Stepping out

They say only the rich, poor and crazy walk in L.A. Does it have to be that way? If you made a list of the most daunting job descriptions in Los Angeles, Emily Gabel-Luddy's would rank near the top. Gabel-Luddy, who trained as a landscape architect and has worked for the city for nearly 30 years, was appointed last year by Planning Director Gail Goldberg to lead L.A.'s new Urban Design Studio. Its broad mission is to take the city's reputation as an unplanned, unreal and unwalkable place and erase the "un" from those adjectives.