Urban Environment

Explore the parks and green space of Los Angeles. Learn more about what the city and others are doing to improve our urban environment.

Web Links

General Sites

• SustainLA--This is a joint city collaboration providing a portal to information on environmental projects throughout the city.  A great place to start learning about the environment.
• City of L.A. Environment & Recycling Page
• Community Guide to Environmental Services--a very useful publication from the City Environmental Affairs Department
• Green LA--Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles
• Sign-up for 

Parks and Recreation

• The Parks of Council District 13--(Coming soon!)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
• Parks and Facility Locator
• Calendar of Events
• County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation
• California State Parks--the homepage of the California State Department of Parks and Recreation
• Greenprinting Los Angeles--a joint project between the City of Los Angeles and the Trust for Public Land

Energy, Green Power, and Energy Conservation

• U.S. Department of Energy--Green Power
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• LADWP's Green Power
• Energy Savers--learn how to save money and conserve energy in your home from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Home Energy Saver--a web-based tool from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Business Energy Analysis--from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Environmental Protection

• Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles
• California Environmental Protection Agency
• United States Environmental Protection Agency

Clean Air

• Check on smog levels
• South Coast Air Quality Management District
• Where does smog come from?
• What can you do to cut smog--five solutions:
• Get an alternative fuel vehicle
• Trade in your gas-powered lawnmower
• Report smoking vehicles to CUT-SMOG
• Things you can do at home
• Reduce energy consumption at home

Clean Water & Water Supply

• Bureau of Sanitation, Department of Public Works, City of Los Angeles
• What is a TMDL?--U.S. EPA explains a TMDL
• Ever caught rainwater?--Tree People's T*R*E*E*S project
• Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Perchlorate & chromium issues
• Los Angeles River Watershed Trash TMDL
• Water quality goals

The Los Angeles River

• Los Angeles City Council Ad-Hoc Committee on the LA River
• Los Angeles River Watershed--from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Friends of the Los Angeles River
• LA River Tour
• The Los Angeles River: Past, Present, and Possibilities (web exhibit by Alan Loomis)
• Los Angeles River Railroads (including Taylor Yard)
• Who killed the L.A. River?
• The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth
• Re-envisioning the L.A. River (L.A. River Project)
• The Trust for Public Land's Los Angeles River Greenway Program
• Community Perspectives on the L.A. River
• The L.A. River (a historical paper)
• Frogtown
• TMDLs and the Los Angeles River--A Powerpoint presentation from the Bureau of Sanitation that includes interesting L.A. River history

Recycling

• Bureau of Sanitation Recycling Page
• Solid Resources Citywide Recycling Division
• What can I recycle in my curbside bins?
• Oil recycling
• Hazardous Household Waste
• Backyard Composting
• E-Waste: What can I do with that old television or computer?--Check out the next city-sponsored electronic waste recycling collection event (Learn more about electronic waste at California State Integrated Waste Management Board's e-waste site or Californians Against Waste's e-waste page)
• Construction and demolition recycling
• Recycle City--from the U.S. EPA
• Construction Recycling--Construction accounts for about 12 percent of the waste stream.  Learn about construction and demolition recycling at the California State Integrated Waste Management Board's web site
• Californians Against Waste

Building Greener Homes, Buildings, and Communities

• U.S. Green Building Council
• USGBC Green Building Links
• Green Building and Deconstruction--from the L.A. City Environmental Affairs Department

Transportation and the Environment

• California Energy Commission's Transportation Choices Site
• Alternative Fuel Vehicles
• SustainLA's Alternative Fuel Vehicle Page
• Cycling in Los Angeles
• Los Angeles City Bicycle Plan
• Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
• Public Transportation Links
• Plan a trip on public transportation with TranStar--the Southern California Association of Government's public transit trip planner
• Metropolitan Transit Authority

Community Gardening, Farmers Markets, and Food Security

• Los Angeles Community Garden Council
• American Community Gardening Association
• Starting a community garden (an ACGA guide)
• Center for Food and Justice--Occidental College
• Los Angeles County Farm Bureau master list of farmers' markets
• Farmers' Markets of Southern California (a partial list)
• USDA Community Food Security Project
• LAUSD Nutrition Network--healthy food in our schools

Trees and Community Forestry

• Street Tree Division of the Bureau of Street Services, Department of Public Works
• Tree People
• TreeLink
• LADWP's Tree for a Green LA Program--An initiative to bring over 200,000 shade trees to our communities

Plants, Animals, and Habitat

• California Native Plant Society
• On-line inventory of native California plants
• Los Angeles Audubon Society
• The Nature Conservancy California
• California Wildflowers--from the California Academy of Sciences
• Threatened and endangered species--from the California Department of Fish and Game
• Photos of wildlife, habitat, and plants--from CalPhotos, an excellent database at UC Berkeley
• Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Society

Environmental and Community Groups

• Environment California--California Public Interest Research Group's web site on environmental issues
• American Lung Association
• Ballona Lagoon Marine Preserve
• Ballona Wetlands Foundation
• Ballona Wetlands Land Trust
• Regional Environmental Business Resource Assistance Center
• Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
• California Quality Compost Council
• California Conservation Corps, Los Angeles District
• California League of Conservation Voters
• California Native Plant Society
• Californians Against Waste
• Children's Nature Institute
• Clean Air Now
• Coalition for Clean Air
• Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
• Communities for a Better Environment
• Community Forest Advisory Committee
• Concerned Citizens of South Central 
• Earth Communications Office
• Earth Day LA
• Eco-Home Network
• EcoVillage
• Environment Now
• Environmental Defense
• Environmental Media Association
• Friends of Ballona Wetlands
• Friends of the Los Angeles River
• Global Cities
• Global Green U.S.A.
• Greenaction
• Heal the Bay
• Hollywood Beautification Team
• International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
• Korean Youth and Community Center
• Little Tokyo Service Center
• Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council
• Los Angeles Community Garden Council
• LA Regional Foodbank
• LA Shares
• Los Angeles Conservation Corps
• Los Angeles Zoo
• Madres del Este de Los Angeles Santa Isabel
• Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education
• Marine Mammal Care Center
• Mono Lake Committee
• Mountains Education Program
• Mountains Restoration Trust
• National Audubon Society
• National Resources Defense Council
• National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council
• Northeast Trees
• People for Parks
• Rhapsody in Green
• Santa Monica Baykeeper
• Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project
• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• Save the Whales
• Sierra Club
• Surfrider Foundation
• The Trust for Public Land
• Theodore Payne Foundation
• TreePeople
• UCLA Ocean Discovery Center
• Venice Action Committee
• Watts Labor Community Action Committee
• Wildlife on Wheels
• Wildlife Waystation