Beyond the Storefront / LA-Más
Filmed on October 19, 2016 at the 2016 AIGA Design Conference
This video features LA-Más’ architectural, urban design, and business support efforts that embed placemaking, pedestrian life, and economic activity along underserved business corridors in Los Angeles. During the past two years, the organization has been working to re-envision streets as destinations first, not merely transportation corridors. Projects in the neighborhoods of Watts, Northridge, Pacoima, and Wilmington show that design strategies at the service of community and economic development are not only needed, but effective in developing sustainable, equitable growth in neighborhoods that need it most.
Co-founder and co-executive director of LA-Más, Elizabeth Timme directs the focus of the non-profit design firm onto projects that critically engage systemic problems and provide solutions based on research and community engagement. To date, she’s led the Watts Community Studio project and the Reseda Boulevard Great Streets Initiative, and most recently, Timme developed the strategy and approach for Backyard Basics, a proposal for affordable housing in Elysian Valley for the A + D Museum’s “Shelter” exhibit, and is building a pilot Accessory Dwelling Unit in partnership with the mayor’s innovation team.
Timme teaches at Woodbury University's Architecture + Civic Engagement Center and serves on the Zoning Advisory Committee of re:code LA, a city-led effort to transform its outdated zoning code. She holds a master’s degree in architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Southern California.
