The Livable Communities Initiative, founded in 2019, is a group of urbanists, architects, developers and advocates who want to reimagine Los Angeles and address the housing, mobility, and climate crises at the same time. Their goal: charming, walkable streets with affordable homes over neighborhood-serving retail, all located near job centers and transit.
This sought-after model of human-scale, human-centered urbanism could be the key to unlocking financial feasibility and broad support for new housing. In Los Angeles, many miles of underused commercial corridors can be transformed with street changes, while property owners can be enticed to build with standard plans and a streamlined approval process. The Livable Communities Initiative shares what needs to change, from local building codes to state laws.
Professor Chris Elmendorf, an adviser to LCI, finds, in his recent paper, "How Sociotropic Aesthetic Judgments Drive Opposition to Dense Housing Development," that aesthetics and fit with the surrounding built environment determine the level of neighborhood acceptance of new housing.
Join us for this multi-faceted discussion of urban planning and architectural design and their implications for housing advocacy and approval.
Speaker:
- Lindsay Sturman / Co-founder, Livable Communities Initiative, Bike Talk podcast co-host
- Christopher S. Elmendorf, J.D. / Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law.