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Building Your Block
A newsletter course from LAist that explains the obstacles around housing development in L.A. and what you can do to make things better.
We know there’s a housing shortage in L.A., and it’s created major challenges for the region. But try to understand how to fix the problem and it gets murky, fast. We need more housing, but where can we actually build it? Why does it seem like all the new buildings going up are luxury apartments? Why isn’t there enough affordable housing? And most importantly: What can you actually do to support the housing you want to see in L.A.?
These are just some of the questions that Building Your Block will tackle in this seven-issue newsletter course.
Think of it as your starter guide to the conversations L.A. is having about housing development, plus we’ll bring you some real talk on what you can do to advocate for the housing future you want.
What can I expect?
Over seven issues, we’ll cover everything from how zoning rules determine what gets built and where, to why there’s so little affordable housing.
We’ll cap it all off with a long list of ideas you can put into action to influence housing decisions in your backyard, your city and beyond.
How often will you email me?
This newsletter has seven issues in total. Once you sign up, you’ll get one new issue a day until it’s done.
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We dive deeper into the hurdles veterans face to secure housing in L.A. Specifically, income limit restrictions, and how this leaves the most disabled veterans — those who need housing and services most — ineligible for most VA housing. -
“Band-Aids are good … But what we really want to do is stop the bleed,” said the study’s lead researcher. “There is no medicine as powerful as housing.” -
When L.A.'s waitlist opened last fall, 30,000 applicants landed a spot. Many are now wondering how their monthly payments will be calculated. -
Across L.A. County, about 3,000 young people experience homelessness or housing insecurity. Host families are helping to bring down those numbers. -
Skid Row Housing Trust receiver Mark Adams told the judge if he can’t secure operational funding soon, security guards will walk off the job. -
After California’s largest home insurance provider said it wouldn’t issue new policies, consumer and insurance industry groups have ideas for what they’d like to see California do. Here’s the debate over four of those ideas.
