JOSEPH JOHNSTON
This image is an aerial view over Venice, California, focusing specifically on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Abbot Kinney is one of the top destinations in Venice packed with retail shops, cafes, restaurants, office spaces, and residential homes. I chose this area because, although it was one of my favorite places to shop and hang out, it is a prime example of an area designed to exclude lower income people. My project aims to connect Abbot Kinney to the rest of Venice, making a more inclusive neighborhood while simultaneously boosting the economy.
This image highlights the block I've chosen for the focal point of the project on Abbot Kinney Blvd. This block contains a mixture of retail space, residential homes, office space, and a cafe. It represents the style of Venice appropriately, having a mix of old style Venice buildings as old as 100 years old juxtaposed with a large newly built office building. The reason many of the original buildings remain, and not renovated as seen in many gentrified areas, is that the land value accounts for such a large percentage of the total property value, deeming it unworthy for developers trying to maximize profits.
This drawing of the focus block on Abbot Kinney Blvd intends to depict how much of the urban space is being allocated for private automobile travel and how little is for the people. It also studies the real estate trends of the properties on the focus block. One property, located at the far left designated as P1, I found was sold in 1968 for $25,000 and is now valued in the range of $1,300,000 at a 6300% increase. This trend has existed all around Venice in the past 50 years, pushing lower income people outside of the city. This combined with the lack of transprotation options creates the exclusionary design this project aims to disrupt.
This Actor-Network Map intends to depict the ways that pedestrianizing Venice can positively impact the city. Connecting the three most popular destinations of Venice can more easily accommodate the millions of tourists visiting each year, while connecting it to mass transportation and creating public space for a more inclusive city, all while benefitting the local businesses and economy of the area. The idea is to create pedestrian zones with bike lanes connecting Venice Beach, Abbot Kinney, and the Venice Canals, which also connects to the boardwalk leading to Santa Monica Expo Line Station.
This GIF shows reimagining of Abbot Kinney Blvd as a pedestrian zone, blocking out traffic and opening up the street to the already vibrant public life of Venice. The space can be used by the restaurants and cafes for extra outdoor street seating, the flowing bike lane in the middle makes for a fun bike ride while representing the canals of Venice, Italy, as the city was originally designed to replicate.