Critical Planning

Pershing Square, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, has transformed several times over its 150-year history. Its design iterations throughout time have mirrored the city’s own transformations, growth, and community’s self-image. I retrace the history of civic attempts to renovate Pershing Square, starting from the 1910s through to the present. By examining the events and battles over control of its design, I use Pershing Square as a lens for understanding larger trends in the practice of urban design, city planning, and politics in Los Angeles. In particular, I focus on the shifts in influence among various design professions, and I consider the tensions between the prevailing practice of urban design by this professional class and the growing imperative for public participation in public space design. I also examine how the most recent attempts to remake Pershing Square are emblematic of two paradigms in urban design: landscape urbanism and placemaking.