Recent lewis_sr items

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...

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...

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,...

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

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

California faces a severe housing crisis, characterized by soaring rents, limited affordability, and increasing homelessness. Latinos, in particular, suffer disproportionately from housing insecurity, which is defined as a spectrum of housing precarity – ranging from homelessness to substandard living conditions. This report employs a mixed-methods approach to analyze housing insecurity in California. Its quantitative analysis introduces novel housing insecurity estimates, using data from the California Department of Education and the American Community Survey. Qualitative data from literature reviews and semi-structured interviews provide deeper insights into the factors driving housing insecurity and potential policy solutions.The findings reveal a high prevalence of housing insecurity, especially among Latinos. In 2022, approximately 1.3 million Californians were housing insecure, significantly higher than the 820,961 in doubled-up housing in 2021 and nearly eight times the...

WELCOME TO LITTLE TOKYO! PLEASE TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES. A Case Study on the 2018-2020 Little Tokyo Arts District Station Joint Development Process in Los Angeles, California

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This report aims to investigate the community engagement process so planners can more effectively work with communities and reckon with the historical trauma caused by planners in the past. Planning as an industry is responsible for the forceful removal of communities under the name of “urban decay” and is a direct cause of why some communities remain impoverished today. This history has not been long forgotten; it continues to live on in the communities directly affected, and trust when working with public agencies is low. Public agencies must understand this trauma as they work with these communities to build a better future. This report chronicles the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station joint development process by interviewing Little Tokyo residents and other stakeholders involved with the process and examining archival documents. While relatively small, Little Tokyo has a long history of asserting its autonomy in community development issues. I highlight the history of community-based...

ADUs in CD3: A Broad Analysis of the Prevalence, Role, and Impact of Accessory Dwelling Units in Los Angeles’ Council District 3

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This report, prepared for Councilmember Bob Blumenfield's office, explores the potential of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to address housing challenges in Los Angeles' Council District 3. The district's varied socioeconomic and demographic composition presents both opportunities and challenges for ADU development, influencing the spatial distribution of ADU rates. Parcel- and neighborhood-level characteristics are analyzed to understand key associations with ADU occurrence, revealing that household income and zones with stringent development standards are significant predictive factors of ADU rates. Ownership patterns and ADU uses are explored, highlighting investor involvement and the benefits of ADUs as sources of rental income, housing for family members, or personal amenity space.The report also focuses on the impact of ADUs on housing affordability. ADUs provide significant additional income for homeowners, offsetting mortgage payments and making homeownership more achievable....

Recommendations for UNITE HERE! Local 11 to Address the Affordable Housing Shortage in Los Angeles County

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles County is in an affordable housing crisis. This crisis is particularly pronounced for low-income workers. With the government and private sector unable to solve the crisis on their own, many labor unions are looking for ways to get involved. Our client, UNITE HERE Local 11 (UH11) – a hospitality workers’ union – is looking into creative methods of addressing the housing crisis for its members, other hospitality workers, and the rest of the region’s working class. This report investigates two solutions: converting hotels and motels into housing and establishing housing cooperatives. This research employs a mixed-methods approach consisting of literature reviews, document analysis, quantitative data and spatial analyses, and expert interviews. On the hotel/motel conversion side, our findings suggest that there are opportunities to convert hotels/motels into housing, but further municipal action is needed to implement this model at scale. Our findings on the cooperative...

Piloting the Future: Strategies for Short-Term Transportation Projects

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research is intended to support the implementation of a program led by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to support new transportation-related pilot projects in the region through 2026. Although pilot projects have become popular in transportation planning and other policy sectors, often to test new technologies or ideas before fully committing to them, agencies are struggling to turn their successful pilots into permanent programs. To further analyze the use of transportation pilots in the U.S., 15 interviews with practitioners were conducted and seven case studies of specific projects were analyzed. Findings revealed many shared experiences across agencies, despite their unique circumstances. Identifying long-term funding and adequate staff capacity were some of the most commonly cited challenges, but pilots can also come up against unexpected external barriers. Pilot-operating staff must be adaptable and willing to make significant adjustments or...

Alternatives to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Producing less than 20,000 units on average annually in California, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) cannot meet the outsized demand for subsidized housing alone . This report examines alternatives to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit in the State of California, with particular emphasis on the Los Angeles market. This report analyzes project feasibility in today’s conditions, as well as an analysis of the financial impact that certain international policies could have on affordable housing development at the project level. The analyses aim to illustrate possible project models as additional options beyond LIHTC, and demonstrate the value of including higher income projects within an affordable housing system on being able to leverage more debt, equity and other financial resources and thereby produce more affordable housing at all levels.

Progress, Priorities, and Obstacles to Providing Adequate Shade and Lighting at Bus Stops in Los Angeles

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In Los Angeles, bus shelters are a crucial source of relief from the heat and lighting after dark, but shelters are inadequately and inequitably distributed throughout the City. Although the City is making significant progress towards increasing the number of shelters and distributing them more equitably, there is limited understanding of how site constraints may limit shelter installation at priority locations or how other aspects of the built environment affect the distribution of adequate shade and nighttime lighting. To address these gaps, this project assessed the adequacy of shade and lighting at bus stops in Los Angeles, the alignment between the current locations of bus shelters and priority bus stops, and the magnitude and spatial distribution of site constraints that create obstacles to the installation of bus shelters. It combined an in-depth analysis of three neighborhoods (Sawtelle, Sun Valley, and Watts) that used original data collected during 202 nighttime site...

Building a Better Plate: Promoting Workplace Equity and Worker Satisfaction in the Los Angeles County Restaurant Industry

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic placed a spotlight on the restaurant industry by highlighting poor working conditions, increased employee turnover, wage inequity, and inadequate access to health insurance, paid sick leave, and paid family leave. These issues have long afflicted restaurant workers, who disproportionately belong to marginalized groups including women and racial and ethnic minorities. In partnership with the Movement to Organize for Restaurant Equity (MORE), we sought to identify policies to improve workplace equity and job satisfaction while maintaining restaurants’ financial stability. Using Los Angeles County (LAC) as a case study, we surveyed and interviewed restaurant operators and workers to better understand industry conditions. Operators wish to offer better pay and benefits to their employees, but often lack the financial resources to do so. At the same time, workers struggle to keep up with LAC’s high cost of living. We recommend five policy options that help restaurant...

Unincorporated Los Angeles: Leveling Inequities in Supervisorial District 2

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to identify policy interventions that can improve the quality of life and increase equitable outcomes for residents of unincorporated communities in LA County's Supervisorial District 2. The researchers utilized a mixed-methods approach consisting of qualitative interviews and historical, spatial, and statistical analyses. Key findings include the role of historic racial and economic bias in annexation and incorporation decisions, significantly worse physical and mental health, food insecurity, and higher unemployment rates in unincorporated areas compared to cities, and primary concerns of residents being housing, service quality, displacement, and increasing local representation. The researchers evaluated four policy options, including EIFDs, opportunity zones, expanding the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and town councils, for their political feasibility, efficiency, equity, and robustness. Ultimately, the researchers propose the implementation of...

Understanding the Tech Equity Gap in Long Beach

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The research explores the technology workforce environment in Long Beach by examining disparities in employee representation and wages across demographic variables, namely race, ethnicity, and gender. Qualitative interviews conducted with stakeholders informed perceived challenges to nurturing equity in the Long Beach technology workforce, such as a lack of diversity in candidate pools, inadequate internal corporate education, and demographic disparities by position and salary.A quantitative analysis of racial, gender, and ethnic disparities in the representation and earnings of Long Beach’s resident technology workforce also revealed persistent trends. Representation, rather than wages, is the biggest contributor to gaps in gross earnings, women are the most underrepresented in the Long Beach resident technology workforce, and aerospace and healthcare are uniquely represented industries in the City. The combined research ultimately informed recommendations for different types...

Inclusive Park Design for People of All Housing Statuses: Tools for Restoring Unhoused Individuals’ Rights in Public Parks

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Increasingly hostile public space design has created parks that ostracize people experiencing homelessness. Hostile design not only excludes unhoused people from public space, but makes public environments less accessible for all. Inclusive design can be used to combat defensive architecture and build parks that are more valuable and accessible public assets. In order to combat hostile design, exclusionary park planning, and discrimination in public spaces, urban planners and designers must design parks to evoke a sense of ownership and belonging for all. I argue that planners and designers can restore unhoused individuals’ spatial rights to public parks by including them in the planning and engagement process, by programming parks with their needs in mind, and by designing park facilities to support this population. I began with a review of relevant planning literature to document the existing research on unhoused people’s use of public space. My research methodology includes...

Turning Down the Heat: Addressing Heat Inequities of Frontline Communities in Los Angeles

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles has been rated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the city facing the highest risk of natural hazards in the near future. In particular, Los Angeles is vulnerable to the adverse health impacts of climate change-induced extreme heat. Communities of color and low-income households face the greatest risk from extreme heat due to unjust policies like redlining, which have today led to the inequitable distribution of the resources necessary for communities to protect themselves against extreme heat.This report uses existing research and municipal climate plans, a geospatial analysis, interviews with subject matter experts, community focus groups, and an online community survey to assess how the City of Los Angeles can better build equitable heat policy and long-term resilience among the most impacted and vulnerable communities.In this report, we assess nine policy options based on their alignment with community preferences, their effectiveness at improving...

Advancing Shade Equity for Unincorporated South Los Angeles Communities

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The cooling and environmental benefits of an urban tree canopy are well-documented, but its full and balanced integration into urban infrastructure, and specifically so for climate vulnerable communities, has not always been achieved. This capstone project is prepared for the Office of Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, and seeks to better understand and respond to challenges of urban tree canopy implementation and management. The guiding research questions are: (1) What existing programs and design standards in other major urban US cities increase, maintain, and preserve urban tree canopy for climate vulnerable communities? (2) How can urban forest strategies also balance existing infrastructure needs? and (3) What best practices could be applied to unincorporated South LA for increased shade equity? This project drew on recent and relevant literature, scanned existing data on LA’s urban forestry practices, and studied eleven different US cities’ tree and/or built environment policies...

EVSE Worker Co-Operative in Crenshaw: A Feasibility Study

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This report was created to aid future business plans to build local Black-centered and -led cooperative businesses that will maintain sustainable growth, pay livable wages, and operate under eco-friendly standards. My client is Downtown Crenshaw Rising (DCR) and Worker Ownership Resources and Cooperative Services (WORCS). My overall research question is: What is the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a manufacturing worker-owned cooperative in the Crenshaw District and South Los Angeles area?My client had an interest in producing electric vehicle charging stations because of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021) The federal goal is to create a network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030 across America’s highways and communities. Federal dollars are flowing to support its production, largely in California.My findings depicted that are three related primary barriers my client may face trying to open this cooperative. The first is the capital-intensive nature of the...

What's the Hub, Bub? A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of BruinHub

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The goal of this study is to evaluate the BruinHub one year after its opening in Fall 2021. BruinHub is a space dedicated to serve long-distance commuter students at UCLA. Primary research questions for this project are:1. Does BruinHub serve the intended target audience of long-distance commuters, including commuters who experience some form of housing insecurity?2. What changes to the current and proposed BruinHub program(s) would further benefit the intended audience?For this study, I analyzed the BruinHub Passholder registration data, conducted one-on-one interviews with UCLA students and staff, and conducted on site observations in the BruinHub space.BruinHub is the first step in the right direction in addressing the needs of long-distance commuters. However, there are more improvements that can be implemented in order to reach its full potential, especially by prioritizing and directly serving its intended audience.Recommendations to come out of this study involve spatial...

Equitable Park Design (vendors)

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Street vendors are routinely excluded and criminalized for existing in the public realm. A group of individuals who are primarily elderly, undocumented, female, disabled, and immigrants, vendors withstand hardship and discrimination on compounding scales. Many states have anti-vending laws and regulations that limit vendor behavior. But this tide is changing across the US; thanks to decades of advocacy, street vending laws are being updated nationwide to decriminalize vending. More can be done to support street vendors in the public realm. This toolkit is meant to outline design and policy recommendations for urban designers, planners, and park advocates to better support the vendor community in public spaces.

Life in the Bus Lane: Best Practices for Envisioning a Better Los Angeles

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Despite cuts to bus service in Los Angeles, bus ridership has remained high compared to other cities, showing LA’s reliance on the bus. Bus riders deserve better service, and transit agencies have been turning to the bus lane as a low-cost and reliable way to improve bus service. This study answered the research question through case studies of bus lane implementation in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Sydney. This study found that pilot project bus lanes, also known as tactical lanes, provide immediate low-cost benefits while also collecting public input from riders and motorists. Bus lane implementation can be a political battle, and often hinges on the support of key political and transit agency players. Matching the type of bus lane to the corridor requires consideration of physical space and political realities. Automated bus lane enforcement through cameras is low cost and avoids interactions between police and people. Bus lane designs that prevent drivers from parking or...

Building Small: Assessing Feasibility of 5-to-10 Unit Projects in California

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

California is currently facing an affordable housing crisis, despite recent legislative efforts to spur housing development. Much of this shortage can be attributed to restrictive land use policies, such as zoning, that limit the amount of housing allowed. In 2021, Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) passed allowing for the development of up to four units on single-family zoned parcels. However, housing professionals and recent studies indicate that the rules of SB 9 do not allow for financially feasible development. This research explores whether larger developments, with 5-to-10 units, are more financially feasible on single-family zoned parcels in California and whether opportunities exist to improve the feasibility of small multi-family housing development. This research presents findings from semi-structured interviews with housing professionals and a financial analysis using a pro forma model for various 5-to-10-unit project scenarios. I find that limited financial feasibility exists for...

Al Fresco in the Time of COVID-19: Addressing the Barriers to Outdoor Dining in Los Angeles Communities

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Mayor Garcetti launched the temporary Al Fresco Program in the City of Los Angeles to allow outdoor dining to support economically distressed eateries in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and stay-at-home orders. Since the program's inception, the City of Los Angeles has had a goal of a 50% participation rate in disadvantaged communities. The report aims to explore barriers disadvantaged communities face to apply to the L.A. Al Fresco program and finds solutions to increase program participation in these communities. The researcher conducted an eligibility survey of 7 and from that group 5 in-depth interviews with food and beverage establishment owners to understand the barriers to participating in the L.A. Al Fresco Program and the impact of COVID. Along with qualitative analysis, the report found that 27% of active eateries in the City of Los Angeles currently participate in the L.A. Al Fresco program. Interviewees expressed how they are still recovering economically from COVID-19,...

Center of a Tension: An Analysis of Center Turn Lanes

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Removing a center turn lane from a three-lane road does not appear to interfere with safety goals. In fact, in some cases, it appears it may improve safety. I compared streets with a center turn lane to those that once had a center turn lane, but later removed it. The streets that once had center turn lanes — but later removed them in favor of treatments such as bike lanes — registered an average of 42% fewer crashes per million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) than the comparison streets with center turn lanes. Furthermore, the additional safety benefits held up when measuring across a selection of sub-crash groups, such as fatal and severe crashes and pedestrian and bicycle collisions. While a before-and-after analysis suggested that part of this effect can be attributed to lower crash densities on our treatment streets, this did not invalidate the fact that these streets still observed absolute reductions in crash rates after the removal of a center turn lane, suggesting that center...

Bus Shelter Equity: A study of the distribution of bus shelters in Los Angeles County and unincorporated communities

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This research project analyzes the distribution of bus shelters at Los Angeles Metro bus stops and the process for funding, building and maintaining bus shelters in unincorporated areas. The study employs quantitative methods using data from Metro, the County, and other publicly available data to measure distribution along three geographies (Supervisorial Districts, unincorporated areas, and Supervisorial District 2), and four equity measures to characterize neighborhoods with unsheltered bus stops (heat exposure, access to shade, wait time, and socio-economic and transit-related conditions). The study also uses qualitative methods to examine Public Works’ process for implementing bus shelters in unincorporated areas. The analysis shows that Supervisorial District 2 has the greatest bus shelter need compared to other County districts. In addition, Public Works is at a critical moment for bus shelter development in unincorporated Los Angeles County as it seeks to replace all ad-shelters...

Anti-Displacement & Community Ownership in Koreatown: Acquisition-Rehabilitation of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing

Tue, 2 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Anti-Displacement & Community Ownership in Koreatown: Acquisition-Rehabilitation of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing

Saved by the... Bus? Analyzing Safety Outcomes on Streets with Bus Lanes

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Bus lanes in Los Angeles have rapidly increased in the past ten years. Bus lanes are lanes designated exclusively for buses on general traffic streets. Understanding if bus lanes make streets safer for all users is imperative, especially in a city like Los Angeles where traffic fatalities are rampant. This study considers if there are differences in severe and fatal traffic collisions among streets with all-day bus lanes, peak hour bus lanes, and no bus lanes. A descriptive statistical analysis of crash data revealed that collisions increased on all studied bus lane corridors except one peak hour bus lane. Collisions became less severe and less fatal on all studied bus lane corridors. Collisions either stayed constant or decreased on corridors with no bus lane, but fatality and severe-injury outcomes were mixed. Site visits to corridors with a decrease and increase in collisions found similarly accommodated bus lanes, but other key differences that may have contributed to their...

STEPS: Spaces Through the Eyes and Perceptions of Seniors

Wed, 6 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Open space, defined as any open piece of land that is undeveloped, and is accessible to the public, may be particularly beneficial to seniors (defined as those aged 65+), who are often at high risk of social isolation and deteriorating physical and mental health. Despite documented benefits, seniors remain one of the most underserved groups in terms of physical activity and open space use, with opportunities being limited even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This report seeks to explore seniors’ preferences for the design of open spaces that fulfill their physical activity and other social needs in the communities of Rowland Heights and Hacienda Heights. Methods used to obtain data included surveys, site visits to major open spaces, and digital scans of online data about public park usage during the pandemic. The findings revealed open spaces in these areas being hard to navigate on foot, parks conceived as central “pandemic” meeting places, and a high demand for open spaces...

Planning for Gender Inclusion: Gender-Inclusive Planning and Design Recommendations for Los Angeles Parks

Wed, 6 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Urban planning theory and practice have created gendered environments that mainly privilege the needs of cisgender men. Women, nonbinary, and genderqueer people face various constraints on their use of public space which has profound effects on their health, daily living, and safety. This research study seeks to understand gender disparities in park usage, planning, and design in Los Angeles parks and offers recommendations to mitigate those disparities through improvements to planning processes.

Building for the Future: Alternatives to Address California's Housing Crisis Through Municipal Finance Reform

Wed, 6 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As California faces a crisis for affordable housing, policymakers must consider alternatives that will lead to the creation of equitable housing solutions. The enactment of Proposition 13 in 1978 prevented the influx of an abundance of state generated revenue that could be used for the development of affordable housing in California. This report examines three policy alternatives to foster additional revenue generation towards the development of affordable housing units throughout California: a land value lax (LVT), progressive property transfer tax, and reform of Proposition 13. Additionally, this report evaluates each policy alternative according to four criteria: political feasibility, technical feasibility, revenue generation, and equity. The study frames alternative projections in terms of their effects on thirteen ‘case study’ cities representing California’s most populated areas: Anaheim, Bakersfield, Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Riverside, Sacramento, San...

Examining Disproportionality in Adult Protective Services Decisions in Southern California

Tue, 5 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Adult protective services (APS) are the primary form of state intervention in cases of elder mistreatment in the United States. Accurate and unbiased identification of elder abuse and neglect is crucial to protect elders from mistreatment and also to reduce overpolicing of vulnerable groups. This study uses APS report microdata (N=14,448) from a county APS agency in Southern California to identify racial disproportionality in the rate of confirmed elder abuse. Our analysis finds that APS investigators are significantly less likely to confirm reported cases of elder mistreatment for Latinx victims than for white victims. While we found no significant relationship between APS case confirmation and API identity overall, disaggregation of the API identity group reveals a bimodal effect. East Asian APS victims are significantly more likely to be confirmed for elder abuse than whites, while Southeast Asians are significantly less likely to be confirmed. English proficiency also moderates...

Transforming Car Wash Worker Rights: An Analysis of California's Car Wash Worker Law

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As of today, the car wash industry in the United States has close to 17,000 establishments with 163,178 paid employees. Like in many industries with predominantly immigrant workforces, car wash employers skirt minimum wage laws by paying workers through only tips, by having workers on stand-by without pay, or through per car and daily rates. In 2003, AB 1688 passed in the legislatures, and required car wash owners to register with the Labor Commissioner’s Office (DLSE) and imposed a fine on car wash owners who refused to comply. However, by 2008, only 65% of the estimated 1,600 car washes were registered and in compliance with the law. Our report was compiled to answer the following policy question: How effective have AB 1688 (2003) and AB 1387 (2013) been in addressing wage theft for carwasherxs in California? Our research consists of a combination of quantitative data analysis of wage claim filings and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with carwasherxs, labor law attorneys,...

The Movement to Decommodify Housing: Property Sources for Non-Speculative Housing in Los Angeles County

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Los Angeles Housing Movement Lab is a coalition of housing justice organizations co-led by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) to support the decommodification of 20% of housing units in Los Angeles County by 2050. The Movement Lab broadly defines decommodified as housing that no longer generates profit or acts as a vehicle for investment. This project analyzes the feasibility of four property sources for decommodified housing: congregation-owned land, publicly-owned land, naturally occurring affordable housing, and expiring affordability covenants. For each property source, I calculate a potential unit yield and then use a feasibility matrix to evaluate each property source by cost, scalability, community control, process barriers, and political will. From the unit analysis, I find that publicly-owned land and naturally occurring affordable housing have the largest yields and therefore the most potential to scale. From the feasibility matrix analysis, I find the property...

Transportation Challenges to Healthcare: Evaluating the Transportation Needs of Patients at Saban Community Clinic

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

People without adequate transportation can often have trouble getting to medical appointments and miss or delay their care (Syed et al., 2013). In 2017, 5.8 million people delayed or missed medical appointments due to a lack of transportation options (Wang 2021; Wolfe et al. 2020). This report evaluates the transportation challenges faced by patients seeking care at one of the Saban Community Clinic (SCC) locations. SCC is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides healthcare to patients who are underinsured or without insurance to a predominantly Latinx population. This report explored SCC patient transportation needs by examining the spatial patterns of patient residential locations, surveying patient transportation needs, and evaluating an SCC effort to reduce transportation barriers by offering free Lyft rides to patients. Findings reveal that unreliable transportation options in addition to lack of affordability and limited accessibility results in transportation...

Increasing Access to Groceries at the Century Villages at Cabrillo

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of my research was to understand the transportation needs for residents living at the Century Villages of Cabrillo (CVC) in terms of increasing transportation access to groceries, and recommend interventions that would improve grocery access for residents. CVC is a 27-acre residential community located in the western part of Long Beach that caters to formerly-unhoused folks and veterans. The surrounding land uses and existing transportation conditions make it potentially challenging for community members without access to a car to get groceries. My research question therefore was ‘what are the transportation needs of community members of the Century Villages at Cabrillo to ensure they have access to groceries’. To answer this question, I used a quantitative approach where I surveyed 69 residents throughout the community about how they got to the grocery store, transportation challenges that they faced, and solutions they wanted to see CVC implement.The results revealed...

A Tale of Two City Streets: Evaluating the Safety, Congestion, and Cut-Through Effects of Road Diets

Thu, 9 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Every year, more than 200 people are killed in Los Angeles while walking, bicycling, or driving. In 2015, Mayor Eric Garcetti launched a citywide Vision Zero initiative, which set a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2025. One key tool the city can use to improve traffic safety on dangerous roads is the road diet, a reconfiguration of lanes that removes vehicle travel lanes. Road diets often face opposition, though. This opposition typically stems from fear of increased traffic congestion and neighborhood cut-through traffic as well as doubt that road diets actually improve traffic safety. My project analyzes crash data, traffic count data, and bluetooth travel data on two similar streets in Northeast Los Angeles to gauge whether road diets have these effects. One of the streets underwent a road diet in 2016 while the other didn’t, making them an effective test case. My analysis of shows no evidence that the road diet caused unacceptable traffic conditions or additional neighborhood...

Opportunities for Agriculture and Solar in the Urban Fringe: The Antelope Valley as a Case Study

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In August 2019, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted OurCounty, an extensive and thorough regional sustainability plan for Los Angeles. Within Strategy 3A, which calls on the County to increase housing density and limit urban sprawl, is Action 47, which institutionalizes a County effort to “Support the preservation of agricultural and working lands, including rangelands, by limiting the conversion of these lands to residential or other uses...” The Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning (LACDRP) has been tasked by the Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office to identify responses that promote “equitable and sustainable land use and development without displacement.”

In this brief, the Antelope Valley is framed as an important case study that (1) highlights the current state of California’s desert farmlands and (2) the impact solar might have on these rural places. Specifically, this brief describes the patterns associated with these lands...

COVID-19 Impacts on Los Angeles Based Community Development Corporations

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this research was to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on Los Angeles Based Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and highlight specific strategies for organizational resilience during unprecedented times. This research aimed to study the experience of Los Angeles CDCs when facing an unprecedented crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of the changing landscape, the study’s findings suggest that the overall goals of CDCs in Los Angeles have not changed; rather, the methods to implement their mission have shifted. To ensure stability and maintain vitality during the COVID-19 pandemic, strategic methods included: collaborating with other organizations, utilizing new funding sources, expanding/reorganizing the roles of different employees, creating new programs, and strengthening interpersonal employee talent and relationships. Overall, the survey and interview findings from Los Angeles-based CDCs suggest that neighborhood-based organizations can reorient...

Living Landscapes: Re-Imagining the Role Los Angeles Parks Play in Communities

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Living Landscapes: Re-Imagining the Role Los Angeles Parks Play in Communities

Revolutionizing Community Under the Red Umbrella: Intersectional Inquiry with Sex Workers on Protective Factors in Los Angeles, CA

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Revolutionizing Community Under the Red Umbrella: Intersectional Inquiry with Sex Workers on Protective Factors in Los Angeles, CA

Sustainable LA: Lessons from Vancouver

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Sustainable LA: Lessons from Vancouver

Designing Enforceable Regulations for the Online Short-Term Rental Market in Los Angeles

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Designing Enforceable Regulations for the Online Short-Term Rental Market in Los Angeles

Improving Access to Justice for Self-Represented Litigants in San Bernardino Self-Help Centers

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Improving Access to Justice for Self-Represented Litigants in San Bernardino Self-Help Centers

Mode Choice and Perceptions of the Built Environment in Watts and Jordan Downs

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Jordan Downs housing development is a public housing complex in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. In accordance with the Jordan Downs Relocation Plan undertaken by the City of Los Angeles Housing Authority, the housing complex is currently being re-designed and relocated to an adjacent property. This relocation presents a rare opportunity for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) to address transportation equity concerns in the design of surrounding roads and sidewalks. The purpose of this project was to answer the following two research questions: 1) What built environment factors influence perceptions of mode choice for residents of Jordan Downs and the surrounding Watts community?; and 2) How can LADOT best implement transportation investments to best address these perceptions? Data were gathered through a combination of field observations, surveys, focus groups, and review of Census data, collision data, and analyses from prior community studies performed...

Meeting the Needs of Central American Migrant Youth in Schools

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Meeting the Needs of Central American Migrant Youth in Schools

Planning for Kids: Educating and Engaging Elementary School Students in Urban Planning and Urban Design

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Planning for Kids: Educating and Engaging Elementary School Students in Urban Planning and Urban Design

Community Land Trust Feasibility in Los Angeles County

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles County is in the midst of a housing crisis. The Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Action identified community land trusts as one method to address the need for affordable housing for low- and moderate- income residents. This research examined current community land trust feasibility in Los Angeles County in consideration of the existing affordable housing funding and housing market environment. The research finds that community land trusts face significant funding gaps when trying to build or acquire housing for low- and moderate-income households. The one feasible option for community land trusts is new construction of large apartment buildings adjacent to transit, which qualifies the project for additional state funding. The research points to the need for additional funding directed towards CLTs for new construction projects and the creation of a pool of funding for CLTs to acquire existing housing in Los Angeles County.

Homelessness Prevention in Los Angeles County

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Homelessness Prevention in Los Angeles County

Tenants in Foreclosure: An Analysis of How Renters Experience the Financialization of Housing in Los Angeles County

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Tenants in Foreclosure: An Analysis of How Renters Experience the Financialization of Housing in Los Angeles County

Housing Choice and Access in the Eastern Coachella Valley: An Ethnographic Study of Housing among Low-Wage Workers

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Housing Choice and Access in the Eastern Coachella Valley: An Ethnographic Study of Housing among Low-Wage Workers

Increasing Equity in LA’s New Street Vending Permit Program to Increase Quality of Life for Vendors

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Increasing Equity in LA’s New Street Vending Permit Program to Increase Quality of Life for Vendors

Whose Budget is it Anyway? Demystifying the City of Los Angeles Transportation Budgeting Process

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this research is to investigate the current process through which the City of Los Angeles develops and approves its annual budget, with a particular emphasis on the role of transportation funding within this process. Additionally, the research focuses on ways for community-based organizations to become more effectively involved in the City's budgeting process. The research methods included professional interviews with city staff involved in or knowledgeable on the budgeting process, as well as focus groups with members of community-based organizations interested in potential budget advocacy. The results of the research revealed a much more complex process than the relatively straightforward timeline presented by the City itself. “Transportation” has a complicated role in the budgeting process because it means many different things to many different people. The report concludes with recommendations for community-based organizations to engage most effectively with...

Meeting Travel Needs: Becoming Reacquainted with a Community’s Unmet Travel Needs

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Our current examples of transportation needs assessments focus on existing and established travel behaviors to predict the needs of a community, but there are populations that face additional burdens that are not captured outside of surveys and data collection efforts in academia. The goal of this research is to identify the best practices to collect data on the unmet travel needs of a neighborhood, particularly for disadvantaged populations. This project is a mixed-methods approach involving a literature review, open-ended interviews with academics and professionals with survey experience, and focus groups with community members in Downtown Huntington Park. This study finds that the ideal approach for collecting information on the travel needs of a neighborhood combines the benefits of active and passive data collection using smartphone-based surveys and thorough outreach to ensure that the survey instrument works for underrepresented populations. The current efforts to study...

School Transportation Equity for Vulnerable Student Populations through Ridehailing: An Analysis of HopSkipDrive and Other Trips to School in Los Angeles County

Thu, 9 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) gave foster youth additional legal protections in school, including the right to transportation and the right to remain at their school despite any moves, similar to protections already in place for students experiencing homelessness and students with disabilities. Californiaís compliance with this mandate was relatively more difficult than other statesí, as less than ten percent of students in California travel by school bus, compared with 35 percent nationally. Thus, California schools could not simply tap into their existing services to provide transportation for foster youth. Ridehailing offers a solution to this gap. HopSkipDrive, a ridehailing company designed to transport children, engages in contracts with school districts and county governments to provide school transportation for these vulnerable student populations. In 2018ñ2019, HopSkipDrive provided 32,796 trips to school in Los Angeles County, with massive time savings over...

Barriers to Engagement: Client Perspectives from a Community Based Organization

Wed, 1 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Barriers to Engagement: Client Perspectives from a Community Based Organization

Assessing the Untapped Housing Capacity in Los Angeles County’s Existing Residential Neighborhoods

Wed, 1 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Assessing the Untapped Housing Capacity in Los Angeles County’s Existing Residential Neighborhoods

Public Financing Strategies for Green Business Improvements

Wed, 1 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Public Financing Strategies for Green Business Improvements

Improving Bioterrorism Response in Los Angeles County: Helping the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters Make a Good Plan Better