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We examined land use and design controls in three municipalities in Los Angeles County (CA)—Alhambra, Arcadia, and San Gabriel—that have experienced a recent influx of Asian residents. We drew from archival research of newspaper articles, planning documents, city council and planning commission meeting minutes, and interviews with 14 local planners, architects, planning and design review commissioners, and resident groups. We found that the three cities developed stringent development controls, encouraged Anglo or Spanish heritage architectural styles, and issued new guidelines and ordinances during the period of changing demographics. These actions often stemmed from White residents' fear of losing their neighborhoods and interest in maintaining their existing landscapes. We detail here four contestations relating to mansionization, architectural styles, historic preservation, and massage parlors. The study is important for planning practice because it shows that development controls and design guidelines may be developed in reaction to increased anxieties about immigration and in ways that counteract the interests and values of some minority residents. Planners in ethnically diverse communities need to be aware of and respond to the possible exclusionary effects of design and land use controls. They need to better listen to newcomers' concerns, integrate their voices in decision making, and educate both newcomers and long-time residents about the importance of each other's cultural heritage. Planners may seek to exercise professional ingenuity in developing and implementing design and planning regulations that better balance spatial identities and accommodate conflicting tastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: College campuses are multimodal settings with very high levels of walking and biking in conjunction with high levels of vehicular traffic, which increases risks for bicyclists and pedestrians. In this study, we examine crash data (both police reported and self-reported) and urban form data from three U.S. campuses to understand the spatial and temporal distribution of crashes on the campuses and their immediate periphery. To account for underreporting of pedestrian and bicycle crashes, we developed and circulated an online survey, which helped identify collision hotspots across the three campuses. We then studied these locations to determine their characteristics, generate a typology of campus danger zones, and recommend design and policy changes that could improve pedestrian and cycling safety. We find a significant underreporting of crashes, and unequal spatial and temporal distributions of campus crashes. We identify three particular types of danger zones for pedestrians and cyclists: campus activity hubs, campus access hubs, and through traffic hubs. Injuries tended to be more serious for those crashes taking place on campus peripheries. Takeaway for practice: The intermingling of motorized and non-motorized modes creates significant opportunities for crashes. Planners should be aware of the existing underreporting and give special attention to the three types of danger zones. In addition to the recommendations of the literature for the creation of campus master plans for walking and biking, campuses should conduct safety audits and surveys to identify hotspots and consider specific design improvements for each of the three danger zones to lessen modal conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses successful common grounds for children—public settings that enable the harmonious intermingling of children of different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities and that encourage their social interchange, play, educational development, and collaboration. Our study focused on three types of public space that tend to bring these children together: the public school, the park, and the neighborhood community center. The research employed a variety of methods to study the interaction of children 9 to 12 years of age. Field work took place at four sites in West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and the San Fernando Valley that enjoy a high level of intermixing and have a reputation for promoting diversity. Subjects in the research included children, teachers, and administrators. The article highlights the findings of the field work and concludes with a comparative analysis of the different settings and a discussion of the environmental and programmatic attributes that contribute to their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]