Op-Ed L.A. badly needs housing, and Palladium Residences more than fits the need
Dana Cuff, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design
Dana Cuff is a professor of Architecture and Urban Design and the director of CityLAB-UCLA. Founded in 2006, cityLAB is a think tank concerned with contemporary urban issues, urban design, and the architecture of the city. Dana writes for the Los Angeles Times about the changes happening in LA today, the housing crisis that follows, and the Palladium Residences project in Hollywood.
There's a revolution happening in Los Angeles: Rapid transit stretches from Hollywood to Santa Monica, from Pasadena to Long Beach, and people are moving back into the urban core rather than farther out, defying the cliche that we are 72 suburbs in search of a city. Search no longer: Los Angeles is becoming a model metropolis for the 21st century, with one very major obstacle: We are facing the greatest housing crisis in America.
Shocking as it may sound, it is easier to find an apartment in New York than here. (We have fewer vacancies.) Our supply of new units is fewer per capita than San Francisco's. Apartment rents continue to skyrocket at double the rate of inflation and are now hovering around $1,873 per month, on average. The San Fernando Valley and the Inland Empire used to provide some relief, but not anymore. And the gap between income and the cost of housing is greater in Los Angeles than any place in the nation. Even as minimum-wage battles yield some increases, the housing shortage remains critical, causing Mayor Eric Garcetti to call for 100,000 new units by 2021.
JGiven the severity of L.A.'s housing crisis, what's all the brouhaha about the Palladium Residences project in Hollywood? It promises more than 700 apartments two blocks from the Hollywood/Vine Metro stop, which is exactly the sort of development we need in post-suburban Los Angeles. Nevertheless, it has met with months of litigation and protest, and the battle continues. Indeed, opponents vowed last week to “exhaust every possible avenue to stop this project.”— Op-Ed by A.UD Professor Dana Cuff, Dec. 16
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times website.