The City of Los Angeles is home to America’s busiest port and encompasses 43 miles of waterfront. The Port accounts for 259,000 full- and part-time jobs, one of every 24 jobs in Southern California, and more than 1.3 million jobs on a national scale.
The increasingly complex demands placed on this booming, diverse seaport have challenged its ability to balance the growing needs of the community with those of regional and global stakeholders. In response, the Port has established a vision that has made it synonymous with groundbreaking green initiatives that have formed the blueprint for the City’s broader community and regional development and regeneration plans.
Over the past 12 years, AECOM has provided ongoing services in strategic guidance, master planning, project management, economic feasibility studies, design guidelines, and construction administration on a variety of projects concentrated along the 9.6-mile-long stretch from Vincent Thomas Bridge to the ocean breakwater. The transformation of the waterfront has stimulated economic regeneration within the heart of San Pedro, and has provided a diversified range of uses and spaces for community recreation along the waterfront. Different districts along the waterfront create a wide array of opportunities to experience the life of the port, and to be at the water’s edge, which had not previously been available. The creation of a series of authentic places resulted from a process of close collaboration with the community on everything from the programming of spaces to a series of sculptures that enliven the waterfront. The stories of the generations of families who have settled around the Port formed the inspiration for our work and are expressed in the detailing of furnishings, lighting, and wayfinding signage.
