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Shield House is just one example of “permitted development”. It is an outcome of a government experiment in deregulation, which allows homes to be made out of old offices and shops without planning permission, that has been going on for some years. An estimated 65,000 flats have been made in this way. — The Guardian
The Observer's architecture critic Rowan Moore highlights in his latest Guardian piece the failed outcome of a government program that seeks to speed up the conversion of old commercial properties into residential spaces. "The experiment has been catastrophic in several significant respects, but... View full entry
Lehrer Architects' latest project, the Aetna Bridge Home was opened this week by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as part of the city's A Bridge Home initiative. The design team converted an under-utilized quarter-acre parking lot into a vibrant 70+ bed facility for homeless Angelenos. With a... View full entry
The Berkeley City Council has voted to create a new city-run homeless encampment to help provide a safe and clean place for some of the city's unhoused residents to live temporarily. According to a report from Curbed, the measure was supported by a majority of the City Councilmembers and... View full entry
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson told Mayor Eric Garcetti in a letter last Thursday that Trump officials are prepared to offer Los Angeles an array of resources, including emergency healthcare services and federal land.
However, Carson also suggested in his letter that the government expects changes from L.A. in how it manages homelessness...he wrote, “the city and county of Los Angeles must partner with our efforts and make necessary policy changes.”
— Los Angeles Times
The offer follows recent talks between senior Trump administration officials, Mayor Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, reports the Los Angeles Times. It includes potential provision of emergency healthcare services, supplemental emergency shelters and transitional... View full entry
In Finland, the number of homeless people has decreased significantly. The reason: The country applies the "Housing First" concept. Those affected receive - without prerequisite - a small apartment and advice. 4 out of 5 affected people create the path to a stable life. And: It is cheaper for the state than homelessness. — kontrast.at
While local and federal governing bodies across the country have tried to implement plans to "end homelessness" with little in terms of success, something seems to be working in Finland. According to a report by Kathrin Glöse of Kontrast, "in 2008 the Finnish government adopted a new policy... View full entry
A new lawsuit aims to halt the construction of a homeless shelter in Griffith Park, arguing that Los Angeles officials skirted city and state rules when they approved the project on a Riverside Drive parking lot...
In the lawsuit, the group [Friends of Waverly Inc.] asserts that Los Angeles officials abused their discretion when they granted the planned shelter an emergency exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act.
— Los Angeles Times
According to the Los Angeles Times the lawsuit "argues that the city skipped necessary hearings for the project, flouting the city charter and ignoring the rights of nearby property owners." The $6.6-million project is due to include a 10,800-square-foot building with around... View full entry
Citing the need to act quickly to get homeless Californians off the streets, Gov. Gavin Newsom will ask lawmakers this week to allocate more than $1.4 billion to a variety of local and state-run efforts, with much of the money earmarked as subsidies for immediate housing and community healthcare services. — Los Angeles Times
The $1.4 billion will be used to pay for monthly rents, construct shelters, and provide treatment to those in need. “Homelessness is a national crisis, one that’s spreading across the West Coast and cities across the country,” Newsom said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles... View full entry
At the direction of Mayor Jenny Durkan, the city’s Human Services Department is studying the possibility of mandatory biometric screening of homeless shelter and service clients, using fingerprints or other biometric markers to track the city’s homeless population as they move through the homelessness system. — C is for Crank
Independent journalist Erica Barnett reports on an ongoing study being undertaken by municipal officials in Seattle, where efforts to resolve the city's ongoing homelessness crisis could include using biometric tracking systems to log how individuals make use of public services. View full entry
An Oakland City Council member’s plan to house up to 1,000 homeless people on a cruise ship in the bay could actually set sail.
Because the International Maritime Organization is imposing more stringent emissions regulations in 2020, and some ships won’t be able to upgrade their engines to the new standards in time...Instead, they could dock them at the Port of Oakland or a private dock and plug into electricity...
— East Bay Times
Led by City Council president Rebecca Kaplan, the plan seeks to create affordable housing through a creative approach grounded in history. According to the East Bay Times, ships were used to house relief workers responding to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas this past September; FEMA chartered... View full entry
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an initiative Tuesday that promised to “end long-term street homelessness as we know it” by bringing thousands of people off of the streets and into permanent or transitional housing within five years. [...]
The city plans to spend an estimated $120 million next year on the plan, which will create 1,000 new permanent apartments.
— The Wall Street Journal
The mayor's office has outlined de Blasio's latest plan to house the estimated 3,600 homeless people currently living on New York City streets — a fraction of the city's total homeless population of 80,000 — in the action plan The Journey Home. We’re announcing a plan to END... View full entry
New Story, a non-profit pioneering solutions to end global homelessness, in partnership with Mexico-based ÉCHALE, have announced "the world's first 3D-printed community" in Mexico. The first set of homes have been revealed. Each coming in at 500 square feet, the innovative structures were printed... View full entry
By early next year [UnitedHealth Group] expects to house 350 homeless Medicaid patients whose annual health-care spending, while they’re on the streets, exceeds $17 million. The goal is for them to “graduate” within a year to paying their own rent. — Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek profiles UnitedHealth Group's efforts to reign in healthcare costs by providing high-cost patients with housing. The approach comes as the connections between a lack of housing and extreme healthcare costs come into sharper relief between these adjacent industries. The... View full entry
The Denver City Council voted Monday night to approve changes to the city’s zoning code to help welcome temporary tiny home villages hoping to use vacant land to help address homelessness...The city voted to approve the Beloved Community Village. According to the release, it was Denver’s first temporary tiny home village and is a successful pilot of using tiny homes to help vulnerable or marginalized residents aiming to find permanent homes. — FOX
"In residential zone districts, these villages must be located on the grounds of a public, civic or institutional use, such as a school, church or community center," Fox reports. The tiny home villages will be able to remain in these locations temporarily for up to four years, it is a creative... View full entry
The Trump administration officials who came to town to study homelessness spent Monday and Tuesday meeting with officials from Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, checking out the Jordan Downs public housing in Watts and touring the long-entrenched epicenter of the crisis, skid row. There was even a trek to Pomona.
An administration official said the purpose was to gather information so that President Trump could begin to develop a plan to address the “tragedy.”
— The Los Angeles Times
The tour comes as the Trump Administration's controversial Opportunity Zones program designed to funnel investment to underserved areas gains steam and as the administration potentially looks to rewrite "regulatory barriers" for affordable housing projects nationwide. According to... View full entry
As New York grapples with its constant demand for public spaces, some residents are objecting to the restrictive and exclusionary designs and policies that they say reflect an increasingly hostile city. And as more developers build amenities in exchange for greater density, there is increased scrutiny on what passes for free and open public spaces. — Gothamist
The implications for hostile architecture are often presented as subtle design solutions that can aide the public from unwanted city disturbances. However, many individuals are beginning to notice these design efforts to become politically driven initiatives for controlling people... View full entry