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Listen Listen
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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L.A. County landlords file thousands of evictions every month, and most tenants can’t get a lawyer. Here’s what happens when they go to court. -
The estimate is orders of magnitude larger than the roughly 700 identified in last year’s homeless count. The discrepancy is largely due to competing federal definitions of “homelessness.” -
Under his May budget plan, Newsom wants UC and CSU to get more state student housing in 2023-24, but the universities would have to borrow the money through bonds. The state would pay the interest on the bonds annually. Legislative analysts say the state may be overcommitting given far lower projected tax revenues. -
L.A. will be part of a new federal initiative to reduce homelessness by 25% over the next two years. -
The move for stricter oversight comes after LAist uncovered that the mayor’s office had not delivered transparency reports required by the city council. -
A ProPublica investigation found HomeVestors franchisees that used deception and targeted the elderly, infirm and those so close to poverty that they feared homelessness would be a consequence of selling.
