The Southern California Association of Governments Wednesday announced six planning projects, including two in Los Angeles, as winners of its 2021 Sustainability Awards for improving quality of life in the six-county region.
“We’re honored to present these awards, which recognize the best of the best when it comes to improving the quality of life of our communities and the region,” said SCAG President Rex Richardson, who is also vice mayor of Long Beach. “As these projects illustrate, there is a tremendous amount of innovative work being done across our region when it comes to the integration of land use and transportation to improve health outcomes and address social, environmental and economic inequities.”
Los Angeles area projects won two awards. The Kounkuey Design Initiatives and the city of Los Angeles won for “efficient and sustainable land use” in its Adopt-A-Lot Program, which helps community groups design and build temporary parks on vacant and neglected lots and maintain the lots for up to 18 months. The program helps prepare the lots to be converted into permanent parks and in turn support active, healthy and safe communities, SCAG said.
SCAG noted that the environmental justice organization Pacoima Beautiful created a park and garden in North Hills, and Brillante Watts created a park, with seating, a stage, planters and tables, in Watts.
The company Clifford Beers Housing also won an award for “housing innovation” in its Isla de Los Angeles development, which is an affordable housing project that features a “living lung” or green buffer to break down particulate matter. SCAG said the development serves as an example for developing near freeways. The development also created a lush path and public space with trees and plants near light rail and bus line stops.
Santa Ana was honored for “outstanding achievement in sustainability” in its Santa Ana Arts Collective Affordable Housing and Adaptive Reuse Community, which provides permanent supportive housing to low-income artists and their families in a renovated mid-century office building.
The city of Palm Desert won the “active, healthy and safe communities” category for its San Pablo Avenue Streetscape project, which reconfigured a former five-lane roadway to be used by pedestrians an non-motorized uses in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods.
Sunline Transit Agency, which serves the Coachella Valley and Riverside County, won the “clean cities — alternative fuels and infrastructure” category for creating the U.S.’ largest hydrogen fueling station dedicated to transit, using electricity and renewable energy to generate clean hydrogen.”
The recipients will be formally honored at SCAG’s virtual Regional Conference and General Assembly on May 6.
Honorable mentions include the Los Angeles Department of Transportation for its safe routes to school/little street redesign and rapid implementation project. The city of Alhambra, the L.A. County Public Works and the county of Los Angeles also received honorable mentions for their county food donation and food waste recycling imitative.