Fostering vital places: public art and the revitalization of the Los Angeles River

Unrestricted The dynamic between the Los Angeles River and the humans living at its banks has changed much over time. While the river gave life to the city and determined its configuration for its first hundred years, by the 20th Century, Los Angeles had outgrown its river and concretized it. However, over the past decade, the LA River has slowly become the subject of attention and the necessary factors for a change in its conditions are mustering along its banks. In this circumstance of change it is important that the development process cultivates vital places. In this regard, I assert that public art has a powerful role to play in facilitating and supporting the generation of vital public space. In support of this claim, I analyze three public art projects, each undertaken along a river, and interrogate whether or not they functioned to create and maintain a vital public space.