A delegation from Munich has arrived in Los Angeles to help advise on the plan to restore the L.A. River from a concrete open sewer to an actual, gosh-darn-it river.
Apparently, way back when, Munich’s Isar River was also a dammed and sealed drainage channel, but over the years has been revitalized into an urban greenspace, complete with parks, swimming areas, and even a permanent surfing wave. And although the river does still have some high germ levels (due to some sewage treatment plants upstream, currently being upgraded), it’s still a great example of what L.A. can do with its much-neglected waterway.
Read more about the plans, events, and photo ops on Tom LaBonge’s site and at the Friends of the L.A. River site. If anyone knows how to plan something, it’s a German Delegation.
Here’s hoping for a fully green L.A. River that some of us may actually get to enjoy during our lifetime!
Image by Fire Monkey Fish
Via Curbed LA.
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I happen to have one of these lovely concrete “rivers” in my backyard here in St. Louis, the River Des Peres. I would LOVE if they would figure out a way to dam up one end of it and let it fill up with rainwater, and only drain into the Mississippi when it’s in danger of flooding. Because this spring/summer when it was full to the top (rather that being a huge scar in the landscape filled with dirt and weeds), it was quite nice. At least in the next couple of years they’re working on putting in trails and parks along the banks to green it up a bit, so surely an actual river can’t be that far behind, right?
(Oh btw, I’m a fan of your work on AotS, hence my sudden appearance on your blog. Hi! *waves*)