Per an @latimes Op-ed, Urban Planner Michael Lens offers his perspectives on housing in LA. Despite investments in supportive housing and services, the number of Angelenos who struggle to stay housed has remained high with Black Angelenos are nearly seven times as likely to experience homelessness as the rest of L.A. County. A historical perspective on zoning density shows that LA used to be zoned for 10 million housing units until the 1980s, when we started limiting the number of housing units that could be built on parcels across the city. Now, our zoned capacity is down to about 4 million housing units. Recent California laws removing restrictions to building are a start - however in his opinion, if we don’t build more housing of all types including market-rate, we are sustaining homelessness, not solving it. ⠀ What are your thoughts on some of the recent loosening of restrictions on building such as increasing density in neighborhoods and zoning for Accessory Dwelling Units? Do you think focusing on building any housing we can will help the housing affordability crisis? ⠀ ⠀ #losangeles #homelessness #skidrow #losangelesmission #lamission #weareheretohelp #california #housingmarketupdate