Beyond Speculation
The current housing crisis is caused by speculative real estate and further perpetuated by a legal system that criminalizes poverty and deepens inequalities. This thesis examines the potential of community land ownership and the repurposing of surplus government property assets as a transformative approach to addressing housing affordability challenges and investing in social capital. The findings from this research inform the conceptualization of a mixed-use housing complex situated on the grounds of the former Los Angeles Police Department headquarters and current detention and dispatch center.
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Masters Thesis
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2024
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Veruska Vasconez, Joanna Lombard, Samuel Gonzalez
Demolished in 2019, the former LAPD Headquarters was the site of many LA protests
Reallocation of LAPD's $3.2 Billion budget to help fund the project's development while mutually benefiting other community services
As a city of infill, Los Angeles has little opportunity for large-scale projects to meet the demand for affordable housing, which makes surplus properties an attractive development solution. This map highlights all of LA’s vacant government-owned properties greater than 20,000 sq ft.
