Metamorphasis: When Change Is Beautiful

“Better the devil you know.”

It feel like more than ever, we seem to prefer the hell of today rather than entertain even slightest bit of change.

In Los Angeles, where our streets are near infernos, references to hell are unfortunately more than mere exaggeration: tempers flare due to road rage, our microclimate swelters with miles of asphalt, children die at twice the rate as other developed countries on our roads, global temperatures rise with endless exhaust and carbon emissions, and one company just embraces the deadly sins of its products, calling it the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.

The devil in question? The car.

Unfortunately, any suggestion that aims to shift us away from this devil we know all too well is fast met with fury.

Change can be scary. An ambiguous car-free (or car-less) future is seen to be a regression and fraught with inconvenience.

THE BEAUTY OF METAMORPHOSIS

Not all change is terrifyingly abstract or unknown.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, CicLAvia and the LA Phil teamed up to create a beautiful 8-mile car-free paradise.

We watched as LA’s streets transformed from an urban hellscape to a space of diversity, joy, music, play, food, drinks, and bikes (in aaaall shapes and sizes).

Beautiful, quirky #LosAngeles ❤️

At @CicLAvia

This is what happens when streets are returned to the public!!#ciclavia #MyDayInLA #bikeLA pic.twitter.com/l65Z54wy2D

— Have A Go (@HaveAGOMobility) September 30, 2018

For at least one day, the City of Angels lived up to its name, morphing from a lowly crawling creature to a beautiful, lighthearted, and free-floating creature.

And instead of trying to persuade Angelinos to give up their cars, this magical moment of metamorphosis showed us what car-free streets could feel like, altering our perception of ditching cars from one of terrifying abstraction to one of beauty, joy, and lightness.

Thank you CicLAvia, you’re truly beautiful!