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Under Mayor Villaraigosa’s leadership, Los Angeles has preserved open space, created and expanded public parks, increased recycling and fostered an ethic of environmental preservation and sustainability. 

Mayor Villaraigosa committed to restore lush plant and animal life to the Lower Owens River’s long-depleted banks. In 2006, the Mayor released the first flow in the Lower Owens River in 95 years, followed by the release of the first seasonal flow in the river in 2008, sowing the seeds for further growth along the largest river restoration project in America.

Restoring the river’s flow is the cornerstone of the Lower Owens River Restoration Project (LORP), a collaboration between the LADWP and the County of Inyo to mitigate the environmental impact caused by 20 years of ground-water pumping in the Owens Valley by the LADWP.

The restoration project covers a 78,000-acre area, consisting of a diverse mix of riparian (riverbank), wetlands and river vegetation, river channel and open water, seeps and springs.

Having already returned a steady, year-round flow along 62-miles of the Lower Owens River (from Big Pine to the Owens Lake Delta), the project will spread water into the Valley’s basins, creating permanent lakes, ponds and hundreds of acres of wetland habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds by the Delta.

The City’s Department of Recreation and Parks administers approximately 15,700 acres of parkland in neighborhood, community and regional parks located across the City. However, approximately 80 percent of the City’s parkland is concentrated in large regional parks such as Griffith Park, Hansen Dam, Harbor Park and the Sepulveda Basin.

The City needs to acquire additional park land to meet its standard for neighborhood and community park space, which is four acres of park per 1,000 residents (Public Recreation Plan), as well as to provide residents with more accessible public parks, recreational opportunities and open space.

The Mayor has challenged the City to open thirty-five (35) new or expanded park sites, including LAUSD joint use opportunities, over a five year period. The City is 95 percent complete towards reaching that goal, and will have increased park acreage by approximately 260 acres by 2009.

Los Angeles leads the way among major cities in recycling and Mayor Villaraigosa has pledged to do even more, committing to raise Angelenos’ diversion rate to 70 percent.

After the implementation and expansion of the multifamily recycling program and the restaurant food waste program, recycling has increased by 60,000 tons per year, providing recycling service to more than 380,000 additional multifamily residences with blue bin recycling and 730 restaurants with food waste composting. In addition, collection and recycling of yard trimmings has increased by almost 95,000 tons in the last four years.

The City also provides free blue bin recycling to LAUSD schools. Currently, the City has enrolled 67 percent of the LAUSD schools (542 out of 808) in this voluntary program. By the end of 2009, the City will have reached 73 percent of all LAUSD schools (590 out of 808).

Terminal Island is setting the green standard for innovation, clean energy and renewable power nationwide.

Recently named as a finalist for the 2009 Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Institute Award for Innovations in American Government as one of the top 50 programs representing the best practices in government innovation, the Terminal Island Renewable Energy (TIRE) project represents the City’s unyielding commitment to sustainability, unparalleled investment in alternative energy sources, and unmatched strategy to make LA the cleanest and greenest big city in America.

The TIRE facility – a five-year demonstration project – is the nation's first project aimed at producing green energy from a renewable bio-resource. The TIRE project will produce approximately 3,500 kilowatts of renewable power by converting bio-solids into clean energy. This technology has the potential to provide a cleaner environment and economic benefits to millions of citizens of major cities throughout the world.

In 2005, Mayor Villaraigosa established a Council of Education Advisors to guide the City of Los Angeles towards a more collaborative and inclusive education policy. The advisors recommended that the City increase the number of Joint Use partnerships to promote schools as "the center of community."

Successful joint use projects include parks, recreation space, and acquatic facilities which have been developed with support from the LAUSD, the City Council, City Attorney's Office, the Department of Recreation and Parks, and many other entities.

We are confident that by leveraging voter-approved school construction bonds with government and philanthropic partnerships, the City will be able to provide new recreational opportunities to communities most in need.