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In the wake of January’s horrific fires, detractors of Los Angeles — an urban reality often seen as a toxic mixture of unsustainable resource planning and structurally poor governance systems — are having a field day.

Los Angeles knows how to weather a crisis — or two or three. Angelenos are tapping into that resilience, striving to build a city for everyone.

Their criticism is not new: For most of the 20th century — and certainly for the last five decades or so — Los Angeles has been seen by many urbanists as less city and more cautionary tale — a smoggy expanse of subdivisions and spaghetti junctions, where ambition came with a two-hour commute.

Planners shuddered, while architects looked away, even as they accepted handsome commissions to build some of L.A.’s — if not the world’s — most iconic buildings.

In 1961, Jane Jacobs, the famed urban theorist and community activist, referred to “the ballet of the good city sidewalk” in her landmark 1961 book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.” If Manhattan was her “ballet of the sidewalk,” L.A. was a suburban parking lot with delusions of grandeur.

“Los Angeles is a city of pleasure and peril; we’ve always known this,” Zeina Koreitem, founding partner of Downtown L.A. architecture studio Milliøns, said following the fires. “We consume our environment instead of living with it.”

And yet, like so many Hollywood plot twists, maybe we misunderstood the protagonist.

What if L.A.’s so-called flaws — its low density, car culture and decentralized sprawl — weren’t liabilities in a changing world, but underappreciated assets? Not because they were the right urban solutions all along, but because the systems beneath them are shifting?

Urban form has always followed transportation infrastructure. Roman roads influenced the creation of grid-based military cities. Railways shaped satellite towns. Subways gave rise to vertical density.

Today, the emergence of autonomous mobility solutions like robot taxis as well as distributed energy — decentralized, small-scale energy generation located near where energy is actually consumed — is redrawing those relationships once again — and the L.A. model just may be a big beneficiary in the long run.

Dismissed as the nemesis of sustainable urbanism, L.A. can, in fact, be well-positioned for the next chapter. Technologies like rooftop photovoltaics, vehicle-to-grid systems and AI-optimized resource flows do not depend on compactness. They benefit from space, sunlight and flexibility — qualities that Los Angeles has in abundance across its 1,600 square miles of urbanized area.

That vast, polycentric mass — long derided by urban experts residing in denser cities — can also be an asset in the years ahead as autonomous mobility becomes ubiquitous. Elastic, demand-driven autonomous services — which will inevitably also extend to Los Angeles airspace — can and will complement an increasingly built-out Metro light rail system and increased bus rapid transit routes, helping open up economic opportunities to those in once disadvantaged, isolated neighborhoods.

Instead of forcing the city into a European mold, perhaps the question is how the city’s existing DNA might evolve. Could its low-rise form become a testing ground for neighborhood-scale energy networks? Could it become a solar-powered metropolis built on microgrids, where each district produces and manages its own resources?

There is already a shift underway. L.A.’s wide boulevards and streets are being reimagined for a new mix of mobility modes: e-bikes, delivery bots, shared shuttles, autonomous vehicles. A city that was once an ode to the freeway is fast becoming a globally recognized source of innovations in multimodal transport. This is what CoMotion LA has been looking at for the last eight years: bringing together public and private stakeholders to imagine a city of seamlessly connecting mobility options.

Young Angelenos increasingly prioritize neighborhoods where walking, biking and public transit are viable. Following a COVID-induced hiatus, downtown’s renaissance, with banks converted into lofts and vibrant public spaces, is showing — once again — a new appetite for urban living.

Cul-de-sac homes in Calabasas in October 2024. Dismissed as the nemesis of sustainable urbanism, L.A. can, in fact, be well-positioned for the next chapter.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles is even emerging as a global pioneer in rethinking the curb — often treated as an afterthought — looking at ways those stretches of sidewalk can serve new functions: a charging node, a logistics port, a civic gathering point.

Meanwhile, the scattershot green spaces across Los Angeles offer another opportunity. Rather than a singular large park like New York’s Central Park or Boston Common, the city could develop an ecological mesh, a “sponge city” capable of managing stormwater and heat while fostering public life. Because sustainability is not only about emissions or energy. It is also means access, health and shared space.

This isn’t about longing for midcentury Los Angeles, or about replicating Copenhagen. It’s about testing new possibilities — much like what we’re exploring this year at the Biennale Architettura in Venice. There, participants from diverse disciplines are investigating how we can adapt to a changing planet. We begin with the understanding that climate change is no longer a distant threat; it is a present condition. Our response must be adaptive, experimental and iterative: a continuous process of design evolution, shaped by trial and error, much like nature itself.

But the United States and the world do not need a single model of urban sustainability — they need many. New York might go vertical and social. Barcelona is building out superblocks for pedestrians. Rotterdam is going resilient and water-wise. And Los Angeles? It could — and we believe, it will — become a solar-powered, biodiversity-rich metropolis that helps us rethink what urban sustainability really means.

The sustainable city of the future should not look the same everywhere. It should build on the best of what each place already is and push that to its most imaginative conclusion. “No city has ever been produced by such an extraordinary mixture of geography, climate, economics, demography, mechanics and culture,” said Reyner Banham, the British architectural historian who wrote about Los Angeles a half-century ago. “Nor is it likely that an even remotely similar mixture will ever occur again.”

Los Angeles may have been the warning of the 20th century. But it could become the blueprint of the 21st.

John Rossant is chief executive of CoMotion and international impresario of the multimodal transportation world.

Carlo Ratti is the director of the Senseable City Lab at MIT and the curator of the Biennale Architettura 2025.

The Great British Sewing Bee fans issued the same complaint during Tuesday night’s episode

The Great British Sewing Bee viewers all said the same thing as they pointed out a “big flaw”.

During Tuesday’s (August 5) instalment of the popular BBC reality programme, judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant challenged the sewers with three tasks celebrating Korea’s vibrant fashion and textile heritage.

They were accompanied by acclaimed designer Eudon Choi, who assisted in evaluating each Korean-influenced piece.

For the pattern challenge, contestants were required to craft a jeogori – a traditional Korean jacket that’s now featured in modern womenswear and K-Pop fashion.

The sewers then had to reimagine taekwondo uniforms and vibrant belts into eye-catching new garments, with Kit securing first place, reports Wales Online.

In the made-to-measure challenge, participants were challenged to design evening attire that drew inspiration from clothing historically worn by Korean military personnel.

Born in the 900s during the Goryeo dynasty, the cheollik started as a military coat built for movement and authority with a flat collar, pleats and ties.

Over centuries, it’s evolved from rugged menswear into elegant womenswear.

Contestants were allocated five hours for the task, having been permitted to practice their designs at home.

Following her failure to wow the judges with her garments, Novello was sent home from the contest, whilst Caz claimed the garment of the week accolade.

“It’s okay, I expected it,” Novello said following her departure.

“Sewing has always been in my life, and this experience has blown it out of the water, really. It’s just something that I will remember and treasure always.”

However, after watching the episode, many of the show’s viewers shared their frustration at the lack of time the sewers get during each challenge.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), one person wrote: “I know it’s a competition, but can’t they give them a little more time? It’s nicer to judge finished garments.”

Another added: “I know they have to weed out the worst sewers, but give them a bit more time,” whilst a third said: “They defo need more time.”

The Great British Sewing Bee is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, marking the first time this one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft has moved under its own power

NASA is testing a new aircraft that could pave the way for a new era of supersonic air travel by addressing an issue at the heart of Concorde’s commercial failure.

The dream of a ‘son of Concorde‘ capable of whisking passengers from New York to London in under four hours is edging closer to reality.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, a significant milestone as this unique experimental plane moves under its own power for the first time.

On 10 July, NASA test pilot Nils Larson, alongside the X-59 team comprising NASA and Lockheed Martin staff, carried out the craft’s inaugural low-speed taxi test at the U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

This taxiing phase signals the final ground test sequence before the X-59’s maiden flight. In the upcoming weeks, the aircraft will incrementally boost its speed, culminating in a high-speed taxi test that will bring it tantalisingly close to lift-off.

READ MORE: ‘Concorde’s final flight was 20 years ago – the supersonic jet was always doomed’

During these initial low-speed trials, engineering and flight teams observed the X-59’s performance on the tarmac, ensuring essential systems like steering and braking are operating correctly. These evaluations are crucial for confirming the aircraft’s stability and control under various scenarios, instilling confidence in pilots and engineers that all systems are functioning optimally.

At the heart of NASA’s Quesst mission, the X-59 aims to revolutionise quiet supersonic travel by transforming the traditionally loud sonic boom into a more subdued “thump.”

This is considered key to the commercial success of any supersonic air travel. Crashing through the sound barrier causes a huge bang that has big consequences for those on the ground. During a 1965 test of the original Concorde over Oklahoma city by the US Air Force, hundreds of reports of smashed windows were made.

The potential to cause this kind of disruption meant that Concorde could only fly certain routes at supersonic, meaning no high-speed flights over land. This crushed the business case for the aircraft in the US as cities such as Los Angeles and New York could not be linked up effectively.

Guy Gratton, associate professor of aviation and the environment at Cranfield University, told the Mirror how NASA’s new ‘quiet’ tech is causing is a huge amount of excitement in the industry.

“From what I’ve been able to read, it does work. As a supersonic aircraft flies, every leading part of the aircraft creates a shockwave, and that shockwave creates a sonic boom. The NASA tech has shaped the aircraft so as the shockwaves move away from the plane in flight, they interact with each other and cancel each other out,” he explained.

The X-59 is expected to reach speeds of Mach 1.5, or roughly 990 mph (1,590 km/h), which could potentially cut the London to New York flight time down to approximately 3 hours and 44 minutes – a significant reduction from the usual 7-8 hour journey.

In 2023, NASA explored the feasibility of supersonic passenger air travel on aircraft capable of reaching speeds between Mach 2 and Mach 4 (1,535-3,045 mph). Information collected from the X-59 will be shared with U.S. and international regulators to help establish new, data-driven noise standards for supersonic commercial flights over land.

Southern California Edison’s admission that its equipment may have ignited the Hurst fire in the San Fernando Valley on Jan. 7 is being seized on by lawyers suing the utility company for another fire in the same area nearly six years earlier.

Both the Saddleridge fire in 2019 and the Hurst fire this year started beneath an Edison high-voltage transmission line in Sylmar. The lawyers say faulty equipment on the line ignited both blazes in the same way.

“The evidence will show that five separate fires ignited at five separate SCE transmission tower bases in the same exact manner as the fire that started the Saddleridge fire,” the lawyers wrote of the Hurst fire in a June 9 filing in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The lawyers said the January wildfire is “further evidence” that a transmission pylon known as Tower 2-5 “is improperly grounded.”

Edison told the state Public Utilities Commission in February that “absent additional evidence, SCE believes its equipment may be associated with the ignition of the Hurst Fire.” But the company denies claims that its equipment sparked the 2019 fire, which tore through Sylmar, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills — all suburbs of Los Angeles — burning 8,799 acres.

“We will continue to focus on facts and evidence — not on preposterous and sensational theories that only serve to harm the real victims,” said Edison spokesman David Eisenhauer. He declined further comment on the case.

The Saddleridge wildfire destroyed or damaged more than 100 homes and other structures, according to Cal Fire, and caused at least one death when resident Aiman El Sabbagh suffered a cardiac arrest.

Edison is being sued by insurance companies, including State Farm and USAA, to recoup the cost of damages paid to their policyholders. Homeowners and other victims are also seeking damages. A jury trial for the consolidated cases is set for Nov. 4.

In their June 9 filing, the plaintiffs’ lawyers also claimed Edison wasn’t transparent with officials looking into the cause of the 2019 fire. One fire official characterized the utility’s action as “deceptive,” the filing said.

Edison discovered a fault on its system at 8:57 p.m. — just three minutes before the blaze at the base of its transmission tower was reported to the Fire Department by Sylmar resident Robert Delgado, according to the court filing.

But Edison didn’t tell the Los Angeles city Fire Department about the fault it recorded, the filing said. Instead the fire department’s investigation team discovered the failure on Edison’s transmission lines through dash cam footage recorded by a motorist driving on the 210 Freeway nearby, the filing said.

When Timothy Halloran, a city Fire Department investigator, went to the location of the flash shown on the motorist’s camera, he found “evidence of a failure on SCE’s equipment,” the filing said.

Halloran said in a deposition that employees of the business located where the evidence was found told him that Edison employees “attempted to purchase” footage from the company’s security camera on the night of the fire, the filing said.

“The video footage shows a large flash emanating from the direction of SCE Transmission Tower 5-2,” the filing said.

Halloran testified in his deposition that he believed Edison was trying to be “deceptive” for attempting to purchase the security camera footage and not reporting the system fault to the Fire Department, the lawyers said.

Halloran didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Edison’s maintenance of its transmission lines is now being scrutinized as it faces dozens of lawsuits from victims of the devastating Eaton fire, which also ignited on Jan. 7.

Videos showed that fire, which killed 18 people and destroyed thousands of homes, starting under a transmission tower in Eaton Canyon. The investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing.

Victims of the 2019 fire say they’ve become disheartened as Edison has repeatedly asked for delays in the court case.

“Many plaintiffs have not yet been able to rebuild their homes” because of the delays, wrote Mara Burnett, a lawyer representing the family of the man who died.

Burnett noted that Aiman El Sabbagh was 54 when he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest during the incident. His children, Tala and Adnan El Sabbagh, “feel they were robbed of things they treasured and worked hard for with no apparent recompense in sight.”

Both the Saddleridge and Hurst fires included a similar chain of events where a failure of equipment on one tower resulted in two or more fires igniting under different towers elsewhere on the line, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs.

Edison designed and constructed the towers that run through Sylmar in 1970. They hold up two transmission lines: the Gould-Sylmar 220 kV circuit and the Eagle Rock-Sylmar 220 kV circuit.

In the case of the Saddleridge fire, investigators from the Los Angeles Fire Department and the California Public Utilities Commission found that at 8:57 pm on Oct. 10, 2019, a Y-shaped steel part holding up a transmission line failed, causing the line to fall on a steel arm.

The failure caused a massive electrical fault, lawyers for the plaintiffs say, that sparked fires at two transmission towers that were more than two miles away.

State and city fire investigators say the Saddleridge fire began under one of those towers. And they found unusual burning at the footing of the other tower, according to a report by an investigator at the utilities commission.

The utilities commission investigator said in the report that he found that Edison had violated five state regulations by not properly maintaining or designing its transmission equipment.

This year’s Hurst fire ignited not far away on Jan. 7 at 10:10 p.m. It also began under one of Edison’s transmission towers.

According to Edison’s Feb. 6 report to the utilities commission, the company found that its hardware failed, resulting in equipment falling to the ground at the base of a tower.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs say that they now have more evidence of the fire’s start. They say that investigators found that the hardware failure set off an event — similar to the 2019 fire — that resulted in five fires at five separate transmission tower bases on the same line.

One of those fires spread in high winds to become the Hurst fire. Officials ordered 44,000 people to evacuate. Air tankers and 300 firefighters contained the fire before it reached any homes.