pLAn Aims to Make L.A. Nation's Most Sustainable Global City
Global Los Angeles
April 10, 2015

Los Angeles, famously known for having too many cars, too much smog, and too little affordable housing, is trying to reinvent itself by becoming the most sustainable global city in the nation by 2035.

Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday announced a Sustainable City “pLAn” for Los Angeles, which outlines sweeping environmental and economic improvements throughout the next 20 years. The 108-page document sets out dozens of major environmental goals for L.A. to reach by 2025 and 2035, including: building more energy efficient buildings, importing less drinkable water, producing more solar power, increasing the availability of affordable housing, and developing prosperity through green jobs, to name a few.

The pLAn is separated into three main parts: environment, economy, and equity. Here’s a short breakdown of each.

Environment

The first part of the pLAn lays out ambitious short-term goals to be achieved by 2017 and long-term targets to be reached by 2025 and 2035 in categories related to the environment. Among these include a proposal that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced 60 percent by 2035; the city will reduce the purchase of imported water 50 percent by 2025; and that 12,500 homes will be retrofitted with residential PACE financing by 2025.

Economy

From the increased availability of affordable housing to overhauling the city’s public transit system, Mayor Garcetti’s pLAn pulls no punches when it comes to LA’s economy over the next 20 years. Some key targets include: adding 100,000 new housing units by 2021; that 50 percent of all journeys will be made by foot, bike, or public transit by 2035; and that green investment in L.A. will reach $2 billion by 2035.

Equity

Some of the key benchmarks set forth in the pLAn aim to build Los Angeles into a truly equitable city where all inhabitants have access to healthy, livable neighborhoods. Standout proposals include: zero days of unhealthy air pollution by 2025; ensuring that all low-income Angelinos live within a half mile of fresh food by 2035; and that 56 percent of Angelenos will live within a half mile of a park or open space by 2017.

Read the full proposal, courtesy of KPCC.

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