Turning Pavement into Plants: A Block-by-Block Approach to Adapting L.A.
DepaveLA is the first-ever comprehensive countywide pavement analysis to map the distribution of every paved surface across Los Angeles County, distinguishing between pavement on streets, sidewalks, private properties, and other areas. The groundbreaking report reveals that Los Angeles County contains more than 312,000 acres (488 square miles) of pavement – an area so big it would form California’s largest city. Nearly half of this pavement is estimated to be potentially removable, representing a massive untapped opportunity to strengthen the region’s climate resilience.
Excess pavement worsens heat, flooding, and ecological decline. DepaveLA presents a data-driven framework for removing unnecessary paved surfaces and creating more resilient, healthy and equitable landscapes.
This report was prepared as a collaborative partnership between Accelerate Resilience L.A. and Hyphae Design Laboratory.
Report Contents
- Needs Assessment: Identifies how depaving can help reduce heat and flooding, increase tree canopy access, and address pavement burden.
- Pavement Distribution Analysis: Maps the location, distribution, and classification of pavement across different land use types within L.A. County.
- Design Strategies: Provides guidance for planning and implementing depaving projects.
- Recommendations: Identifies policy recommendations for implementing successful depaving initiatives.
Key Findings
- Los Angeles County contains 488 square miles of pavement, enough to form California’s largest city.
- 44 percent of that pavement is estimated to be potentially removable.
- Nearly 80 percent of removable pavement lies on private parcels, not in the public right-of-way, highlighting the need to engage property owners in depaving efforts.
- In the County’s most impacted “stacked needs” areas (the top 25 percent of communities with overlapping heat, flood, canopy, and pavement burdens), there are 788 acres of pavement.
- 83 percent of these stacked needs hotspot areas are located in Disadvantaged Communities (as designated under SB 535).
Resources & Downloads
- Full Report [link to pdf]
- Executive Summary [link to pdf]
- Interactive Data Viewer [link]
- TBD but this will be an external link that goes to the data browser (built and managed by Hyphae)
- Living Infrastructure Field Kit – Explore the depaving hotspots in the Living Infrastructure Field Kit