Rebuilding the Dream: A New Housing Agenda for Los Angeles
Impact Report
THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LOS ANGELES recently released a major study on Southern California’s housing crisis and the results of two companion surveys, a poll of residents and a survey of local elected officials. "Rebuilding the Dream: A New Housing Agenda for Los Angeles," was endorsed by housing and public policy experts at several Southland universities, as well as by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The study was released at a press conference on the LMU campus attended by Cisneros; Tim Psomas, CEO of Psomas Inc. and chair of the Center’s Advisory Board; Jim Bickhart, policy director of the Southern California Transportation & Land Use Coalition; Peter Villegas, vice president of Washington Mutual and a member of the Center’s Advisory Board, and Jacqueline Leavitt, professor at UCLA’s School of Public Policy and Social Research.
Research Summary
The Center’s report argues that housing production must be a top priority for the region. By the end of this decade, more than a million additional people will live in Los Angeles County. That’s like every man, woman, and child in the city of San Diego moving to LA, but most of these new arrivals will be homegrown – the children of current residents. By 2010, the demand for housing in the county will exceed new housing production by 28,000 housing units per year.
A lack of political will lies at the root of this market failure. Local elected officials have been more responsive to the vociferous, localized opposition to particular developments than to the vast majority of Southern Californians who are increasingly distressed by the shortage of housing. In the Center’s public opinion poll, an overwhelming majority of residents – 80 percent – report that it is difficult to find housing for rent or purchase in their community. Looking toward the future, most Southern Californians are pessimistic that the region’s children will be able to afford to purchase a home in the area when they become adults. Local elected officials are out of step with this widespread concern. In the Center’s survey of local elected officials, nearly all characterized their city’s housing policy as directed toward maintaining or reducing current densities. The collective impact of such policies will only exacerbate the region’s current housing crisis.
The report argues that supply of housing must increase. Urban infill projects and suburban "new towns" that enhance the existing urban fabric should be encouraged, but these small-scale projects will not on their own meet the tremendous need for new housing in greater Los Angeles. New master-planned communities that are ecologically sound and promote a balance between jobs and housing must also be expedited. By promoting housing of all types – urban infill projects, suburban new towns, as well as new master-planned communities – elected officials have an opportunity to provide leadership on an issue that by all objective measures constitutes a crisis and that is of increasing concern to the general public.
Media Coverage
This research has received widespread coverage in the local media. It was featured as part of the lead article in the Los Angeles Times California Section, mentioned prominently in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and formed the basis of an editorial printed in La Opinion. The study was widely cited by guests on KCRW’s Which Way LA? and in stories appearing in the Daily News, La Opinion, KNX, and elsewhere.
Community Presentations
Dr. Guerra and Dr. Marks accepted several invitations to present the research before a number of public bodies and civic forums including the Latino Caucus of the California Legislature, the California Contract Cities Association, the Southern California Association of Governments, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, the Los Angeles County Planning Commission, the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, the Urban Land Institute, Century Housing Corporation, and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.
Use in the Classroom
This Spring, five courses spanning seven departments will incorporate the research. Students will replicate parts of the region-wide study in a particular neighborhood. In addition, the Center’s annual Urban Leadership Lecture Series will focus on housing issues and will feature developers, government officials, environmentalists, academic experts, and others, including Zev Yaroslavsky, Steven Soboroff, Guy Gniadek, Henry Cisneros, David Grunwald, and Joel Kotkin.
Academic Conferences
Dr. Marks and Dr. Guerra presented the research at several academic conferences including the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association, the Annual Meeting of the Public Choice Society, and the Haynes Foundation Conference on Governance Reform. The research also informed the development of a new poll on the state of Los Angeles a decade after the Los Angeles riots which will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in September 2003.
Scholarly Articles
An article based on the research was published in the Journal of California Politics and Policy, and the research will be the basis of a chapter to appear in a forthcoming book, Reform, Los Angeles Style: The Theory and Practice of Urban Governance at Century’s Turn.