One of the greatest challenges in the revitalization of the Los Angeles River is managing the inevitable compromise that must occur in our quest for a river design that restores some of the river’s ecology, maintains its flood protection, and still adheres to some basic guidelines of cost. This challenge is particularly acute for the areas of the river completely clad in concrete, that is, most of it. What do we sacrifice (and what do we gain) when we seek to satisfy demands that are practically diametrically opposed—vegetation and flood protection. Will the compromise be too great and disqualify the value of the intervention or can we find a suitable outcome. Only a careful design study can determine the answer.

This design research project studies this compromise by using a common, high flow adapted, and cost-effective ecologically friendly revetment technology as the basis for an ecological intervention in a challenging stretch of the concrete-clad river-geo blocks. A series of modified grid ridge structures (geo-blocks) is proposed in this pilot project to help restore the natural habitat of Los Angeles River. Depending on the different site conditions, Geo-blocks offers a range of rigid and flexible concrete blocks systems that typically range in thickness from 2ft to 4.5ft. The blocks can be used as flood drainage and channel linings with a hard, durable surface. Alternatively, a hybrid system with concrete cellular sections that contain soil and vegetation within the cells is available for greener esthetics. These geo-blocks have three different structure, they are named as “Tree structure”, “Fiber structure”, and “Bulk structure” with the increased surface tension among the blocks. They are accommodated to different flow conditions on different parts of the channel, working together to bring a new solution for river revitalization.