Ananya Roy is a scholar of urban planning, geography, and social welfare at UCLA whose work examines inequality, poverty, displacement, and the politics of urban development. Her influential scholarship on urban informality challenges the idea that “informal” activity simply exists outside formal systems, instead examining how governments and institutions themselves produce and regulate informality.

Nolan Marshall III is a civic leader and place-management professional whose career spans public policy, economic development, and community building. Now President and CEO of Downtown Los Angeles’ Social District, he brings experience from New Orleans, Dallas, Vancouver, and two decades of work making cities work better for people.

A 52-block Downtown Los Angeles district working at the intersection of place management, community building, and one of the city’s largest sports and entertainment destinations.

PICO is the canine face of the Social District in Downtown Los Angeles and the inspiration behind Pico’s Corner, the district’s collection of resources for neighborhood dogs and their people. The guide connects residents and visitors with dog parks, the district’s Barklets, grooming, veterinary care, pet stores, and doggy day care—an unusually delightful example of a business district treating four-legged residents as part of downtown life.

CicLAvia transforms Los Angeles streets into temporary car-free public spaces, inviting people to walk, bike, skate, and experience the city at a different pace. Inspired by Bogotá’s Ciclovía, the recurring events connect neighborhoods across Los Angeles while demonstrating how streets can become places for movement, community, exploration, and everyday public life.

Although many young people travel independently in the city, transportation research seldom considers the experiential qualities of their routes, focusing instead on the functional aspects of mode choice. More in-depth understanding of how adolescents experience, negotiate, and perceive everyday mobility can support informed design, policy, and planning interventions to make these journeys safer and more enjoyable

tamika l. butler (she/her or they/them) is a doctoral student in Urban Planning at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her research employs a critical race, historical, legal, and policy-based approach to examine how transportation policy and infrastructure have been used to segregate, isolate, and prevent the mobility of Black and other historically oppressed groups of people.