L.A. is rolling out 3,000 bus shelters to help protect riders from extreme heat

Temperatures in Los Angeles continue to rise—the number of annual extreme heat days has tripled over the past century, and average summer temperatures have increased more than one degree Fahrenheit in the past 20 years.

To provide some relief from the sun, StreetsLA is deploying 3,000 bus shelters across some of the highest-ridership areas in L.A. Some of the city’s most vulnerable communities live in these neighborhoods and yet green space with natural shade is scarce. Since the shelters started being rolled out, an average of 63,800 riders are seeing the benefits every weekday.

“It became a very human-centric effort of understanding who the transit riders are and understanding their needs,” says Carlos Madrid III, senior associate principal at SOM LA studio, the architecture firm that designed the project.

Inspired by California modernism architecture, the shelters are simple and functional, with clean lines and a clear indoor-outdoor connection. 

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