Ball 3

A map of LA's home ownership. Lighter areas have higher rates of renters. It seems that people are often quick to dismiss projects in the LA region due to its culture. We shouldn’t expand mass transit because people love their cars too much. We shouldn’t build high density developments because people want to raise their kids in the suburbs with big backyards. However, recent data from the Census and the American Community Survey shows that our “LA culture” may not be as deeply ingrained as we often think it is. In looking at the data, you can come up with three major takeaways: 1. 52% of residents in the LA metro area are renters (the highest rate in the country) 2. Half of these renters are spending too much of their income on their monthly rent 3. 45% of households own one or fewer cars These numbers present a great opportunity for the region’s city planners and developers. Half of the population is incredibly mobile - they don’t have the anchor of home owner...

I traveled abroad for the first time this past summer and there were many things that stood out to me from a city planning perspective.  Perhaps the most stark contrast between European cities and Los Angeles, however, is that LA is severely lacking in centrality .  Although LA isn’t the huge, sprawling region that it is often characterized to be, the Los Angeles metro area is extremely decentralized.  There are many major hubs of jobs and cultural activity - Downtown, Santa Monica, The Valley, Westwood, Century City, just to name a few.  From a planning perspective, this is a major problem because it is hard to devote transportation resources so many areas.   Metro map with future rail alignments. Los Angeles has largely responded to this problem by focusing its efforts on the Downtown core and having its mass transit system branch out to Hollywood, Santa Monica, and other major hubs.  Thus, a person who lives or works Downtown has pretty good reso...