Shoup’s New Book Is Reviewed by Planetizen

/0 Comments/in /by

“Parking and the City,” a follow-up to Don Shoup’s 2005 publication, “The High Cost of Free Parking” was reviewed recently on the planning-related Planetizen website. “More than just providing an abridged version of ‘The High Cost of Free Parking,’ however, ‘Parking and the City’ passes the torch of parking reform to a new generation of academics, professional planners, and transportation engineers,” writes reviewer James Brasuell. Of the nearly 50 book contributors, 11 are former UCLA Luskin Urban Planning master’s and doctoral students. Meanwhile, other media outlets continue to cite Shoup’s research in stories about the subsidization of parking by cities, including a recent opinion piece by Bloomberg.

Read the review
Read the Bloomberg story

 

In Op-Ed, Gilens Cites 5 Reforms for Broken Policymaking in Washington

/0 Comments/in /by

In an opinion piece for the political news website The Hill, UCLA Luskin’s Martin Gilens, professor of public policy, joins co-author Benjamin I. Page of Northwestern University in proposing a set of reforms that would actually increase democratic responsiveness. They say their research indicates that the most important and most promising changes fall into five groups: 1. Give equal political voice to all citizens; 2. Curb the political power of money; 3. Democratize the electoral process; 4. Improve House and Senate representation of all citizens; 5. Overcome remaining sources of gridlock.

Read the article

 

Taylor Weighs In on the Broken Dreams of Bedroom Communities

/0 Comments/in /by

UCLA Luskin’s Brian Taylor lent his expertise in housing and transportation to a KPCC story on the broken dreams of America’s mid-century suburbs. The story focused on Lakewood, a bedroom community that epitomized the good life in California when it was developed in the 1950s. Since then, nearby industries have collapsed and traffic congestion has become acute. “We don’t build the housing we need, then we have huge ramp-ups in housing costs, which has big economic impacts and means people often live much farther from where they would like to, which makes the traffic worse,” said Taylor, professor of urban planning and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies. What California needs, he said, is more housing in areas closer to jobs, rather than the exurban sprawl that has compounded the problem. The story also aired on American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” beginning at the 9-minute mark.

Read the story

 

Diaz Comments on Latino Voting Trends in California

/0 Comments/in /by

Sonja Diaz, founding director of the Latino Policy & Politics Initiative, commented on Latino voting trends after the California primary election during a KNX radio broadcast. Latino voters appeared to have “bucked the trend and turned in ballots in big numbers” — becoming supermajorities in some precincts — especially in Orange County, according to the report. “In Orange County we see surges in the number of ballots cast in the most heavily Latino precincts and these surges range from 10 percent to upwards of 245 percent over the ballots cast in June 2014,” Diaz said.

Listen online

 

Leap Refutes Trump’s Claim that ICE Liberated Towns from MS-13

/0 Comments/in /by

The tweets of Donald Trump are not known for factual accuracy, and Jorja Leap of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare told PolitiFact that his recent claims about ICE “liberating” towns from MS-13 and other gangs are an “outrageous” example of his tendency to exaggerate. “This is hyperbolic and misleading language,” said Leap, who is also director of the Health and Social Justice Partnership at UCLA Luskin. “Liberation is usually the terminology of military forces — as in, the Allies liberated France from the Nazis.”

Read the story

 

Pierce Joins Radio Show to Discuss Discolored Drinking Water in Compton

/0 Comments/in /by

Luskin Center for Innovation researcher Gregory Pierce commented in a recent KPCC “Take Two” broadcast about a lawsuit filed by Compton residents complaining about discolored drinking water supplied by Sativa, a small local water district serving the area. “Part of the issue for Sativa is actually that it hasn’t yet violated the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards. It’s much easier for the state or the county to dissolve the system or try to consolidate a system when it has repeatedly violated those standards,” Pierce says in the segment that begins at the 17:19-minute mark. “But the larger issue is that once a system is set up and the state or county wants to dissolve it, the big obstacle is that, oftentimes, there is no one else to take on that system.”

Listen online

 

Lens Is Interviewed About Expo Line Upzoning

/0 Comments/in /by

In an on-air interview for the “Take Two” program on KPCC, UCLA Luskin’s Michael Lens talked about L.A.’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM), which has recommended that the City Council adopt a proposal to re-zone property along the Expo Line. “Upzoning” the transportation corridor could mean taller, more dense housing units. Although upzoning isn’t always popular, it can lower the cost of housing through supply and demand economics. To listen to Lens’ interview, scrub forward to the 12:45-minute mark of the show.

Listen online

 

Parking Is Sexy Now. Thank Donald Shoup

/0 Comments/in /by

A CITYLAB profile of Donald Shoup, distinguished research professor emeritus of urban planning, highlights his career studying parking in the U.S. and his most recent book on the subject, “Parking and the City,” published this year. “It’s been 13 years since my first book, and I think people are surprised by how many cities have been persuaded to follow the recommendations,” said Shoup, referring to his “revolutionary” 2005 book, “The High Cost of Free Parking.” “I’m very happy people are beginning to see the huge benefits of getting parking right.” Shoup also spoke about his new book in a recent KPCC “Take Two” radio segment.

Read the story

 

S.F. Chronicle: Trump Is Exaggerating Threat of MS-13, Leap Says

/0 Comments/in /by

In its coverage of the Trump administration’s claims that its policies prevent members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 from entering the United States to commit crimes, the Chronicle turned to Jorja Leap of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare, who has studied MS-13 and other gangs. In reality, MS-13’s threat in Los Angeles, where the gang was born three decades ago, “is probably the lowest it has ever been,” Leap said. Constantly citing the danger of MS-13, as Trump has done, could backfire, helping MS-13 in recruiting. Leap said, “Along with being erroneous, he is giving them oxygen. Donald Trump is acting as a one-man publicity band for MS-13.” Leap also contributed to a recent visual storytelling piece about MS-13 by the New York Times. And she previously spoke to the L.A. Daily News about the search of a new Los Angeles police chief.

Read the story