On Saturday, March 2, 2013 the Pasadena Playhouse District hosted a Placemaking Workshop with Fred Kent and Project for Public Spaces.  While placemaking as an idea goes back at least to the visionary Jane Jacobs, it is fundamentally based on understanding human behavior as it relates to and in a man-made environment.  PPS and similar organizations have spent decades quantifying what people like or dislike (or even fear) about the built world in which we live.

Mr. Kent talked about the aspects that make up truly great public spaces, places that invite people to walk, linger, dine, shop, and socialize, all with representative images; and contrasted that with examples of the kinds of places and structures (even 'award-winning' or 'iconic' ones) that people are uncomfortable in and avoid, places that aren't human in scale or lack sidewalks, for instance.

After the primer, we split into groups and surveyed sites in the Playhouse District for how good or bad they rated in terms of public uses, sociability, comfort, and accessibility.  It was an engaging event, as we not only tried to assess current conditions, but imagine what 'might be' if we implemented some changes.  At the end, a member of each team summarized their findings and ideas for the entire group, and we wrapped up with a short encouraging 'rallying speech' by Mr. Kent.

A reflection on our recent NELA Transition visit with Transition Joshua Tree

Pondering “What is Transition”, I awoke in a 1960 decor home in the splendor and wide open feeling of Joshua Tree. The juxtaposition of the home, symbol of the way we were, and the desert–vibrating with life, storm clouds, winds, chollas glowing, lizards scampering between the quail–gave me pause.

Ten transition friends met to deepen bonds, form some new relationships, have fun, and consider where we are going as a community. This experiment, emphasizing Rob Hopkins' Transition mandate to ‘be cheerful in all proceedings,’ was a success. The uncommon wilderness, that was sneaking right up to the back door of the house and in full view out the grand windows, offered a constant delightful reminder of the Earth as our home, the basis of our economy.

Saturday Morning at the Joshua Tree Farmers Market, we met three Transition Joshua Tree folks at their booth. They were sharing seeds and native grasses in their small seed library. They had mesquite beans and flour for sale, and offered us mesquite flour muffins that were so yummy. They were so delighted to feel our support for their project. We were heartened to feel their cheer.

By Saturday evening we gladly handed Thomas, our host and a Transition member, the rental money for use of his home. The payment felt good for what we had shared and for the clear evidence that he uses it to support local artists, people thinking outside the box, making beauty with found objects, inspired by the hardiness of being alive in the vibrant desert.

— Therese Brummel

Pasadena declared a one-week moratorium on landscape watering the last week of February. This was a one-time event to repair infrastructure. But it serves as a reminder of our dependence on available-on-demand access to water. The idea that we can turn on a tap and receive an endless supply of potable water is a modern luxury. Ready access has allowed us to become wasteful and complacent about our most precious resource. Water is life, pure and simple.

We have essentially negated the possibility of regenerative, natural hydrological cycles and systems with our increasingly paved and degraded urban landscape. We currently treat rain as an unwanted guest, that should be drained away through pipes and conduits as quickly and efficiently as possible. Water policy has become a drainage issue rather than a conservation issue. This fundamental disconnect from our most basic resource is not sustainable at any level. We must break this pattern, in order to heal our landscapes and ourselves.

How do we invite water back into our environment and our lives?