featured articles
the First Baptist CHURCH OF VENICE Community Center Rehabilitation
July 13, 2023Rehabilitation and housing addition to a historic Black church in Venice Beach.
POTENTIAL LAND SUITABLE FOR NEW TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT HOUSING IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
May 9, 2023Inventory of sites suitable for the rapid construction of off-street temporary and permanent housing for homeless individuals in the City of Los Angeles.
los angeles city council district 11 suitable sites for interim housing
DECEMBER 8, 2022Inventory of sites suitable for the rapid construction of interim housing for homeless individuals in Los Angeles City Council District 11
Los Angeles City Council District 11 Census Data Trends (1960-2020)
FEBRUARY 15, 2022Population, median household income, and dwelling unit count for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, City of Los Angeles, City Council District 11 (CD 11), and all Community Plan Areas (CPAs) within CD 11 as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 11 HOMELESSNESS, SUITABLE SITES FOR OFF STREET SANCTUARY, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING INVENTORY
FEBRUARY 11, 2022This whitepaper summarized Pacific Urbanism’s previous and current results from our research on homelessness counts, suitable sites for off street emergency shelter, and an inventory subsidized low income housing units within Los Angeles City Council District 11.
ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND COMMERCIAL CONVERSIONS
FEBRUARY 2, 2022Our research has identified ADUs as a best practice for providing naturally occurring affordable housing within the ongoing housing scarcity and unaffordability crisis. Commercial conversions (the conversion of commercial space to a residential use) also present a strategy for supplying housing units during a housing shortage. Mixed-use developments are common place in urban areas globally, and the COVID-19 Pandemic has revealed opportunities for underused retail and office spaces.
WESTSIDE COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATES
FEBRUARY 2, 2022Opportunities for furthering fair housing through community economic development and a potential new empirical method for allocating housing needs, targets, and allowable density using a spatial composite index of scores to correct for past exclusionary zoning practices, housing price inflation, vehicle miles travelled, and disparities in opportunities and resources. Relief from hindrances to production and public policies that untie the hands of local community, need-driven homebuilders, are identified as a bridge between current housing trends and the State and Regional Housing Needs Assessment Goals for 2029.
Methodology of the Center for Pacific Urbanism
December 14, 2021The data presented in the Center’s research and publications are sourced from several publicly available datasets and supplemented by interviews and public comments where appropriate. This publication is a compilation of publications and presentations recently conducted by the Center for the purposes of advancing the five main objectives, as well as citations for the datasets used.
VENICE AND THE HISTORIC OAKWOOD COMMUNITY
October 29, 2021The Center for Pacific Urbanism collaborates with members of Historic Venice and the Oakwood community to further efforts of self-determination through analyses of US Census Bureau and Office of the Tax Assessor data, an inventory of housing stock by decade and building type, Zoning trends, and alternative scenario development. The normative state as defined by the community is the guiding principle, the rest is history.
Homeless Off Street Sanctuary Network Composite Index Score
September 20, 2021The Center for Pacific Urbanism has inventoried potentially suitable sites for homeless off street sanctuary using GIS and other planning support tools, sorted by feasibility according to developing criteria. This report publishes the most recent suitable sites analysis for homeless sanctuary ranked by a composite score that takes into account size (site area), density of unsheltered individuals, road access, topographic slope, proximity to fire hydrants and sewer, market rate of land, ecology, and land use compatibility.
PACIFIC URBANISM IN THE MEDIA: THE CALIFORNIA DREAM IS DYING
July 26, 2021The Atlantic writer Conor Friedersdorf cites Pacific Urbanism’s census data and population growth analysis for the Venice Community Plan Area in this article regarding the history of urban development and land use in the State of California.
Venice Neighborhood Council Land Use & Zoning Trend
July 26, 2021A summary of several historical trends including housing affordability, homelessness, census data, housing stock, dwelling unit production, downzoning, commuter trends, and economic profiles for the Venice Neighborhood Council and City of Los Angeles Council District 11
HOMELESS OFF STREET SANCTUARY NETWORK
May 11, 2021Alternatives to our unhoused neighbors sleeping on the streets is within reach, spatially and financially feasible, and our collective responsibility. This includes City Council and the Department of City Planning addressing the root causes that continue to drive homelessness rates: housing scarcity, barriers to supply, and a fair share approach by every community. In 2020 Council District 11 counted close to 3,300 total homeless, a 40% increase from the previous year. Rather than continue down the path of housing scarcity at all income levels, neighborhood communities, their elected representatives in City Council, staff, and others, can and ought to contribute to a community based alternative to sleeping on the street. The Homeless Off Street Sanctuary initiative is one such alternative that identifies suitable government owned land Countywide, in a hub and satellite network arrangement, at a cost that is one tenth that which is currently being incurred.
COUNCIL DISTRICT 5 ZONING AND LAND USE
March 25, 2021Los Angeles has a housing affordability crisis due in large part to a lack of supply that is five to six decades in the making. The root causes in Los Angeles include suppressed housing supply rates due to inequitable urban planning and exclusionary zoning, such as downzoning, inadequate policies or enforcement, rising construction and development costs, a financial structure favoring nonresidential development, and insufficient funding for subsidized low income housing.
The big planning question with which we have been grappling is whether any zoning changes are either necessary, or more conducive to, accomplishing the 8 year targeted increase in housing supply, and if so, what specific zoning changes are these?
LIMITS OF TRANSIT ORIENTED COMMUNITIES TO PROVIDE HOUSING
December 14, 2020Transit-oriented communities (TOCs) are a land use policy adopted by the City of Los Angeles which anticipate higher production of housing within specified boundaries. Advocates for TOC claim this strategy is a viable solution to the meet the City's housing needs. However, housing production from TOC is far below the total units needed in the City.
MELLO ACT STUDY
December 14, 2020The Mello Act sets requirements for the demolition, conversion and construction of housing in the Coastal Zone and applies to the Coastal Zone throughout the entire state of California. The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate what the impacts of changes to the Mello Act would be within the Coastal Zone in the City of Los Angeles.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY 2020
November 13, 2020Subsidized low income housing units, often referred to as “affordable housing”, are housing units in which rental costs are partially or wholly subsidized by public funds and agencies. These units are intended to provide support for households who are overburdened by rent but also service senior citizens, individuals with severe mental health conditions, people with physical disabilities, and others who require similar assistance. As such, knowing the total amount and location of these units is imperative to understanding the current status of affordable housing in Los Angeles, as well as the creation of future policy surrounding affordable housing and overall dwelling unit production citywide.
VENICE COMMERCIAL LAND ANALYSIS
October 29, 2020Commercial use (along with residential, industrial, open space, and various other uses) is a major component of land use policy and zoning laws. Properties zoned for commercial use often include shopping malls, wholesale retail stores, offices, financial establishments, entertainment centers, and other similar businesses. Due to this, commercially zoned areas are of particular importance to better understanding local and regional economies. Whereas recommendations for the intensity and areas of commercial use in Los Angeles have been published elsewhere, this paper builds upon a growing body of academic and policy research that evidences growing opportunities in all neighborhoods for community economic development.
HOMELESS OFF STREET SANCTUARY
September 23, 2020As Los Angeles continues to face a worsening housing scarcity and unaffordability crisis, we must determine and implement policies that will help our neighbors avoid homelessness by providing adequate shelter and housing both in the immediate as well as permanently. This study provides a comprehensive list of potential sites for off-street homeless shelters in Los Angeles as well as an inventory of precedents from various cities that should be considered by local policymakers in addressing homelessness in our communities.
Downzoning is the New Redlining
September 2, 2020Downzoning is the practice of reducing an area’s dwelling unit capacity, whether by forbidding or limiting multiple-family dwellings, or through restrictive regulations, such as increased parking requirements, larger minimum lot sizes and building setbacks.
HOUSING PRODUCTION TARGETS FOR COMMUNITIES IN LOS ANGELES
May 8, 2020Every eight years, a housing production target is determined for the City of Los Angeles by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). For the upcoming 2021-2029 cycle, Pacific Urbanism has further determined the production targets for each of the City's thirty-five Community Plan Areas through the FAIR Plan housing allocation index.
AREAS OF NET LOSS IN DWELLING UNITS IN LOS ANGELES
April 28, 2020Land use and zoning policies are restricting the construction of dwelling units in the City of Los Angeles. As a result, housing production in Los Angeles has failed to provide sufficient dwelling units to accommodate the city’s population growth. Certain areas of the city have even experienced a net loss of dwelling units, further exacerbating the problem.
HOUSING STOCK IN LOS ANGELES
October 11, 2019Housing production in Los Angeles has become a topic of vigorous public discussion as a housing crisis continues to affect residents across the region. This study helps identify where land use policy is lacking or failing in providing adequate housing for Angelenos.