Brian Addison
Recent Posts
Long Beach: Redeveloping Redeveloped Properties After We Have No Redevelopment
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In December of 2011, the state formally dissolved all Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) in an effort to balance the budget while cutting state costs. This was ultimately a blow to many devastated communities whose RDAs were vastly responsible for a given city’s structural and social health, including increasing the walkability of streets, the beautification of sidewalks, […]
Plugin, Los Angeles—er, Long Beach
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The electric vehicle industry is booming—one is even safe to say ahead of the common hybrid thanks to the gas prices and accessibility. And honestly, it makes sense that one of the largest events in the upcoming National Plugin Day (NPID)—advertised as NPID: Los Angeles —is set to actually take place in Long Beach. First, let’s […]
Metro Explores Ways to Make Commute More Comfortable for the Physically Disabled
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If you’ve ever spoken to someone who is physically disabled—any one of the 650 million who are estimated to be living with disabilities on Earth—though resilient, there is still something a bit disconcerting about boarding a public bus. Even in a transit system that is as efficient and progressive as Long Beach Transit. And as […]
When It Comes to Transportation: CSU Long Beach Can Take a Cue From… CSU Northridge?
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Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) can certainly take a cue from Cal State Northridge (CSUN). Firstly and unquestionably, California universities–most certainly including CSULB–have become solid examples of what it is to be a bike friendly university and business. We hold the lone platinum Bike Friendly University with those lucky people up to the north at […]
Are Public-Private Partnerships Becoming False Advertisements?
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Amidst much brouhaha last week, the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse opened in Long Beach, formally replacing the dilapidated mid-mod 1958 courthouse on Ocean Boulevard. People are—rightfully so to an extent—quite happy: it looks more like an art museum than a place to face criminal activity. And even more, the project was a much-touted public-private partnership (P3)—basically […]
Houston, We Have (More) Electric Bus Problems
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Long Beach Transit (LBT)’s latest board meeting held with it a severe amount of questions regarding the transit company’s procurement of electric, zero-emission buses (ZEB) from Chinese company BYD. Eyebrows were raised over the proposed buses’ weight significantly damaging roadways; the failure of the current China-made BYD bus passing federally mandated Altoona Testing, prompting a […]
Why Do Sharrows Work Better In Long Beach? And Do We Need to Rethink Them?
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After four years, many complaints, many praises, and a final acceptance that they really aren’t that bad, the green Sharrows in Belmont Shore have turned 4. And with that, data have been released so that we can figure out precisely what we’ve learned. The Sharrows stretch along 2nd street in between Bayshore and Livingstone Drives […]
Long Beach: Do You Want Disneyland or a Downtown?
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Here’s the way Cafe Sevilla owner Eric Van den Haute phrased it exactly: “Downtown Long Beach: Do you want a village or do you want a downtown?” Van den Haute is no stranger to the way in which downtowns run. He has two other locations, one in downtown Riverside and his first in San Diego’s […]
The Tech Boom Comes to Everywhere in SoCal–But Long Beach
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In a brilliant series examining venture capital (VC) investments–money largely invested in technology-based sectors–urban guru Richard Florida has taken data from Dow Jones and broken it down in maps and context. The macro-point is–in Floridian style–quite simple: though San Francisco/San Jose still account for an enormous chunk of VC investment, said investment is spreading into […]
A Midnight Ride Up to Sac Gives 710 Communities the (Possibility) to Breathe
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It should be no shock that Sen. Ricardo Lara–who represents the 33rd Senate District spanning Long Beach to Huntington Park–has a vast interest in protecting neighborhoods that line the 710 as it goes through its proposed expansion. His most recent attempt to empower neighborhoods, SB 811, would help give communities a greater say in whether […]
Cooler Than the Other Side of the Pillow: The Bicycle Drive-In
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The Bicycle Drive-In occurs this Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm at Park(d) Plaza, located on 4th Street between Linden and Elm Avenues. The event is free. Oftentimes, we forget to intermingle things in favor of focusing on one thing in particular: music stays at concerts, bikes stay on roads, film stays inside a theatre, […]
Long Beach Ciclovía? We’re Closer Than You Think
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If anyone knows me well in Long Beach, I have had many dreams of bicycling infrastructure and events, but there is one which stands out most significantly: the ciclovía. L.A.’s own CicLAvia instills a jealousy within me that has made me perpetually strive to make on in Long Beach materialize–even to the extent of praising the […]