-
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.
-
With amendments to the city’s anti-camping laws that prevent unhoused people from camping around schools or daycares likely to pass, data shows there is a pipeline of children, many of them foster youth, who will likely be subject to these anti-camping laws in the near future. -
L.A. Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho attended the meeting to advocate for the increased restrictions and told the City Council that there is a “personal responsibility” to protect students. -
With roughly 48,000 unsheltered people in L.A. County, creating more options for housing and speeding up the process to get people inside is necessary. -
Tenants facing large rent hikes cheered a City Council vote to acquire their building. But the landlord doesn’t want to sell. -
The Young People to the Front campaign brings together experts on homelessness and unhoused youth. They want the city to invest more into their needs. -
People with lived experience are calling on officials to rethink their approach by providing a peek behind the curtain in the mind of an addict and common sense solutions.
