A decade in green links

Well, almost a decade.  Here is a chronological collection of links to articles or content that feature the Los Angeles Eco-Village or some of its members, carefully collected by Lois Arkin.

2013:
The Jewish Journal features Lois Arkin (one of the L.A Eco-Village founders)
http://www.jewishjournal.com/50_Plus/article/co_op_living_revisited

2012:
The Eco-Village has been a crossroads for a number of activists in Los Angeles, this LA weekly article traces the birth of Ciclavia as it relates  to this place:
http://www.laweekly.com/2012-04-05/news/ciclavia-LA-bicycles-founding/

2012:
An interview with Joe Linton, artist and activist:
http://thesource.metro.net/2012/02/22/joe-linton-interview-with-an-artist-in-transit/

2009:
Chris Carlsson visits Los Angeles and this is a great post that highlights the people and places that he visited. This would be a good read if you are planning on coming to L.A. and would like to see the other side of the coin.
http://www.nowtopians.com/my-writings-and-appearances/it%E2%80%99s-happening-in-los-angeles

2008:
This is a PDF (warning!) of a Power Point presentation by the Affordable Housing Energy Efficiency Alliance on energy efficiency design. We are featured as a case study.
http://www.h-m-g.com/multifamily/aheea/MF%20Bldgs%20High-Perf%20Design_Part3_LACDC_07.31.08.pdf

2008:
Indymedia’s coverage of the the struggle with LAUSD over nearby land use that would affect our area:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/02/213688.php

2008:
A short article on cohousing by Cassandra Lizaire
http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2008-04-15/lizaire-cohousing.html

2007:
Lois Arkin interview by the Center for Oral History Research at UCLA. (sound files with synopsis)
http://oralhistory.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz00095x90&title=%2520Arkin,%2520Lois

2007:
Joe Linton interview by the Center for Oral History Research at UCLA. (sound files with synopsis)
http://oralhistory.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz00095wcj&title=%2520Linton,%2520Joe

2007:
Short article about the growing pains of ecovillages around the world:
http://www.emagazine.com/magazine-archive/it-takes-an-eco-village

2004:
Communes and intentional communities by Dean Schabner:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96711&page=1

2002:
Radio interview and transcript by Living on Earth:
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=02-P13-00026&segmentID=5

L.A. Times Article:
http://articles.latimes.com/2002/mar/30/local/me-outthere30

1995:
Flemming Funch recounts an inspiring visit to the L.A Eco-Village:
http://www.worldtrans.org/essay/ecovillage.html

Article on Eco-Village’s Joe Linton

Here’s an article profiling yours truly. It’s by UCI Journalism Student Christina Lam. (I’ve added links and images and fixed a couple very tiny very minor things that nobody else would have noticed.)

Feature Article June 8 2011
by Christina Lam

It's about Joe Linton - photo by Federico Tobon

Joe Linton is a gardener, an activist, and a artist. Another label important to him is something that most people would overlook: Linton is also a resident. He is a resident of Los Angeles, and that influences where he gardens, who he fights for, and what he draws. For most of his adult life, Linton has felt a calling for an activist’s life. Linton is often in combat with government officials and city planners over something in his city he lives to protect. Sometimes he comes out like a hero, and other times he is a non-profit nuisance. When he’s not busy saving the gray, drab urban spaces of LA, Linton is the model neighbor anyone would want—warm, inviting and helpful.

Living Eco Visits and Videos

“The first phase of the eco-village solution is using lots of mulch”

A video crew from Living Eco created these two 15-minute videos showcasing a recent visit to LAEV. The above video covers chickens, composting, greywater, the bicycle morgue, the “multiple centers of initiative” gate, and las trincheras. The below video covers stacking functions, permeable pavement, carrots, participation, the bulb-out, the free table, floor materials, and the community room.

And here’s their interview with Eco-Villager Melba Thorne, mostly focused on ecological packaging used for her Native Gardens vegan treats:

Bike Facility Workshop at LAEV Thursday Nov 19th

Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange (C.I.C.L.E.) is hosting a new workshop at Los Angeles Eco-Village:

Creating Great Places To Bike!
Presented by C.I.C.L.E. campaigns director and LAEV member Joe Linton
Thursday, November 19th : 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Location: Los Angeles Eco-Village, 117 Bimini Place, LA 90004

From bicycle lanes to bike boulevards, chicanes to road diets–get immersed in the world of hot bicycle and walking facilities that are creating great places to live and bike.

Learn what facilities can make streets safer and more convenient for bicycling (and walking.) Enjoy a tantalizing talk, a sexy slide show, short-n-sassy films, and handy-dandy handouts. Plus, as a special offer, we’ll even throw in a Q & A segment absolutely free!

Here’s just a sampling:
What the heck is a road diet, and will it help me lose weight?
What’s the difference between a bike path, a bike trail, a bike route and a bike lane?
What are cycletracks? sharrows?
Why is traffic calming all the rage, and how does it work?
And, OH SO MUCH MORE!

Free to C.I.C.L.E. members and L.A.E.V. residents
Suggested Donation $5 (no one turned away for lack of funds)

For event info, go here or email info@cicle.org or call 323.478.0060 for more info.

Comments about Joe’s Play

To my new river to see a play
June 2009

My friend Joe Linton hasn’t been coming to our weekly potlucks and meetings for the last few months because he has been in rehearsal for a play. Since he’s not an actor, this has been an interesting development and he always sounds a bit scared about the whole thing. But last night a bunch of us carpooled and biked to a performance.

Even the box office was outdoors

some of us biked

Joe is a river hero around here. He is incredibly knowledgable about the LA River ecosystem and wrote a highly respected book on the subject. He has actually kayaked the entire length, proving it is navigable. A longtime volunteer/staffer of Friends of the LA River (FOLAR), he is an artist. And gardener. And cook. But not an actor! (He did fine, was glad to see us.)

When we got there we saw some strange stuff at the end of the road.

two art installations for the river

A bunch of us got there an hour early to do an educational walk along the river. This section does have the usual concrete banks, but the bottom is natural because the water table is so high here they can’t get concrete to stay put. There are bike trails on both banks. My neighbor Randy is a bike messenger and rides here several times a week, especially likes it as a place to have lunch.

This section of the river is called Taylor Yard. Lots of water – it comes from a sewer reclamation plant upstream. “Toilet to tap” was such bad PR that they just dump the nice clean water in the river.

Taylor Yard

Access is awful, you can live close by, but have to drive miles and miles to get to the river. This is changing. We heard a lot about the plans to reclaim the river from its concrete straitjacket. And that’s sort of what the play was addressing. Characters included radicals with jackhammers, locals who did not want their neighborhoods changed by construction. (Plans call for hundreds of little feeder streets to direct foot traffic to the riverbank.) I was not allowed to take pictures of the performance.

Just before the walk ended I saw a great blue heron in the river. Then a heron was one of the first characters in the play. Notice how the bank drops off right behind the stage area to the right of KwanWu. They used the hidden bank as a backstage area. They even used the opposite bank of the river in one scene. But mostly they just used the road as the stage, in the area under the lights.

This salvaged car was part of the set

All the scenery and set design elements had been pulled out of the river, including the old car. Same with elements of the costumes. My favorite was a marvelous sea turtle whose carapace was covered with squashed beer cans.

The river takes center stage

These were used to make a house, too, as you see here, next to the band.

The most interesting element of set design was the river, which was in every scene. Almost everyone walked in it. Some characters swam or kayaked in it. It was the star of the play. The character who did not walk in it was in an electric wheelchair (Mallard). But she pulled an invisible monofilament string so her ducklings swam in it as they followed her.

Critters like Mallard, Ridley (turtle), Heron, etc. were all played by people, believably, except this excellent puppet played a river spirit and she was so fine! There was plenty of humor – one character was named Cachoo so every time she was introduced, the response was “God bless you.” Joe’s character was modelled on Joe.

A wonderful puppet had a role

Can’t describe the whole plot for you, but I can tell you how the play ends. The character called “Roger Vadim!” who opened the play admits that he’s not the famous director, drops his exaggerated French accent and his jackhammer and his radical ways. He pulls a photo out of his pocket and displays the Seine – a beautiful dramatic urban scene in Paris, with plenty of greenery, steps going down into the water, boats, fishermen, birds, tall buildings, walkers, streets. The idea that we could have a beautiful human-scale riverscape here in the great city of Los Angeles comes to life in a whole new way.

Wade, fish, swim, kayak in this river

I found that there were tears running down my cheek. The entire performance was moving and thrilling and discreetly educational, rewarding and entertaining and heartwarming and alarming and something of a call to arms.

We were mostly freezing, even though the temp was around sixty, as the weather is quite damp (they call it the “June Gloom,” but the gardens benefit)… for an hour or so we were so engrossed we forgot the chill and the discomfort.

The Elizabeth will always feel like my home river, but it’s a thrill to encounter this same spirit of can-do must-do river restoration three thousand miles away, with hard work and a big heart and an intuitive feel for what it really takes to heal a river.

–Kathy Hill