Recent lewis items

Upzoning for Opportunity: Evaluating Feasibility of Low-Rise Multifamily in California’s High-Resource Single-Family Neighborhoods

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This report evaluates a proposal from Our Future Los Angeles that would allow developers to build five to 10 units on parcels with single-family houses in higher-opportunity neighborhoods throughout California. It also mandates that developers include affordable units or pay an in-lieu fee.

The Costs of Traveling With Children: Transportation Challenges for Low-Income Families

Tue, 7 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Costs of Traveling With Children: Transportation Challenges for Low-Income Families

"Stop” and Think about It: How the Different Interpretations of What Counts as a “Major Transit Stop" in California Make a Difference

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Major transit stop”: how these three words are defined determines what can be built where, throughout much of California. In order to address housing supply constraints, the state legislature has enacted a number of laws that streamline approval and remove zoning constraints in areas close to high-quality transit. But what, exactly, is a “major transit stop”? Planners, developers, and elected officials construe the sparse definition in state law in many ways — though genuine interpretive disagreement, due to modeling and data constraints, and/or in order to serve political goals of encouraging or stymying development. Differences in interpreting the definition of “major transit stop” collectively make a big difference in what areas are covered by state zoning incentives. A maximal approach to defining “major transit stop” grows the eligible area by over three times more than a minimal approach. The area within half a mile of a major transit stop has generally increased over time....

Capturing Transit Rider Perspectives on Safety and Harassment: Lessons from San Francisco

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Personal safety concerns continue to be one of the most critical issues among transit riders and women and gender minorities in particular. These safety concerns stem from the experience of sexual harassment that people who identify as women face frequently. While harassment can be a common occurrence, the vast majority of these experiences go unreported to transit agencies, leaving agencies without information about the magnitude of this problem on their system. This report details work with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) in their efforts to understand and address this problem. The SFMTA, working with two UCLA graduate students, designed a survey that drew from previous survey efforts and was tailored to address their interests and needs. This report documents the process of developing and deploying the questionnaire, in an effort to help other agencies take the first steps to better understanding rider safety and harassment. Through breaking down SFMTA’s...

Building Transit Safety Surveys that Matter: Lessons from San Francisco Muni

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Personal safety is a critical issue for transit riders, particularly for women and gender minorities. Safety concerns can stem from experiences of sexual harassment that those who identify as women frequently face. However, most incidents go unreported, leaving transit agencies without information about the magnitude of the problem. UCLA graduate student researchers worked with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) staff to conduct and analyze a survey on their transit system (Muni) of riders’ experiences with harassment, feelings of safety, and potential policy responses. This effort collected 1,613 responses over a two-week period in February and March 2023 through a partnership with the Transit App, a downloadable service for real-time schedule and location tracking of buses and trains. Similar to previous studies, harassment was common: two-thirds of respondents experienced harassment themselves, and around the same share witnessed it. Safety perceptions...

Professional Drivers: Automobile Debt and Financial Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This report synthesizes three primary data sources—credit data, unemployment claims data, and small business loan and grant data—to explore the financial conditions of those who drive for a living before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in California. Automobile debt was high among groups likely to contain professional drivers. The occupational categories in which many drivers fall had high absolute and relative levels of automobile debt compared to other workers. After the onset of the pandemic, unemployment rose dramatically in the transportation industry and in transportation occupations, peaking at rates higher than the national average. However, state unemployment claims data, among transportation employee claimants only, show less of a spike. Contractor drivers lived in areas with more Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims, a special program for self-employed workers like gig drivers. Finally, contractor drivers received unprecedented but uneven federal small business...

Women Have Smaller Activity Spaces Than Men, Especially in Households with Children

Thu, 5 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Differences in how men and women travel have long been a focus in transportation research. Many studies have explored how socially-defined gender roles influence travel decisions and behaviors, consistently highlighting disparities between men’s and women’s travel patterns. For example, compared to men, women tend to make more caregiving and household-related trips, have shorter commutes, and are more likely to combine multiple destinations or purposes into a single tour. This body of research often concentrates on standard measures of travel—such as the number of trips taken, how far and for how long people travel, and travelers’ experiences— while also considering the influence of neighborhood design. However, travel patterns also are shaped by broader social structures and inequalities, which are not captured by these traditional measures

Race, Ethnicity and Mortgage Lending inthe FHLBSF Cooperative

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Race, Ethnicity and Mortgage Lending inthe FHLBSF Cooperative

Bank Investment Patterns in the FHLBSF Cooperative

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bank Investment Patterns in the FHLBSF Cooperative

Evacuation Challenges During the Palisades Fire: Initial Insights

Thu, 8 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Evacuation Challenges During the Palisades Fire: Initial Insights

Evacuation Challenges During the Eaton Fire: Initial Insights

Thu, 8 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Evacuation Challenges During the Eaton Fire: Initial Insights

Cracking The Code: Reclaiming Building Standards for Public Interest

Mon, 5 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cracking The Code: Reclaiming Building Standards for Public Interest

A Path Forward for Transit Rider Experience and Safety: Lessons from the LA Metro Ambassador Pilot Program

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A growing number of U.S. transit agencies are adding transit ambassadors to their systems to improve the customer service and safety experience for passengers. These personnel can play a variety of different roles, including providing wayfinding, system navigation, fare payment support, and other passenger support roles that enhance the customer experience. This research examines the Los Angeles Metro’s transit ambassador program, which began as a pilot in 2022 and is moving in-house in 2025 as a permanent program. Ambassadors provide key customer service functions that are not filled elsewhere. Ambassadors spend most of their time with vital, basic tasks of orienting and aiding riders; they also assist with the first level of homelessness response, with crisis de-escalation, and by administering Narcan to prevent overdoses. Broadly, they provide more eyes on the system and offer a highly visible presence to riders. Training during the pilot period was customer-service oriented...

The Equity and Policy Implications of Long-Distance Commuting in the Greater Los Angeles Region

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The phenomenon of very long commutes, or “super-commutes,” has long interested the public, planners, elected officials, and researchers. US researchers define super-commuting as one-way commutes over 50 miles or 90 minutes. We draw on multiple data sources to examine the prevalence, characteristics, and location of super-commuters in the greater Los Angeles region. We then use individual and household data to examine super-commuting and housing and transportation (H+T) expenditure burdens in California. We find that super-commuters are a relatively small, albeit growing, share of workers in the greater Los Angeles region who are more likely to be higher-income than other workers. Low-income super-commuters are about six times as likely as higherincome super-commuters to travel by bus. Across all income groups, super-commuter households have slightly higher H+T burdens than non-super-commuter households. However, the contribution of super-commuting to the H+T expenditure burden...

The Equity and Policy Implications of Long-Distance Commuting in California and the Greater Los Angeles Region Research Brief

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Equity and Policy Implications of Long-Distance Commuting in California and the Greater Los Angeles Region Research Brief

The Impact of Residential Mobility on Segregation in California

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this report, we assess whether and how residential mobility contributes to enduring patterns of residential segregation and unequal access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods. This analysis makes use of a new dataset to explore the relationship of moving patterns over time to segregation in a way that was not previously possible and concludes by discussing possible policy responses.

Building Renter Wealth: An Evaluation of Shared Prosperity Rental (SPR) Housing Program Design and Feasibility

Wed, 3 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study set out to explore the potential feasibility of a novel housing model, one that we at the UCLA Lewis Center call shared prosperity rental (SPR) housing. The Lewis Center engaged real estate analytics firm MapCraft Inc. to build a real estate financial pro forma model that could represent the financial performance of various SPR approaches. This pro forma modeling exercise was intended to illustrate how an SPR housing program could be designed to build tenant wealth, and the results should be understood as highly speculative. This report presents the Lewis Center’s interpretation of this study’s results, which rest on the generous contributions of reviewers and MapCraft. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the contributors, who are in no way responsible for the final publication or any errors therein.

Social Housing in France: Lessons for California and Beyond

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

One hundred years after its first boom, social housing is again capturing the attention of advocates and governments around the world. This report provides a detailed description of the French social housing system as a reference point for governments that seek to create their own, with a discussion of financing, landlord–developers, rent setting, residents, and recent reforms. About 600 social housing landlords, both public and nonprofit, have been building nearly one-third of the country’s housing in recent decades using long-term loans, their own equity, and local subsidies. The system’s main ingredients are the large public savings account that funds these loans, the cost-rental model, employer contributions, and direct rental assistance to support lowincome households. France is a useful global model for its successes — the system is both large and growing, proving resilient in a diverse and contentious political context — and its limitations — it has inefficiencies and a...

Fire Resilient LA: Solano Canyon

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fire Resilient LA: Solano Canyon

Putting Automobile Debt on the Map: Race and the Geography of Automobile Debt in California

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Most U.S. metropolitan areas developed alongside the automobile, producing neighborhoods of relatively low density. Consequently, access to opportunities in these neighborhoods is predicated on having an automobile, yet many households do not have the resources to purchase one outright, relying on automobile loans to spread out the purchase price. While automobile loans can enable automobile ownership, they also significantly increase the vehicle purchase price, particularly for non-white consumers subject to discriminatory lending practices.In this study, we rely on data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel from Experian to examine the determinants and geography of automobile debt and its consequences in California, testing whether various automobile debt measures disproportionately affect non-white neighborhoods.We find that, controlling for other factors associated with automobile lending including income, Black and Latino/a neighborhoods have higher total...

The Consequences of Measure ULA: Some Clarifications

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report responds to criticisms of two earlier UCLA Lewis Center reports, both of which evaluated the effects of Measure ULA, a real estate transfer tax implemented in the City of Los Angeles in April 2023. We show that these criticisms are misguided. No social science research is perfect, but there is no reason to think our earlier reports are fundamentally flawed. We also examine a key claim made by the critics, which is that Measure ULA has already created 10,000 union construction jobs. We show that this claim is almost certainly untrue.

A Large Majority of Angelenos Want More Apartments — Even on Single-Family Streets

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A Large Majority of Angelenos Want More Apartments — Even on Single-Family Streets

Salons as Sites of Belonging: Investing in Social Infrastructure in Boyle Heights

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Salons as Sites of Belonging: Investing in Social Infrastructure in Boyle Heights

Linking Long Beach: Bridging the Digital Divide Through Community Power

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Linking Long Beach: Bridging the Digital Divide Through Community Power

Advancing Social Housing in Los Angeles: A Roadmap for Measure ULA

Wed, 2 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Advancing Social Housing in Los Angeles: A Roadmap for Measure ULA

Replacing RSO: Aligning Incentive Policies with Tenant Protections in Los Angeles

Tue, 1 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Replacing RSO: Aligning Incentive Policies with Tenant Protections in Los Angeles

Crossing County Lines: Mobility Trends and Unsheltered Homelessness in Rural California

Tue, 1 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Crossing County Lines: Mobility Trends and Unsheltered Homelessness in Rural California

Golden Years in Green: Enhancing MacArthur Park for Seniors

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Golden Years in Green: Enhancing MacArthur Park for Seniors

Beyond Removal, Toward Repair: An Assessment of Restorative Justice and Gentrification Prevention in Reconnecting Communities Pilot Projects

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Beyond Removal, Toward Repair: An Assessment of Restorative Justice and Gentrification Prevention in Reconnecting Communities Pilot Projects

Planning for Thai Town’s Future: Needs and Benefits of a Community Plan Implementation Overlay

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Planning for Thai Town’s Future: Needs and Benefits of a Community Plan Implementation Overlay

Restorative Justice in Transportation Planning: Evaluating Equity and Freeway Redress Across Reconnecting Communities Projects in Pasadena and San Diego

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report evaluates the extent to which federally funded Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) projects align with restorative justice (RJ) principles, focusing on three case studies: two in Pasadena and one in San Diego. Drawing from a mixed-method approach, the research integrates a literature review of freeway-related harm, spatial analysis of displacement vulnerability, and a comparative evaluation of project merit criteria. The analysis highlights how historical infrastructure decisions disproportionately displaced low-income communities of color, producing long-term socioeconomic and environmental inequities that persist today. While federal initiatives such as RCP and Justice40 mark a significant policy shift, their effectiveness hinges on implementation.Findings from both Pasadena projects demonstrate strong alignment with community-led planning and anti-displacement strategies, though public responses revealed tensions between historical acknowledgment and present-day...

Closing the Gap: A Community-Informed Approach to Expanding Internet Access in Long Beach

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report conducted in partnership with the City of Long Beach Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), aims to identify and address persistent gaps in internet access across the City of Long Beach. Despite significant progress many Long Beach residents, particularly in low-income communities, still face challenges to reliable, affordable internet access. These barriers contribute to broader inequities in education, employment, healthcare, and civic participation.To inform policy recommendations, we employed a mixed-methods approach that included community surveys (digital and print), focus groups, expert interviews, and analysis of public park Wi-Fi login data. This data collection revealed eight key findings: (1) Internet is essential; (2) affordability is a key barrier; (3) one in four households are disconnected or at risk of losing connectivity; (4) bill discounts are effective; (5) public Wi-Fi has limited effectiveness; (6) ISP competition benefits consumers; (7)...

Pathways to Increasing Park Access for Older Adults: Observational and Interview-Based Insight into MacArthur Park’s Physical and Social Landscapes in Pursuit of Intergenerational Public Spaces

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report, prepared for Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), explores strategies to enhance park access and usage among older adults in Westlake, Los Angeles, with a focus on MacArthur Park. Despite the park's potential as a communal space, older adults often face barriers to active participation. Observations and interviews revealed that while many older adults value the park for socializing and relaxation, issues such as safety concerns, limited mobility accommodations, and inadequate amenities hinder their engagement.The study identifies critical themes impacting older adults' park utilization, including the need for improved safety measures, enhanced mobility features, gender-inclusive spaces, and effective communication about park programs. Recommendations include upgrading wayfinding systems, modernizing bus stops for comfort, increasing shaded areas, expanding programming at the MacArthur Park Community Center, and improving essential amenities like restrooms and drinking...

How Los Angeles Can Build Social Housing Under Measure ULA's Alternative Models Program

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report explores how Los Angeles can implement a sustainable, equity-driven social housing program under Measure ULA’s Alternative Models program. In response to the City’s deepening housing crisis, the report examines policy and statutory frameworks, reviews literature on social housing, and analyzes case studies from Vienna, Paris, and Montgomery County, Maryland. Measure ULA, passed by voters in 2022, provides a dedicated funding source, currently projected between $149 million and $165 million, for alternative housing models that prioritize deeply affordable units (20% for households earning 0-30% of AMI), while permitting up to 20% market-rate units to ensure financial viability.International case studies offer transferable lessons: Vienna’s cost-rent and dual subsidy model reduces construction costs and ensures long-term affordability; the Paris region demonstrates how coordinated public planning and land use policies can double housing production; and Montgomery County’s...

Beyond Demolition: Examining RSO Loss and Replacement in Los Angeles

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This research examines the demolition of units under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) in the City of Los Angeles, and analyzes their replacement through policy programs that incentivize housing development such as Executive Directive 1, the Transit Oriented Communities program, and the California Density Bonus. The study uses data from departments in the City of Los Angeles and informational interviews with the Los Angeles Housing Department to evaluate patterns of redevelopment and tenant protections under State Bills 8 and 330.Findings reveal that while redevelopment has produced a 195% net increase in housing units replacing RSOs, affordable housing gains remain modest with a 5% increase. Only 26% of RSO removals demonstrated through Ellis Act filings are tied to known replacement development projects. Most replacement units are designated at market-rate, and the majority of income-restricted affordable replacement units are priced for households earning up to 80% of...

Brokering Belonging in Boyle Heights: Social Infrastructure in a Queer salon

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Traditional urban planning approaches to social infrastructure center formal institutions such as libraries and parks (Klinenberg 2018). Expanding this notion to include every day, community-rooted informal third places reveal how these spaces provide support, a sense of belonging, and resilience in marginalized communities. This thesis investigates how Vanessa’s Barber and Beauty Salon, a queer and trans-led business in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, acts as a site of social infrastructure for low-income, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. Through eight months of participant observation and 15 semi-structured interviews with salon workers, owner, clients, and community members, this thesis reveals how Vanessa’s salon provides resources such as housing, employment, emotional support, and social connectivity through extensive neighborhood ties. Workers engage in brokering to meet community needs and, together, create a welcoming and inclusive space that extends into the public sphere....

Thai Town CPIO: Assessing the Needs and Benefits of a Community Plan Implementation Overlay

Thu, 5 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This report, prepared for the Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC), a non-profit community-based organization, outlines the current need for a Community Plan Implementation Overlay (CPIO) in Thai Town and highlights the needs and benefits a specific plan can bring. Thai Town, a six-block neighborhood nestled in East Hollywood, and its residents understand what is necessary to implement their vision into reality. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach in the form of data gathering at outreach events and finding data via the US Census and other publicly accessible data, this study lays the groundwork for establishing key themes that the CPIO should emphasize based on community engagement data. Implementing a CPIO successfully will require close collaboration among multiple stakeholders including Thai CDC, Council District 13, and most importantly the residents of CD13, who must leverage each other’s strengths to develop planning guidelines that both uplift the community and...

Scoring Progress: A Snapshot of 199 California Cities’ Fair Housing Plans

Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Scoring Progress: A Snapshot of 199 California Cities’ Fair Housing Plans

Beyond Transit Discounts: Comparing L.A. Mobility Wallet and Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) Programs

Thu, 8 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Beyond Transit Discounts: Comparing L.A. Mobility Wallet and Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) Programs

Early Results on Individual Life Outcomes from the L.A. Mobility Wallet Phase I Pilot Program

Mon, 5 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Early Results on Individual Life Outcomes from the L.A. Mobility Wallet Phase I Pilot Program

Taxing Tomorrow: Measure ULA's Impact on Multifamily Housing Production and Potential Reforms

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Measure ULA is a ballot initiative that increases real estate transfer taxes on sales of high-value properties in the City of Los Angeles. Revenues are dedicated to subsidized housing development and preservation, rent assistance, and similar efforts. Permitting for new multifamily housing has fallen sharply since Measure ULA went into effect in April 2023. Many blame the tax for this decline, but it could be caused by other changes to the housing market and macroeconomic conditions over the past two years. In this report we establish a robust causal linkage between Measure ULA and housing development, providing empirical evidence that the transfer tax is reducing multifamily production in Los Angeles.

The Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA

Tue, 1 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We present evidence suggesting that Measure ULA has reduced higher-end real estate transactions in Los Angeles. Since Measure ULA was enacted, the odds of a Los Angeles property selling at a price above its tax threshold have fallen by as much as 50%. In raw terms, this sharp decline occurred across all types of properties, but our strongest evidence suggests it was particularly pronounced for non-single family transactions, which fell by 30-50%. Together the evidence suggests that Measure ULA is neither a true “Mansion Tax,” nor a tax that falls solely on unearned property wealth. The tax does fall on mansions, but it also impedes the trade in commercial, industrial and multifamily property. In doing so it jeopardizes L.A.’s ability to build new housing, revitalize struggling commercial and industrial properties, and raise property tax revenue. All these processes rely on property turnover, and in particular the turnover of higher-priced, non-single family parcels. A tax...

Opportunities to Improve Patient Transportation Access: Piloting a Transportation Resource Fair at the Saban Community Clinic

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Opportunities to Improve Patient Transportation Access: Piloting a Transportation Resource Fair at the Saban Community Clinic

Debt Burden from Automobile Loans Exacerbates Racial Inequality in California’s Communities

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Automobiles can greatly enhance access to employment and other opportunities. However, many households do not have the resources to purchase a vehicle outright and must rely on automobile loans. This increases the total cost of owning a vehicle, particularly for non-white consumers who may have to pay higher purchase prices and/or higher interest rates due to discriminatory lending practices. The effects of high household debt—of which automobile loans are one component—are magnified in lower income neighborhoods, leaving residents with fewer resources to invest in the local economy. Our team used the University of California Consumer Credit Panel, a dataset from Experian, which tracks every loan and borrower in California, to examine how and why automobile loan debt varies from place to place in the state and its consequences. We specifically tested whether total automobile debt, debt burden (the ratio of automobile debt to income), and automobile loan delinquencies in 2021 disproportionately...

Automobile Debt Increased Substantially during the Pandemic

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Most car buyers use some form of financing to purchase a vehicle, and almost half of all California borrowers carry some amount of automobile debt. While automobile loans enable lower-income households—who might otherwise be priced out of vehicle ownership—to make payments over time, this debt can significantly strain household budgets. The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the importance of owning a private vehicle as concerns over viral person-to-person transmission made traveling by car an even more attractive compared to communal transportation (e.g., public transit). Moreover, a host of pandemic-related services, including testing and vaccination, were either only or best accessible by car. To better understand how COVID-19 impacted car ownership, we explored whether automobile loans (and in turn debt) in California—particularly in communities of color where workers were more likely to work outside of the home—increased during the pandemic. We drew on a one-percent sample of the...

Evaluating ADU/Homelessness Programs

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In response to a worsening homelessness crisis, Los Angeles City and County have recently looked to accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — small second homes on the same lot as a single-family home — as a part of the solution. Pilot programs in both jurisdictions offer homeowners subsidies for ADU construction in exchange for housing a person experiencing homelessness for between three and 10 years. In this paper, I evaluate the scalability, longevity, efficacy, political feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of these programs compared to traditional multifamily supportive housing. In doing so, I employ the metric of cost per year of affordability, to compare cost- effectiveness for programs of varying duration. I find that while ADU programs may be more politically feasible and have moderate potential to be scaled up, they will encounter significant difficulties in reaching that potential. They lack the longevity of traditional supportive housing, will either prove less cost-effective...

The Palisades and Eaton Fires: Neighborhood Data and Potential Housing Market Effects

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Palisades and Eaton fires started in Los Angeles County on Jan. 7, 2025, centered on the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and the unincorporated community of Altadena. Together, they killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. The fires displaced thousands of households to surrounding communities, raising questions about their effects on the housing market. In this white paper, I review previous research on how earlier California wildfires impacted housing prices and migration, contribute my own analysis of long-term rent and home price effects of the 2018 Camp Fire, and describe the neighborhoods affected by the L.A. fires. I conclude with lessons we can draw from these data.

CHIPing In: Evaluating the effect's of LA's Citywide Housing Incentive Program on neighborhood development potential

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

CHIPing In: Evaluating the effect's of LA's Citywide Housing Incentive Program on neighborhood development potential

The Fair Housing Land Use Score in California: An Evaluation of 199 Municipal Plans

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Most local governments in California have finalized their 2021–2029/2022–2030 housing plans. These plans must identify parcels with capacity to add new housing, and unlike previous plans, state law now mandates that they affirmatively further fair housing. State guidelines suggest that local governments identify or create capacity for new housing, especially for low-income households, in high-opportunity neighborhoods. In this report, we assess whether local governments followed these guidelines by analyzing the site inventories adopted by 199 California cities before April 2024. We do this using the Fair Housing Land Use Score (FHLUS), which measures the distribution of housing sites by neighborhood opportunity, using metrics such as household incomes and environmental quality. We can thereby answer the question, are cities meeting their fair housing obligations? The answer is no. Most cities (roughly 80%) disproportionately plan for new housing in their least affluent neighborhoods...

Path to Launch: How to Establish a Community Ownership Structure in the Revitalization of Fresno’s Chinatown

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This report explores establishing community ownership structures in Fresno’s Chinatown in order to ensure local residents and business owners benefit from the anticipated redevelopment spurred by the planned California High Speed Rail Station. Chinatown Fresno is characterized by a historic diverse immigrant community, historic disinvestment and multigenerational business ownership. It faces significant gentrification risks with incoming investments. Conducted for Emerging Markets Development Corporation, this report assesses the feasibility and potential process of implementing a Neighborhood Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or other models to build wealth for community members and prevent their displacement. Methods included surveying U.S. community ownership models, analyzing current plans for Chinatown Fresno, examining tax increment financing, and interviewing key stakeholders in government, philanthropy and the private sector. Findings reveal strong local investment in...

Geographic and Regulatory Impacts on Vehicular Homelessness in Los Angeles

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In Los Angeles, the percentage of unsheltered people living in vehicles is estimated to be almost 50% of the region’s homeless population. Over the past few years, those living in cars, vans, and RVs/campers has increased in line with the affordable housing crisis and rising unemployment and poverty rates. While studies on homelessness are vast, little attention has been paid to the high percentage of unsheltered individuals living in cars, vans, and RVs. However, relative to the alternatives — sleeping in public spaces or reliance on temporary shelters — vehicles provide safe, stable, and secure shelter. Vehicular dwelling enables individuals to avoid street violence, policing, and criminalization; it provides freedom against strict rules and curfews of the shelter system.. During the pandemic, living in a car has provided social distancing to reduce the likelihood of contracting and spreading the virus. Finally, operational vehicles can support people’s access to jobs, schools,...

Does Discretion Delay Development?

Thu, 8 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Problem, research strategy, and findingsLocal governments sometimes approve multifamily housing through a discretionary process, meaning a public body must vote to entitle the proposal before it can seek a building permit. By-right entitlement, in contrast, allows developers to apply directly for a building permit. We tested the hypothesis that by-right approvals are faster. Faster approval can make multifamily development more feasible, which can in turn improve housing affordability. Analyses of approval pathways are often confounded by project size and complexity, but we exploited a provision in the Los Angeles Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) program that allowed many large projects to use by-right approval. Using data from roughly 350 multifamily projects permitted in Los Angeles (CA) from January 2018 through March 2020, we compared approval timelines for both by-right and discretionary projects. We found that by-right projects were permitted 28% faster...

Planning for and Against Vehicular Homelessness: Spatial Trends and Determinants of Vehicular Dwelling in Los Angeles

Thu, 8 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Problem, research strategy, and findings

Shelter is a necessity, yet approximately 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States are unhoused. Public attention to homelessness has centered on individuals sitting and sleeping in public spaces. However, as many as 50% of the unsheltered live in vehicles. For people sleeping in vehicles, finding a safe place to park is an ongoing challenge, further complicated by the growing number of ordinances restricting vehicular dwelling. We drew on point-in-time count data from the Los Angeles (CA) Homeless Services Authority to examine spatial patterns of vehicular homelessness in Los Angeles from 2016 to 2020. We tested the relationship between the presence of vehicle regulations and the number of people sleeping in vehicles. Although the data likely underestimated vehicular homelessness, we found that ordinances directly reduced the number of people living in vehicles in particular census tracts. On average,...

Driving A-loan: Automobile debt, neighborhood race, and the COVID-19 pandemic

Wed, 7 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

COVID-19 altered travel patterns in the U.S. Studies have analyzed the effect of the pandemic on travel mode, including working from home, but few have focused on automobile ownership—a relationship with potentially long-term consequences for accessibility, household budgets and debt, and policy efforts to meet climate goals.To understand the association between the pandemic and automobile ownership, we rely on a unique credit panel dataset from Experian and examine three different automobile loan-related outcome measures: annualized growth rate of new automobile loan balances, average new loan size, and the number of new loans. We focus specifically on changes across loans in neighborhoods by race/ethnicity, hypothesizing larger increases in automobile debt in Black and Latino/a neighborhoods, where workers are less likely to be able to telework. The annualized growth rate of new automobile loans increased during the pandemic across all neighborhoods by race/ethnicity, increasing...

Can Subsidized Carshare Programs Enhance Access for Low-Income Travelers?

Tue, 6 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Problem, research strategy, and findings

Carsharing programs—subscription-based car rentals—allow users to purchase only the automobility that they need. These programs may benefit low-income travelers by increasing access at lower prices than private auto ownership. Most carshare programs, however, disproportionately serve higher-income drivers. To assess carsharing’s potential to address the accessibility needs of disadvantaged households, we interviewed members of BlueLA, an electric carsharing program in central Los Angeles (CA) that offers both subsidized and regular memberships. We found few differences in how travelers with different membership types used BlueLA. They both used the service to complement travel by other modes like public transit and ridehail. In addition, members cited the benefits of gaining car access without the financial burden of car ownership or the unpredictability of ridehail fares. Neighborhood context, including residential...

Ethnic, Racial, and Neighborhood Mortgage Inequality: The Case of Los Angeles, Fresno, and Sacramento

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ethnic, Racial, and Neighborhood Mortgage Inequality: The Case of Los Angeles, Fresno, and Sacramento

Equitable Redevelopment and Community Ownership of Real Estate in Chinatown Fresno

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Equitable Redevelopment and Community Ownership of Real Estate in Chinatown Fresno

The Transit Effect: A Decade of Change at LA Metro Rail Stations

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Transit Effect: A Decade of Change at LA Metro Rail Stations

Are Accessory Dwelling Units the Answer to California's Housing Crisis? Learnings from the San Fernando Valley

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Are Accessory Dwelling Units the Answer to California's Housing Crisis? Learnings from the San Fernando Valley

Gender Equity in Transportation for Unhoused Women

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Gender Equity in Transportation for Unhoused Women

Traveling Without a Car in Los Angeles: Mobility Challenges Faced by Carless and Car-Deficit Households

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Traveling Without a Car in Los Angeles: Mobility Challenges Faced by Carless and Car-Deficit Households

Lost Hours, Lost Opportunities: The Toll of Extreme Travel on Lower Income Communities in the San Fernando Valley

Tue, 9 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Extreme commuting is increasing worldwide, especially in urban areas, driven by factors like limited affordable housing and job opportunities. In Los Angeles, individuals, particularly those in lower-income jobs, often face long commutes due to affordable housing constraints and proximity to job centers. Extreme commutes refer to spending 180 minutes or more traveling to and from work. This report expands on this concept to define ‘extreme travel,’ which aims to include travel to all destinations.This report examines how extreme travel affects economic, social, environmental, and health outcomes for lower-income people living, working, or studying in the San Fernando Valley (SFV) through a collaborative effort with Pacoima Beautiful (PB). PB is an environmental justice community-based organization primarily serving Northeast San Fernando Valley Latinx communities. The report investigates the causes of extreme travel, the impacts on socioeconomic, health, and environmental outcomes,...

Improving Community Engagement in Little Tokyo

Mon, 8 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Improving Community Engagement in Little Tokyo

Affordable Housing in a Down Cycle: International Solutions for Difficult Times

Mon, 8 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Affordable Housing in a Down Cycle: International Solutions for Difficult Times

Where are Latinos Experiencing the Most Housing Insecurity in California?

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Where are Latinos Experiencing the Most Housing Insecurity in California?

Converting hotels and motels into affordable housing for union members in Los Angeles County

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Converting hotels and motels into affordable housing for union members in Los Angeles County

From Pilot to Permanent: Evaluating and Scaling Transportation Projects

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

From Pilot to Permanent: Evaluating and Scaling Transportation Projects

Improving Economic, Social, Health, and Environmental Outcomes for Extreme Commuters

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Improving Economic, Social, Health, and Environmental Outcomes for Extreme Commuters

Next Stop: Transit Oriented Communities

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles County's 15-year initiative to overhaul its transportation infrastructure aims to reduce car reliance and promote public transit, walking, and cycling through dense, transit-oriented development (TOD) near stations. Despite significant investment, numerous challenges remain including bureaucratic obstacles, declining per capita ridership, and concerns about displacement and gentrification. The study evaluated LA Metro rail stations' impact on nearby communities, using ACS data from 2009 to 2022 to analyze demographic, housing, and mode choice changes within a half-mile radius of stations built between 2010 and 2020.Findings indicated increased population density, racial diversification, and higher education levels near stations. Median household income and housing costs surged, signaling economic growth and gentrification. Urban renewal was evident with increased construction activity, rising rent and home values, and rise in remote work. Decline in public transportation...

Enhancing Mobility and Access for Carless & Car-Deficit Households in Los Angeles

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This project focuses on carless and car-deficit households in the Westlake-MacArthur Park and Pacoima-Panorama City neighborhoods that have experienced challenges in traveling to their destinations due to their limited access to household vehicles. Car ownership in the U.S. is causally linked with positive economic outcomes such as being employed, gaining employment, working additional hours, and earning higher wages (Brown, 2017). In the U.S., however, “carless” households, or zero-car households, make up 7% of all households, and “car-deficit” households, households with fewer cars than drivers, make up 15% of all households (Blumenberg et al., 2020). Those who do not own a vehicle or do not always have access to one due to financial and health/age constraints, however, are left to navigate on modes other than the private vehicle to meet their transportation needs.Using quantitative and qualitative methods, I find that carless and car-deficit respondents from Pacoima-Panorama...

Bridging the Gap: Gender Equity in Transportation for Unhoused Women

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The travel experiences of unhoused women in Los Angeles present a critical yet underexplored aspect of urban mobility and homelessness. This report aims to fill the gap in literature addressing the unique travel patterns and challenges this group faces, emphasizing the need for solutions tailored to their mobility needs. Interviews with unhoused women in Los Angeles were conducted to gauge their travel patterns and primary safety concerns. Interviews took place in Van Nuys and Little Tokyo to reflect the differences in travel experiences between the suburbs and the inner city. Homelessness resources are more concentrated in Central City Los Angeles, where Little Tokyo is located, providing a model for what could be possible in terms of mobility, safety, and access to public transportation. Conversely, in Van Nuys, resources are sparse and spread out, compelling unhoused women to travel greater distances and optimize their travel time by multitasking.Key takeaways include reliance...

Unveiling Latino Housing Insecurity in California