The Los Angeles River symbolizes all the potential of our great city. Local residents, city leadership, environmentalists, urban planners, developers and land owners have sought to unlock its potential. The promise of revitalizing the river in a holistic, sustainable way is completely achievable, while recognizing a few factors.

First, all vested parties must understand and accept that the scope of the river’s potential is simply too vast for any one entity to implement alone.

Second, bringing the vision of a vibrant, healthy, prosperous L.A. River to life can only be realistically achieved in small increments.

Finally, the creation of close, integrated collaboration with the city’s public, private and community sectors is imperative to revitalize and successfully transform the river.

There have been notable achievements toward realizing a revitalized river over the last nine months. Taxpayers in November approved Measure M, which commits more than $400 million to create a contiguous L.A. River Bike Path along all 51 miles of riverbank. The city of Los Angeles took a significant step from vision to reality in February when it acquired the Taylor Yard G2 land parcel, which will become a 40-acre cornerstone recreational and green space along the river.

And finally, in June, the city leveraged a mix of local, state and private funding sources to build a multimodal bridge connecting Atwater Village to Griffith Park, demonstrating what can be achieved through innovative funding approaches and public-private partnerships.

We believe the time is now – as land entitlement and funding opportunities continue to evolve or become resolved – to deliver on the potential of creating a revitalized L.A. River. Using an inclusive and collaborative approach means that projects that are smaller in scale and focused will see more success. 

Group effort

River revitalization can only be successful through cooperation and partnerships involving everyone who has an interest in its future, including ecologists, developers, residents and land owners. Will everyone get what they want? The answer is more than likely no.

Can we develop and implement purposeful and centered solutions that will satisfy the majority of fundamental values and priorities? Absolutely.

L.A.’s recent purchase of the Taylor Yard parcel was a critical first step for the river’s revitalization. The entire 51-mile stretch of the river cannot realistically be tackled all at once. The effort to identify and rehabilitate a single site for multiple uses provides a chance for the city to demonstrate incremental wins, resulting in collaborative revitalization of controllable segments of the river. Taking this approach, the future will be less difficult to achieve.

The practical reality that no one can implement a comprehensive vision of the L.A. River alone necessitates the creation of partnerships and innovative delivery models to provide the impetus for critical success. Public-private partnerships can fuel the transformation process. Constructive collaboration with public, private, community and ecologic interests can develop financing plans that not only share significant costs and accelerate implementation, but also provide a platform to leverage mutual benefits, be they ecological, financial or communal.

Align the best business, civic, ecological and community resources of Los Angeles and its namesake river can be rejuvenated with credible and innovative approaches that define our society in a myriad of innovative, progressive and environmentally responsible ways. The L.A. River is poised to become a shining gateway for the city of Los Angeles that current and future Angelenos can enjoy for generations to come. Now is time to make the vision reality.

Nancy Michali is associate vice president of buildings and places-urban design for Aecom.