Industrial park or natural habitat? Two conflicting visions for the Los Angeles river –assessing sustainability in the 21st century.

LA: Developers versus River Activists

Who killed the river that runs through Los Angeles? Did you even know there was a river? Using a mix of archive and new footage , this album tells the fascinating story of a city that has ignored the benefits of its river for decades. Now waking up to the fact that it could be a green belt with more acreage than all of Central Park, river activists are fighting developers to bring back nature to central Los Angeles. Up till now the city conquered the threat of floods by concreting over the river to make it the backbone of the urban drainage system, overriding the needs of deprived local communities. But laying ever more concrete and asphalt is no longer the way to meet 21st Century environmental needs; an alternative approach to flood protection and habitat restoration is necessary. This material forms part of The Open University course U216 Environment.

Share LA: Developers versus River Activists

Sign up to save your podcasts

LA: Developers versus River Activists

LA: Developers versus River Activists

More shows like Environment: LA River - for iPad/Mac/PC

Bon départ: beginners' French - Audio

Modelling heat transfer - for iBooks

Rheumatoid arthritis - a long term condition - for iPod/iPhone

Energy resources: alternative energy in perspective - for iBooks

Energy resources: nuclear energy - for iBooks

Women Writers: Voices in Transition - for iPod/iPhone

Beginners’ Chinese - Audio

Animals at the extremes: hibernation and torpor - for iBooks

Andante: beginners' Italian - Audio

Bon départ: beginners’ French second edition - for iPod/iPhone