The Upper LA River and Tributaries : A framework for Equitable Collaboration

The Upper Los Angeles River and Tributaries (ULART) Revitalization Plan covers the Upper Los Angeles River and Tributaries with a focus on the Aliso Canyon Wash, Pacoima Wash, Tujunga Wash, Burbank Western Channel, Verdugo Wash, and Arroyo Seco. It includes 51 miles of river, 102 miles of tributaries, and 824 square miles of watershed. The vision is large, and the problem is complex. Each of the dozen cities, myriad communities, and land uses along the river have a different texture, character, and setting. The ULART plan is beyond the scope and knowledge of any one individual person, discipline, or method. It required an organizing framework and collaboration between designers, geographic scientists, information technologists, community advocates, business owners, and the people of the place. The focus on collaboration create a plan that was unanimously passed by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in March 2020. Irma Munoz, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy chair, called it a historic day. First, we wanted to discuss how equity was built into the framework from the start. The team used geodesign principles to understand the demographics, community health, pollution levels, water quality, flood risk, geography, ecology, and cultural values. This supported the establishment of defensible equity priorities and pinpointed area where a large impact could be made. In the end, the plan recommended more than 300 opportunities and projects throughout some of the State's most disadvantaged communities. These opportunities were designed in concert with natural process and will capture 8,695 acre-feet of stormwater a year, provide over 1,000 miles of shaded green streets and trails, and preserve and enhance over 6,000 acres of urban wildlife ecology. Second, we will discuss the focus on the tributaries. In previous planning efforts, the tributaries were excluded. The ULART plan saw the tributaries as valuable social, ecological, and hydrological players in the fight for equity. Plan development included a study of conditions and attributes along each waterway, a survey of community needs, and a daylighting of opportunities. By responding to the specific context, each waterway can respond to disadvantaged communities while becoming a tangible corridor supporting urban development, habitat, parkland, and human experience Third, ULART built on the objective and priorities of previous projects. In the last 20 years, there have been multiple planning efforts in the ULART region. Plan topics range from drinking water supply, bikeways, parks, and even safe routes to school. These plans were often single purpose and only considered a portion of the watershed. ULART sought to explore the spaces in between existing plans. The team created a geodatabase of the 114 planning documents previously conducted in the area and prioritized projects with the potential for a large impact. Connecting the myriad planning efforts to the ULART equity framework provided an evenly distributed, equitable and multi-benefit approach across watershed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on Social Media! Twitter: https://twitter.com/Esri Facebook: https://facebook.com/EsriGIS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/esri Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esrigram The Science of Where: http://www.esri.com