CSC Media Highlight

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL cited Travis Longcore in a story about light pollution. New research suggests that too much artificial light could harm human health, including increasing risk of some cancers, the story stated. Whatever their effect on people, night lights are the bane of wildlife, Longcore said. Longcore is Director of Urban Ecological Research for the Center for Sustainable Cities and Research Associate Professor of Geography at USC.

New Publication

Uses and Perceptions of Alleys in Los Angeles: results from a series of focus groups

This technical report describes Los Angeles residents’ perceptions and uses of alleys in five L.A. neighborhoods, as well as their attitudes about alley modification.  Residents of Pacoima, Sun Valley, Hollywood, South Los Angeles, and Wilmington discussed their sparing, necessity-driven use of alleyways; shared negative experiences with alley crime and pollution; and emphasized that improving alley safety and cleanliness, and preserving alley utility, are paramount concerns in any greening effort.

Download the publication here.

New Publication

Transforming Alleys into Green Infrastructure for Los Angeles

This technical report provides an overview of the alleys of Los Angeles, including their spatial distribution, characteristics, and how they are used and perceived. It also includes case studies of alley revitalization in other cities in North America, including Chicago, Seattle, Baltimore, and Vancouver. The report gives policy guidance for crafting a Green Alley program specifically for L.A.

Download the publication here.

To learn more about CSC's alleys project please visit the website.

New Report

2008 Report Card on Homelessness in Los Angeles

The number of homeless people in Los Angeles is higher than in any other US urban area.

This Report Card by academics from USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, Loyola Marymount University, and Occidental College with support from the Economic Roundtable, grades the work and efforts of Los Angeles as it seeks to reduce and eliminate homelessness. The grades for nine Action Areas are meant to give the public, nonprofit and private sectors clear feedback on how well they are doing as well as provide the general public with a scorecard measuring our community’s progress with regard to homelessness.

To download the report please click here.

Read the press release on the 2008 Report Card.

Read more about homelessness in the Los Angeles Times.

L.A.'s homeless: A progress report
By Jennifer Wolch, Gary Blasi and Michael Dear
June 22, 2008
A new checklist indicates that we still have a long way to go when it comes to solving the problem.

The Center for Sustainable Citiies and USC present:

"Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainabilty Designing Organizations for the Triple Bottom Line"

A Working Conference
October 2-3, 2008

Goal

Create a collaborative network to share knowledge and help define a research agenda on designing and changing organizations for economic, social, and environmental sustainability. We anticipate conference participants will form the nucleus of an ongoing community of interest and may participate in subsequent research collaborations.

Click here for more information and registration.

Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Honored by the USC Center for Sustainable Cities and the USC College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences

On April 23, 2008 the USC Center for Sustainable Cities and USC College awarded the first Sustainability Champion Award to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on behalf of the Waterkeeper Alliance. The inaugural gala awards dinner and ceremony, generously sponsored by corporate friends of the Center, took place at Town and Gown and was followed by a public lecture at Newman Hall.

To read a detailed article, with photographs, about the event, and Mr. Kennedy's lecture, please click here.

To find more information about theSustainability Champion Award, click here.

Recent Report Release

We are pleased to announce that a Public Review Draft of a new report, Watershed Assets Assessment in Green Visions Plan Study Area, is now available.

This report provides the hydrologic assets assessment for the GVP study area. The assessment describes the current conditions of the watershed, the human modifications that have been made to the system, and to what extent hydrologic characteristics have been altered in changing flow regimes, flow paths, water quality and groundwater storage etc.  The hydrologic assets inventory will provide principal information for watershed projects such as prioritization of riparian land acquisition, storm water park sites selection, concrete flood control channel removal, dam removal, underground storm drains daylightening, and riparian habitat restoration and so on. This report is intended to support and inform regional wide planning efforts from the perspective of watershed health assessment

Read more

Policing Our Way Out of Homelessness?
The First Year of theSafer Cities Initiative on Skid Row

One year ago, on September 24, 2006, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the public launch of a “Safer Cities Initiative” on Skid Row in Los Angeles. This report summarizes the results of that initiative, as determined through a months-long research project carried out by two faculty members and twelve advanced law students who comprised the Fact Investigation Clinic at the UCLA School of Law. This report is part of a larger project examining the problem of chronic homelessness in Los Angeles’ Skid Row and the role of City and County policy in both contributing to and responding to that problem.

Recent report: Read more

Energy, Technology & Society Graduate Certificate Launched

We are pleased to announce the creation of a brand new graduate certificate focused on Energy, Technology and Society.This program, co-directed by Professors Mark Bernstein (Political Science/USC Energy Institute) and James Haw (Chemistry/Environmental Studies) introduces students to energy issues, energy policy and politics, tools of analysis, and alternative energy options.

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Sustainable Cities Graduate Certificate is Revised

The Center for Sustainable Cities is pleased to announce that its signature Graduate Certificate Program has been revised and is now accepting new students. The revised program welcomes master’s as well as doctoral students from across the university, and prospective USC students who are interested in the certificate only.

Read more