The Urban Design Studio has helped craft design guidelines that have shaped both private and public development in Los Angeles. The Studio recently updated the Citywide Design Guidelines, consolidating separate documents for residential, commercial, and industrial development into a single user-friendly document organized around the Studio’s three design approaches.
Citywide
Design Guidelines
The Citywide Design Guidelines maintain neighborhood form and character while promoting quality design and creative infill development solutions.
Digital Version | Printable Version
Above-Grade
Parking Advisory
The Above-Grade Parking Advisory provides design guidance on minimizing the visibility of project parking.
Design Resource 1
Living Streets
Living Streets feature trees, sidewalk plantings, and narrower roadways.
Design Resource 2
Soil Depths
Guidelines for soil depth ensure plants have adequate growing space.
Design Resource 3
Tree Wells
These guidelines recommend tree well dimensions for different sidewalk areas.
Design Resource 4
Urban Parkways
These guidelines recommend dimensions for sidewalk plantings.
Urban Design
Principles
Urban design holistically encompasses the disciplines of urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture.
Downtown
Design Guide
The Downtown Design Guide is the official guide to development in the Downtown Los Angeles area. It encourages Downtown Los Angeles to develop as a more livable and sustainable community.
Downtown
Street Standards
The Downtown Street Standards, in combination with the Downtown Design Guide, provide certainty for developers and architects as to the building street wall location and required roadway improvements.
Small Lot
Design Standards
The Small Lot Design Standards create specific and enforceable rules regarding the design for all small lots, including building orientation, primary entryways, façade articulation, roofline variation, building modulation, pedestrian pathways, landscaping, and common open space areas.
Mobility Hubs Pamphlet
The Mobility Hubs Pamphlet provides guidance on amenities, activities, and programs that support multi-modal connectivity near transit stations.
