L.A. is rethinking its future with housing and transit reforms

Los Angeles is tackling decades of car-centric planning and restrictive zoning to address its worsening housing and traffic crises, with reforms that could serve as a blueprint for cities nationwide.

M. Nolan Gray reports for The Atlantic.

In short:

• Los Angeles is expanding its transit network with ambitious rail projects, bus lanes and bike infrastructure, aiming to reduce traffic congestion.
• State-level interventions are driving housing reforms, such as loosening zoning restrictions and incentivizing affordable housing, resulting in record-setting permits for new homes.
• Persistent challenges, including entrenched single-family zoning and insufficient housing permits, remain significant barriers to ending the city’s affordability crisis.

Why this matters:

By reducing car dependency and increasing housing availability, these reforms could improve health outcomes, reduce environmental impacts and serve as a model for sustainable urban growth across the U.S. As L.A. begins to stitch itself into a more compact, transit-friendly future, it’s offering a glimmer of hope for cities struggling with their own sprawl-driven woes.

Read more: Turning air pollution sufferers into experts in California’s Inland Empire.