An EcoDistricts Target City

Self-titled as a Cultural-Ecodistrict, the 19.5 acre Little Tokyo Ecodistrict, located in the Downtown Los Angeles District, is designed to capture and highlight its 130-year old Japanese-American history. With 40% of the population living below poverty and a median income of $26,774, a new light rail station in Little Tokyo will help to meet the community’s public transit needs. The station will be surrounded by public land and nestled within both Little Tokyo and the Downtown Arts District.

Little Tokyo is perfectly positioned to flourish into a thriving transit-oriented cultural epicenter with the completion of this project. A proposed catalyst project is located near Union Station, and Metro is in the midst of compiling concepts for the Regional Connector to improve access to public transportation. Achieving environmental performance is a project priority that includes TOD, green building retrofits, parks and open space and building out renewable energy and water management that will help Little Tokyo in reaching its goal of creating a 35 percent savings in energy and water usage.

The Little Tokyo Service Center has taken the lead in convening a diverse set of stakeholders to move forward a planning process grounded in the vision and interests of the local community. An extensive community planning and visioning process informed the publication of A Sustainable Little Tokyo, which continues to inform the planning process as it moves forward.