Los Angeles Has an Ecovillage — Did You Know?

Ecovillages are generally associated with rural or suburban areas, but they can be in the city, too. In fact, with the many naturally green features of the city, there are plenty who argue they should be in the city more. GOOD recently highlighted the Los Angeles Eco-Village (LAEV). It is actually a fairly old and established ecovillage and seems to be doing quite well. Here’s a piece of the post:

Unknown to most Angelenos, LAEV has occupied the two early 1900s apartment complexes a block east off Vermont Avenue in Koreatown for almost 15 years. LAEV moved into the scorched neighborhood in the aftermath of the LA riots, working to revive the community. Over the years, its thirty or so residents have eco-retrofitted the decades-old facilities in their units, repainting the walls with low-VOC paints, and refurbishing the floors to more insulating materials. Their once thirsty lawn is now an edible landscape that grows bananas, peaches, cherimoyas, chard, and lettuce, and even conduct permaculture workshops on site (below). Most units also have solar and gray water systems.

Read more on GOOD: A Village Grows in Los Angeles

Photo Credit: London Permaculture