Tag: los angeles

Cellphones Are a Lifeline for Unhoused People—But Barriers Abound

A lack of internet access and charging stations makes it challenging for unhoused folks to maintain a working cellphone, posing a threat to their safety and ability to follow up with service providers or connect with employers.

Checked Out: How LA Failed to Stop Landlords From Turning Low-Cost...

Fifteen years ago Los Angeles passed a law to preserve residential hotels as housing of last resort. Now, amid the homelessness crisis, Capital & Main and ProPublica found some hotels may be violating that law by offering rooms to tourists.

Sweeps Aren’t Outreach—Policing Homelessness Still Doesn’t Work

A new study shines light on the connection between homeless outreach teams and policing, and examines why so many cities are still using resident complaints to guide their response to the homelessness crisis.

We Must Strengthen the Labor-Housing Coalition

It's time to forge a new coalition of labor unions and housing justice activists at the national, state, and local levels.

How Los Angeles Won the Largest Municipal Housing Program in the...

The ambitious funding campaign took strong cross-movement organizing and the right political moment.

LA Isn’t Enforcing Its Section 8 Discrimination Ban. Could This Lawsuit...

In 2019, Los Angeles passed an ordinance banning discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. But it has never sued to enforce the protection.

What LA’s New Shelter Program Can Learn from Statewide Efforts

As LA’s Inside Safe program works to transition unhoused Angelenos from hotels into permanent housing, its leaders should look to California’s Project Roomkey for lessons.

The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

HomeVestors of America, the self-proclaimed “largest homebuyer in the U.S.,” trains its nearly 1,150 franchisees to zero in on homeowners’ desperation.

Tenants Rights Advance in California

Reaction to the housing crisis in California has led to a series of gains for tenants, including a new Renters’ Caucus.

Bordering Towns in LA County Clash Over Their Homeless Policies

Local governments often come to different conclusions about how to address homelessness within their respective city borders. Varying approaches only exacerbate the problem.

Did LA’s Supportive Housing Bond Fail?

Six years after Prop HHH was passed, the fund appears to be delivering on its housing construction goals in the 10-year timeline, but the measure is being routinely criticized on all sides for delays, rising costs, and being an inadequate fix to LA’s homelessness crisis.

A New ‘Normal’: Nonprofits and the Next Phase of COVID

Two years after the pandemic began, community development organizations reflect on what’s changed and how they’re moving forward. Some are still in crisis mode; others are refocusing their work.

Residents Owning Their Local Economy

In the face of extractive "investments," communities are exploring creative models that let them both exert control and earn returns themselves.

Helping Tenants with Mental Health Challenges Who Are at Risk of...

Support at all stages of an eviction could help vulnerable tenants navigate the process, avoid being removed from their home, or if they are evicted, help them catch their footing.

ADUs: Laws and Uses, Do’s and Don’ts

As ADUs gain national attention, cities are searching for the best ways to legalize their development and encourage construction.

What’s the Best Way to Judge How Well a City’s Housing...

CityHealth revamps its housing medal criteria, shifts away from inclusionary zoning to flexible funding and tenant protections. “We realized there is no singular policy intervention that can address the whole of affordable housing.”

Are Tiny Homes a Piece of the Affordable Housing Puzzle?

More and more tiny homes are being built across the U.S. Where are they being developed, who they are serving, and what obstacles do they face in addressing the need for more affordable housing?

On Housing, Democrats Sure Look Like Republicans

At one time, the Democratic Party stood for policies that successfully addressed the country’s chronic housing crisis. What changed, and why?

Gentrification: Is Pop Culture Getting It Right?

Gentefied. In the Heights. Vida. How do storylines and portrayals of gentrification in cinema stack up to how it plays out in real life?

Cooperatives and Community Land Trusts: Natural Partners?

Community land trusts provide far fewer units than other forms of affordable housing, but advocates now believe the model can be one possible solution to preserving the affordability of limited-equity co-ops. We take a closer look.