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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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A massive VA campus in West Los Angeles is finally housing hundreds of vets, and may finally change the city's worst-in-the-nation status on veterans homelessness.
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The number of Californians facing eviction was relatively low for years during a lengthy statewide moratorium. In the year after it ended, cases soared and still remain high in large counties.
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Gobble Gobble Give has delivered more than 800,000 Thanksgiving meals to the unhoused community since 1998.
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A city law sought to prevent low-cost housing from turning into hotels, but some landlords rented to tourists anyway. That didn’t stop them from receiving city funds for a new temporary shelter program.
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The council approved a hotly debated proposal to lower allowable rent hikes in most of the city’s apartments from a maximum of 9% to 6% in February.
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The county has seen a 12% increase in the unhoused veterans population.