesterday. Ha ha! We may be a city full of gridlock and plastic surgery, but on the flip side, we occasionally get 80 degree days in December.

(I think that's actually our official motto. LA: it's not that cold.)

Anyway, after a week of freezing my buns off and wondering if I was going to make it through this challenge, it was so nice to come home to an apartment that wasn't icy cold but warm, warm, warm. In fact it was a little too warm. And then I thought, hey, I committed to turning off my heat, I didn't say anything about my A/C. I can run that thing all night long.

I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I didn't turn on my A/C. I didn't even crack a window. Instead I revelled in not being cold, made myself dinner, talked on the phone to a few friends, and went to bed in just a tee-shirt.

It was heaven.

Oh yeah, so far DeSloFooMo is going really well! I actually find myself *excited* to cook. Of course it's only been five days, so who knows if the novelty will wear off. But for now, I'm enjoying this challenge very much.

A Man, A Car, and a Parking Spot

Today, I had to pick up lunch. And the restaurant I was picking up lunch from has a notoriously small parking lot. So I was a bit wary, but I figured there had to be some place I could pull over just to run in, grab the food (it had already been ordered and paid for) and run out.

Nope.

The lot was full. The parking spots were taken. The non-parking spots were taken. There was nowhere to go.

Except for one lone spot. That was specifically designated for a very small shop.

At first, I thought, well I'll just pull in, turn my hazards on, run in and run out. It's not like he can have me towed in two minutes.

But I didn't like that thought.

And then, it hit me. Why not just ASK the shop owner if I could park there? So, I pulled into the spot, ran into the shop, and asked if I could use the spot to pick up lunch.

"I'll just be one minute."

The shop owner looked at his watch, and said, "Okay ... go."

I stared at him uncertainly. Was he ... kidding? Was he serious? I mean, I was going to be a minute, but I wasn't about to end up with a ticket because I had taken a minute and ten seconds.

"Are... you really going to time me?" I asked pathetically.

And maybe he had been kidding the whole time, or maybe he had been serious, but I made him laugh, and he said, "No, go ahead."

So I ran. I grabbed lunch. I ran out.

"I told you I'd be fast!"

"I knew you would be"

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

Seriously, thank you. You made my day.

Fire, Fire

Yes, I'm okay. Yes, I know, that when you watch CNN it looks like Los Angeles has all burned down. But while fires rage in Malibu, Valencia, Orange County, and San Diego, the city of Los Angeles itself remains strangely unaffected.

So, I'm fine. My allergies have been acting up, and when you look out the windows at work you see thick black clouds everywhere. And helicopters. But other than that, life as usual. For now.