EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Neal Payton, FAIA, FCNU, leads the Los Angeles-based west coast office of Torti Gallas + Partners, an urban and architectural design firm.

Payton said more resilient and equitable communities can rise from the ashes.

“As charming and beloved as the historic centers of Pacific Palisades and Altadena were, the opportunity to reconsider the single-use land-use pattern of both locales stares us in the face.

In the Palisades, some of the commercial space was organized in a car-centric pattern, with parking dominating the streetscape.

So, in the case of the Palisades, we might ask, why can’t the new construction be built to frame and embrace generously sized sidewalks and relegate parking to a less visible location?” he said.