The Brief

Affordable housing. Simply linking those two words might get you an ironic laugh from today’s apartment hunter. But there was a time when the government did have an overall goal of helping you keep a roof over your head. While a few remnants of that philosophy still exist today, we wanted to know: How did it all start — and what happened?

We look into the complicated history of affordable housing, from a Depression-era housing crisis, through communism fears and today’s patchwork of programs.

What is affordable housing exactly?

First, let’s define our terms. Shane Phillips, housing initiative manager at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, says people can have different things in mind when talking about affordable housing.

There’s the idea of affordable housing as in living in places that are relatively low cost compared to your income, like living on the edge of L.A. County, for example.

Then there’s what Phillips calls “capital A” affordable housing. It happens in multiple ways, including:

• Public housing (which is owned by the government)
• Subsidized housing that’s income-restricted with rent caps (built with public funding)
• Unsubsidized housing that’s income-restricted with rent caps (not built with public funds but using programs that give regulatory breaks to developers)
• Section 8 (where tenants share rent costs with the government on the private market) 

A brief history of early affordable housing

The Great Depression brought an existing problem to a head: dilapidated housing stock.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, it was common for families with little money to live without hot running water. These homes were seen as “blight” and many were eventually torn down.

The U.S. Housing Act of 1937 created the first federal public housing program in which states had to establish local housing authorities. The act was intended to:

The public housing program was put on hold during World War II but was restarted with the Housing Act of 1949, which declared its goal as “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.”

This act did a lot of things, including giving money to local housing authorities to buy up and rebuild slum properties and offering subsidies for them to build over 800,000 units nationwide.

Meanwhile in the early ‘30s, federal agencies that were precursors to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had begun to help people afford homeownership.

The Federal Housing Administration, created in 1934, ushered in mortgage programs that made low down payments and long-term mortgages possible. Until then, most mortgages were written for three to five-year terms and borrowers had to have as much as half of the home’s cost on hand.

Addressing different income levels

Federal programs at that point targeted helping tenants on the very low end of the financial spectrum. Very few options existed for people in the middle — those who couldn’t afford market-rate housing but didn’t qualify for public housing.

Congress saw this gap and wanted to solve it without creating a new and costly government housing program. Their legislation, the Housing Act of 1959, marked the first significant time that financial incentives like low-interest loans were used to coax private developers into building affordable housing. These were directed toward housing that would serve moderate-income people 62 and older.

Later federal additions included a rent assistance program (and precursor to Section 8) in 1965, while other mortgage incentives came in 1968. At the end of the decade, affordable housing subsidies for private developers created hundreds of thousands of units nationwide.

How approaches changed

Former President Richard Nixon at his North Hollywood campaign headquarters in 1962.

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Jeff Goldwater

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Valley Times Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

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A significant shift in affordable housing came in 1973 when the Nixon administration placed a moratorium on federal housing programs. The following year, big changes to our housing programs were largely seen as pulling out of the construction and management game on the federal level.

Nixon was influenced by what was happening in local governments. While World War II had made public housing favorable, eventually public opinion shifted away from it, with Red Scare fears framing it as a communist system. Like many cities, L.A. leaders faced accusations of communist infiltration because of its government-led housing.

The city of L.A. once had a federal contract to build 10,000 public housing units, but it fell through in the 1950s after intense public pressure. L.A.’s last public housing construction ended with the San Fernando Gardens in 1955.

Devolution of authority

After the moratorium, President Gerald Ford introduced the Community Development Block Grant program, which gave federal dollars to local governments with “few strings attached” to do things like improve sidewalks and help rehabilitate dilapidated housing. It began what’s called the “devolution of authority” — passing on the responsibility to plan and implement affordable housing to states and cities. While there is still federal involvement in affordable housing, this program is still in use today with local authorities directing much of the implementation.

Which means that affordable housing differs from region to region. In L.A., our affordable housing is now largely private and public partnerships, while the city’s housing authority has been slowly demolishing public housing for decades and rebuilding some as mixed income housing.

Fifty unhoused people warm up in City Hall after the City Council voted to open the chambers overnight during an unusually cold spell on Jan. 21, 1987.

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Javier Mendoza

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Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

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In the backdrop, while rent and house prices continued to skyrocket, more and more people were squeezed out of their homes. In 1987, L.A.’s homelessness crisis had grown to such a point that City Hall was opened to shelter unhoused people during a frigid winter.

Over the decades, the city has tried a myriad of programs, like enacting rent control and establishing a blue ribbon committee to research affordable housing, to push the needle on the issue.

But across its history, affordable housing initiatives have always been criticized. Some feel systems of wealth and racial inequality against tenants have worsened, especially as some groups push against affordable housing.

Others feel the privatization of affordable housing lines the pockets of developers, or that rent programs don’t stabilize market rents enough. Then there are the developers, who often face hefty hurdles to building.

Affordability today

Throughout the housing programs, the debate over who they help and by how much has persisted. New market-rate housing is expensive and limited to pretty high-income people. Subsidized housing — where costs are shared with the government — are limited to low-income and extremely low-income people. For example, to qualify for Section 8, an individual’s annual income has to be at or below $44,150. For a family of four, it’s $63,050.

“Everyone else in the middle just gets nothing,” Phillips said. “They're just kind of left to fend for themselves and that space keeps widening further and further.”

A "For Rent" sign hangs outside an apartment building in northeast Los Angeles.

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David Wagner/LAist

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There’s also the issue of time. Affordability requirements are governed by legal contracts known as covenants — where the owner agrees to maintain a unit as affordable for a specific period of time (typically 55 years in L.A.).

So if you do the math, our affordable housing stock is on a ticking clock. In 2022, L.A. County had 133,909 affordable rental housing units, but nearly 8,000 places were at risk of losing affordability, according to the California Housing Partnership.

But new developments are added on an ongoing basis. Among the locations are Broadway Housing in Santa Monica from 2012 and the 4252 Crenshaw modular housing development completed in 2019.

L.A. County still is short a massive 499,430 affordable homes. It’s a high number that experts say we can’t keep up with. The shortfall only decreased by 82,393 homes between 2014 and 2019.

“It will just never come close to meeting the need,” Phillips said. “We need a bigger strategy than just ‘maybe a few billion more dollars that'll subsidize a few thousand more homes.’”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

The smell of rotten meat and fish permeated throughout the home of Alfonso Hernandez, 67, who lives just a few houses north of where the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights took place. Despite running an air purifier, the stench mixed with Thursday’s heat reminded him of the notorious smell of driving by the Farmer John meatpacking plant in the city of Vernon, less than 3 miles away. 

To him, this was worse.

“It’s like sometimes when I forget food in my car and then two days later I’m like, ‘What the heck?’,” Hernandez said.

Even though the warehouse fire has been declared knocked down, nearby residents are still dealing with its aftermath. Now, officials are shifting into the next phase: Cleaning up the millions of pounds of seafood, pork, beef, and poultry left inside what remains of the damaged warehouse.

“Once we turn this building over to the building owner and the business owner, they will be responsible for paying all the expenses with the haul away,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore told reporters at Thursday’s press conference. 

Regulatory agencies like the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are expected to play a role in overseeing product disposal, Moore explained. 

Firefighters will remain on site to keep the building cool and address any remaining hot spots deep within the harder to reach regions of the structure. They will also support safety measures for cleanup crews. 

In a statement, Lineage said it hired Signal Restoration Services to lead cleanup efforts and has already staged cleanup equipment on-site.

Plans for disinfection, odor control, and pest control will be implemented. Lineage is also exploring ways to minimize disruption to the community, including the use of watertight trailers and containers to transport waste off-site.

“To move forward as quickly as possible, we urge the government agencies involved to promptly address any permitting or other approvals necessary to begin cleanup,” the company said.

A 2024 fire in Finley, Washington, offers a glimpse into what residents might expect moving forward. The cold-storage warehouse, also operated by Lineage Logistics, burned for two months. Cleanup cost about $10 million. The entire building was lost and county commissioners at the time grew frustrated with how long the process took. In some cases, clearing took time because certain areas required approval from fire investigators or local agencies. 

“Knocking down the fire does not mean the crisis is behind us. It means we’re entering a new phase,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. “Now, our focus must be on protecting people’s health, supporting recovery and making sure this community gets the answers it deserves.” 

Officials are working with AltaMed, specifically the sites nearest to the scene, and St. John’s Community Health Clinic, to open mobile clinics throughout the district in the days ahead. 

Jurado and LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis authored separate motions on June 23 seeking answers about the cause of the fire, the facility’s compliance history, inspections, and oversight systems. Accountability, Jurado said, begins with facts. 

The smoke respite shelter at City Terrace Park will close at noon on Saturday, June 27, as use has significantly declined, Solis shared in a statement. 

“The County’s Department of Health Services mobile unit was deployed multiple times this week at City Terrace Park, alongside Via Care and other FQHC partners, and will continue to support distribution efforts and deployments as needed, providing basic care, respiratory checks, screenings, and referrals at no cost.” 

How to report odors: 

Contact the South Coast Air Quality Management District by calling (800) CUT SMOG or (800) 288-7664.

Boyle Heights Beat senior reporter Alejandra Molina contributed to this story.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Hit the brakes on whatever you’re doing because CicLAvia is coming to South L.A. on Sunday and there’s a lot to know about the 66th L.A. Open Streets event hosted by L.A. Metro.

Around 3.6 miles between Leimert Park and Expo Park will become a car-free zone for people to walk, jog, bike and skate, according to CicLAvia’s website. The route will also include restricted parking and limited vehicle access.

Here’s what to know ahead of the event.

When is the event?

CicLAvia takes place between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, stretching for 3.6 miles between Leimert Park and Expo Park.

How can I join the fun?

The CicLAvia route will include multiple hubs, or stops where there will be “safe, fun and family-oriented activities,” according to the event’s website.

The following locations will serve as hubs:

• Leimert Park Hub: 4330 Crenshaw Blvd.
• King Estates Hub: 1745 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• Expo Park Hub: 874 W. MLK Blvd. 
• MLK Hub: 632 E. MLK Blvd.
• Historic South Central Hub: 1922 S. Central Ave.

Participants can enjoy food and activities at each of these locations. Restrooms, first aid and free water will also be available.

Which streets will be closed and when?

The following streets will be closed between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday:

• Crenshaw Boulevard, from West Vernon Avenue to West MLK Boulevard
• West MLK Boulevard, from Crenshaw Boulevard to South Figueroa

Some streets may close as early as 6 a.m.

Can vehicles cross the route at selected major intersections?

Yes, cars can cross the CicLAvia route at the following intersections:

• Stocker Street and Crenshaw Boulevard
• MLK Boulevard and Arlington Avenue 
• MLK Boulevard and Western Avenue 
• MLK Boulevard and Normandie Avenue 
• MLK Boulevard and Vermont Avenue

What are the parking restrictions?

No parking or vehicles will be allowed on the route from 1 a.m. to about 6 p.m. on Sunday.

All driveways on the route will be blocked off from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., those who need to use their vehicles must park elsewhere before 7 a.m.

Are there open lots near the route?

Yes, all lots are pay lots, and you can find them through Parkme.com and Parkopedia.com.

Can I get reimbursed for any parking expenses?

CicLAvia can reimburse residents and business employees who regularly park on the route up to $20 per vehicle for any parking costs incurred from 8 p.m. on Saturday through 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Just email a copy of your parking receipt and proof of residence or employment to info@ciclavia.org, with the subject line: “Parking Reimbursement.”

Can I ride my e-bike? Are there any other types of vehicle restrictions?

CicLAvia’s general rule is that only people-powered vehicles are allowed, with exceptions for persons with mobility restrictions.

There are three classes of e-bikes allowed during CicLAvia:

• Class 1: These are common, pedal-assist e-bikes.
• Class 2: These are e-bikes that have throttles, and are allowed specifically if the power is switched off and the user is pedaling.
• Class 3: These are faster e-bikes, whether they have throttles or not, and are allowed if the power is switched off and the user is pedaling.

Basically: “If you’re primarily pedaling, and keeping with the flow of traffic, you’re fine,” according to organizers. Find out more here.

Those with mobility restrictions are encouraged to use manual wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, scooters, pedal-assist bikes and adaptive bicycles.

California hospitals and the state’s largest health workers union reached an agreement Thursday to pull two competing initiatives from the November ballot hours before a state deadline. But a separate measure to impose a one-time tax on billionaires remains headed toward voters, potentially reshaping how California funds healthcare.

That measure would levy a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires if approved by voters. Supporters estimate the tax would bring in $100 billion to replace recent state and federal healthcare cuts. The union accused Gov. Gavin Newsom, who tried to strike a last-minute deal to kill the ballot measure, of having “no plan” to prevent cuts projected to lose jobs and leave millions of Californians uninsured, according to recent projections.

“We thought it was important to do everything we could to try to solve that problem,” said Dave Regan, president of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.

In addition to the wealth tax, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West had qualified an initiative to limit how much hospital executives are paid; while the California Hospital Association hit back with a proposal to limit the union’s political spending without member approval. Those two measures will no longer appear on the ballot under a deal brokered by the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO.

Union members argued that money has been siphoned away from patient care through federal and state budget cuts as well as business decisions that support costly executive salaries. In turn, hospitals and some experts contended that capping leadership salaries would drain talent from pricey California and result in worse patient care.

Initially the two sides were adamant that they weren’t interested in negotiating, but Thursday’s agreement is the latest reminder that few things are fixed in Sacramento politics. Both sides had raised tens-of-millions of dollars to support their proposals.

Carmela Coyle, hospital association president and CEO, said in a statement that the agreement would “ensure high-quality health care services are accessible throughout California.”

Lorena Gonzalez, president of the labor federation, said the deal would support “quality healthcare and good union jobs to Californians.”

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West declined to comment on the agreement.

A history of dealmaking

This marked the sixth time the union has attempted to cap healthcare executive salaries at $450,000 through state or local ballot measures.

For decades the union led by Regan has used ballot initiatives to gain leverage over the healthcare industry, broker deals with lawmakers and push its political agenda forward.

Voters may remember dialysis center initiatives appearing on three back-to-back ballots in 2018, 2020 and 2022. All three failed, and the dialysis industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat them.

That strategy is what SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West does — and what it’s doing this year.

Since 2012, the union has sponsored 48 state and local ballot initiatives spending $120 million. Most of the measures have been withdrawn or voted down. Despite those specific failures, the strategy has yielded major wins, including a $25 per hour health worker minimum wage. On that issue, the union asked voters across multiple cities to increase salaries before striking a deal with lawmakers and hospitals that included a 10-year moratorium on local minimum wage ballot measures.

That strategy is shaping debate over this year’s most contentious measure, which would put a major question before voters: whether California should impose a new tax on its wealthiest residents to help fund healthcare.

The proposal has drawn opposition from an unusual mix of business interests, Newsom, billionaires and progressive groups like Planned Parenthood and the California Teachers Association.

“We have to use all of the tools in our toolbox,” union spokesperson Renée Saldaña said prior to the agreement. “We see the ballot initiative as one way to take it directly to California voters.”

Good policy or ballot blackmail?

It’s a game of cat-and-mouse dating back to the early 1900s. California special interests spend millions to place a ballot initiative before voters; use it for political leverage; and ultimately strike a deal with lawmakers or political rivals to pull the measures in exchange for some other benefit.

Dan Schnur, a longtime Republican analyst and political communications professor at USC, said special interests have always taken advantage of ballot initiatives to try and advance their agendas. What makes SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West unusual is how often it repeats initiatives that fail, but the willingness to do so may be what gives the union so much political leverage.

“A ballot initiative is the ultimate blunt instrument,” Schnur said. “The threat of a ballot measure can help shape negotiations in the Legislature on the same subject.”

John Matsusaka, a USC law professor and executive director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute, said ballot initiatives are intended to allow voters to decide directly whether a proposal should become law. This helps bypass a Legislature that constituents may feel doesn’t actually reflect their interests.

California groups have attempted to pass more initiatives than any other state, Matsusaka said, but wielding them for leverage is an unhealthy way to view the law.

“Laws shouldn’t be used as bargaining chips in your negotiations in my opinion,” he said.

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Following the Logistics warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, many residents have expressed concerns about contaminants from smoke and ash settling into the soil. 

The Contaminant Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods (CLEAN) project at USC is offering free soil testing for Boyle Heights and East L.A. residents. 

CLEAN is a rapid response soil testing program from the USC Department of Earth Sciences and Public Exchange developed by USC faculty, students and staff to assist local communities impacted by fires in L.A. County.

Residents can collect soil samples and drop them off at Boyle Heights City Hall for CLEAN to collect. 

Below is a step-by-step guide.

How to collect your sample: 

1. Review USC’s CLEAN project guide
2. Submit this survey– Your sample ID will be provided upon completing the survey. Make sure to save your ID as this is how the CLEAN team keeps track of your sample and provides results to you. 
3. Before getting started, gather your materials and protective equipment. (ADD points)
   
   1. Disposable gloves and an N95 or KN95 facemask
   2. Plastic spoon or shovel
   3. Ziploc bags (2 per composite samples)
   4. Permanent marker 
   5. Masking tape (for bag label)
   6. 9-digit sample ID code (from your survey)
4. Select your sampling zones
   
   1. Your sampling zones are where you will be collecting the soil from. Your zones can be your front or back yard, garden, etc. The picture on page four of the guide shows the different zones in a home and though your home may not have all zones, what’s important is that you understand what zones you’re collecting from and labeling them accordingly.
5. Once you’re wearing your protective gear and have your equipment, you are now ready to collect the sample.
   
   1. Collect two spoonfuls of soil for 2-5 different spots within a single zone
   2. Drop all spoonfuls from the zone into one Ziploc bag. By the end of collecting, the bag should have about a cup size of soil in it.
   3. Seal your Ziploc bag and for extra protection, put it over another Ziploc bag. This bag will now contain the zone’s composite sample. 
   4. Then repeat for every other zone you want to test. You should have one composite sample per zone you test. (e.g. one for the garden, one for the front yard, etc.)
6. Using a permanent marker, label each Ziploc bag with your unique sample ID and the zone name either on tape or directly on the bag. 
7. Then you repeat steps 5 and 6 for each zone you are testing. 

After collection 

Once you have finished collecting your samples, make sure to wash your hands. If you suspect your soil to be contaminated, CLEAN suggests limiting access to that area, wiping or taking shoes off before entering your home, and preventing children from playing in bare soil.  

CLEAN will test all samples for lead and some select samples will be tested for Arsenic, Chromium(VI), and Mercury. Testing for lead can take up to four weeks, while tests for other materials may take longer.

Where to submit your sample

After collecting and labeling your soil samples, you can submit them using one of the following methods:

Option 1: Drop Off Your Sample

Option 2: Mail Your Sample

Who to contact: 

If you have any questions or concerns, contact cleanproject@usc.edu