After Measure S: Los Angeles Leaders Ponder Growth and Equity

The controversy over the recent ballot initiative known as Measure S has Los Angeles thinking: How can the city accommodate new housing supply without disenfranchising communities?

2 minute read

May 4, 2017, 11:00 AM PDT

By Elana Eden


MacArthur Park

Wurzeller / Wikimedia Commons

At a recent USC Price School panel, planners, developers, and advocates discussed how Los Angeles could plan for both more housing supply and improved neighborhood equity in the aftermath of the failed Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, which helped to ignite a citywide conversation about planning and growth.

Although the city recently committed to updating community plans on a six-year cycle, former Director of City Planning Gail Goldberg maintained that the community planning effort would be hindered by the lack of a cohesive, inspiring general plan—resulting in every community coming up with its own vision, and more opposition to new development.

"I would propose that if communities have no idea where things are going, or what the ultimate result is supposed to be, it's not an illogical response to oppose new projects," she argued. Moreover, a lack of transparency and accountability leaves them apparently without recourse: "If they worked and adopted a plan that they loved, would the council honor it?"

South L.A. community organizer Damien Goodmon added that the regional and local housing crises can be situated in the context of a global interest in speculative real estate that especially impacts underserved communities. "We're not building housing for people to live in; we're building housing for investment," he said.

Before we discuss whether we need more housing and where to put it, let’s talk about protecting our existing communities. Ultimately, that forces us to talk about the challenge of gentrification—the spatial expression of economic inequality.

Goldberg, too, stressed the need for a holistic approach to planning in her call for "a new way of doing community plans."

Community plans have to be about more than just growth. They are not only about where development goes and where it doesn’t go. Community plans have to talk about the quality of life in that community, and how we make sure that along with housing come all of the other things that we all need—the jobs, the infrastructure, and the amenities that make neighborhoods great.

Thursday, April 27, 2017 in The Planning Report

View down New York City alleyway at nighttime

Red Cities, Blue Cities, and Crime

Homicides rose across the nation in 2020 and 2021. But did they rise equally in all cities, or was the situation worse in some than in others?

March 12, 2023 - Michael Lewyn

babyt Boomer Homeowners

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?

In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

March 12, 2023 - PlaceShakers and NewsMakers

Yellow on black "Expect Delays" traffic sign

A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts

Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.

March 14, 2023 - Todd Litman

Washington D.C. Protest

IPCC Report: The World Is Running Out of Time on Climate Change

The planet is not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent report published by the United Nations’ International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

March 20 - International Panel on Climate Change

A view of the Boise skyline, across tress int he foreground. The state capitol is visible amongst other office buildings.

Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise

A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

March 20 - Boise Dev

Interior of Tesla car with driver holding hands off wheel in 'full self-driving' mode

Buttigieg: Tesla ‘Autopilot’ Marketing ‘A Concern’

The USDOT secretary says marketing doesn’t fall under his department’s investigative authority, but expressed disapproval of language that implies autonomous operation.

March 20 - Bloomberg

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.