SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION L.A. INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM SUPPLEMENT PHOTO: COURTESY OF L.A. COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS Opinions expressed are those of the advertisers. Ladera Park in Los Angeles includes an underground infiltration system, bioswales and irrigation from stormwater. Los Angeles County Unpaves the Way Infrastructure innovation from the nation’s largest county By Jennie Morton Climate change, water independence, social equity and sustainability— these are the core issues that are driving infrastructure projects in Los Angeles County. Its innovative approach to planning for the future starts with breaking away from the past. Mark Pestrella, public works director , spoke at the 2023 LA Infrastruc-ture Forum. His session, “Reimagining How We Think and Talk about Infrastructure,” illustrated how Los Angeles County Public Works is actively rectifying the way the built environment undermines resilient communities. “We are the seed room of civil engineering in the enr.com/california/resources/SpecialAd U.S. What allows our infrastructure projects to thrive is modernization,” stressed Pestrella. “We are adopting practices like total project approach, multi-benefit projects, lifecycle risk management, burden analysis and right project-right place.” Bold Benchmarks L.A. County’s infrastructure touches every part of public life, from solid waste management and mass transit to erosion control and flood mitigation. However, with over 4,700 sq mi of land and water and approximately 10 million residents, the scale of its infrastructure challenges is larger than many states. It takes dedicated foresight to imple-ment systematic and strategic changes. “We have adopted a full climate crisis stance and are working to accelerate our efforts,” Pestrella said. “Our county sustainability plan is focused on quanti-fiable actions. We are a strong propo-nent of measuring—nothing is going to get done if there’s not a standard.” The majority of the county’s green infrastructure improvements involve the built environment. Stepped timelines for 2025, 2035 and 2045 create rolling milestones for progress. Examples of final targets include: • Build at least 75% of new housing within half a mile of high-frequency transit. • Convert 30% of heat-trapping surfaces to cool or green surfaces. • Require 100% of major building December 11/18, 2023 | 45
ENR Sections L.A. Infrastructure Forum Supplement: Page-45
