UCLA's Paul Habibi believes that L.A.'s lack of affordable workforce housing, the "donut hole" between subsidized housing and high-end housing preferred by developers, is harming the city's competitiveness. In a new report he outlines a solution.
Produced in conjunction with the Los Angelss Business Council, Habibi's report [PDF], titled "Developing Livable Communities: Enhancing Economic Competitiveness in Los Angeles," concludes that the solution to filling the donut hole is to, "[c]reate an incentive to develop housing for this group along transit
corridors, which are currently being expanded in L.A.," writes Matthew DeBord.
"Continued
investment in transit and transit corridors will make LA more
economically competitive," said Habibi, who was the report's lead
author.
"If you think this is about creating more density in infamous L.A.
urban sprawl, you'd be right on track," says DeBord. "'You want to bring the workforce
back toward the employment centers,' Habibi said. 'We need to lower the
economic cost of getting workers from point A to point B.'"
Habibi, who just happens to own over 1,600 apartment units in the Los Angeles area, says that incentives must focus on lowering risks and costs for developers, with easing environmental reviews identified as one potentially effective policy change.
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