Welcome to our third installment of Los Angeles Hashtags Herself. As you know by now, we’re dedicating this spring to featuring the critical and relevant work that women do in and for the city and people of Los Angeles. The first half of this season revolves around urban issues. We’ve talked with USC Professor Lisa Schweitzer about policy and her critical feminist pedagogy, and Elizabeth Timme and Helen Leung of LA-Más about their on-the-ground efforts to make LA’s development more equitable and self-directed. This week we turn to journalist Alissa Walker, Curbed’s Urbanism Editor and car-free transportation advocate, who uses her role as an online journalist to “explain things so people can make their own decisions.”
Originally a design writer, Alissa abandoned her car ten years ago in favor of a pedestrian lifestyle, a move which led to an expansive career as an urbanist and urban advocate that coincides with watershed moments in both online journalism and the urban renaissance. What sets Alissa apart, though, is her dedication to online discourse and general optimism about how we can solve our urban issues set her apart. In a time where tribalism reigns, Alissa welcomes the immediacy of online engagement with people of differing opinions “because it only makes me want to find even better solutions to problems.”
Well, actually, this is a great conversation. Many thanks to Alissa for hosting me in her home for our talk and to you for listening. Leave us a review on your favorite podcatcher and connect with us on Twitter (Bedrosian, me), Facebook, or email.
Links…
Do go back and read Alissa’s Mansplaining the City and radical The Case Against Sidewalks, which was hot off the presses the day of our conversation. Read her writing for Curbed and Curbed LA, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Finally, as she says, just let her know when you’re out doing walks or having events. She loves exploring Los Angeles and hanging out.
LA#Herself is produced by Aubrey Hicks, Jonathan Schwartz, and myself and mixed by Corey Hedden. Stream the interview on this page, or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, or GooglePlay.