Another day, another potentially major gamechanger for the LA River: today the city is launching a new effort to create a development-packed river district. The new Northeast Los Angeles Riverfront Collaborative is designed to help cut some of the red tape among agencies (the government, non-profits, universities, commercial real estate firms) so that they can create "a holistic, collaborative urban planning effort," according to KCET. The proposed Northeast Los Angeles Riverfront District would run along eight miles of river: "The district comprises all of Atwater Village and Elysian Valley and portions of Lincoln Heights, Cypress Park and Glassell Park. It is bounded by the 134 Freeway on the north, Main Street in Lincoln Heights on the south, the L.A. River on the west and the 5 Freeway to the east." (Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is working on a major access/rehab plan for roughly this area and the city is considering opening up the Atwater/Elysian zone for recreation this summer.)

The NELA RC already has some federal grant funding and real estate consultants will start an economic development study to figure out funding for the district and come up with some specific projects to spur the action. Involved parties plan also to look into bike parking and bike and car sharing along the river, encouraging job creation that makes sense for the workers in the area, and "turning the district into a regional food hub," among many other efforts. The group's project manager says "The idea here is to use the [Los Angeles] river -- which has historically been a flood control basin -- and envision it as an actual fully-functioning river and to use that to create a district where it'll be a unique feature." [Image via KCET]

· Northeast L.A. Communities to be Envisioned as a Riverfront District [KCET]

· Guys Who Paved the LA River Now Working on Opening It Up [Curbed LA]