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WESTWOOD
VILLAGE
VISION PLAN
Los Angeles, CA
Client: Anderson Real Estate
Once a thriving cultural and urban destination in West LA, Westwood Village is now over 40% vacant, suffering from lack of footfall, shuddered ground floor retail, an outdated specific plan, traffic congestion, and homelessness. RELM’s open space strategy sets the stage for a successful repositioning by rethinking three north-south corridors that leverage two forthcoming transit lines from Downtown LA and the Sepulveda Pass.
VALUE CREATION
Understanding the Village’s branded assets— art and culture institutions, biomed, office, and residential—gave rise to an open space strategy that leverages mobility, supports current and future land use, and fosters 24/7 activation through the creation of street hierarchies. RELM’s design re-distributes pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic while creating an iconic green spine along Westwood Boulevard.
RECONFIGURE TO RECLAIM
Central to RELM’s approach was reconfiguring public rights of way to support desired land use and activity. Much like Fredrick Law Olmsted’s 1924 Major Traffic Street Plan for Los Angeles, not all streets share the same need. Differentiation prompts desired use and carrying capacity. Decanting traffic, making pedestrian and bike linkages to the transit stations, and creating open spaces throughout the Village are key for its repositioning.
