Lens on Zoning Changes in Minneapolis

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Michael Lens, UCLA Luskin professor of urban planning and public policy, commented in a Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder article on Minneapolis’ progress over the past 14 years to end a longtime policy of exclusionary single-family zoning, which “perpetuates segregation by race and class,” Lens said. He explained, “Multi-family housing, particularly in higher-income neighborhoods in cities with high housing demand, is often more affordable for people than single-family homes.” Over more than a decade, the city has dedicated half of its construction projects, more than $1 billion in construction value, to affordable housing, according to the story. Relaxed zoning laws, part of the city’s 2040 plan, allows duplexes and triplexes to be built in residential areas as well as promote denser development near transit. The changes are intended to increase affordable housing in areas historically subject to exclusionary zoning practices, including business corridors, to provide better access to housing near jobs and services.

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On the Scale of Loss in Altadena and Pacific Palisades

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In the wake of the Los Angeles fires, UCLA Luskin’s Paul Ong provided historical perspective to underscore the scale of loss in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge spoke to CBS Evening News about the thriving Black community that had found a haven in Altadena since the mid-20th century. After the Eaton Fire’s devastation, “Altadena is a litmus test about how committed we are to racial justice,” Ong said. “And I have high hopes that we will respond. But I also have late-night nightmares that things won’t happen the way we want it to happen.” Ong also spoke to the Los Angeles Times for a piece about one of the first Black homeowners in the Pacific Palisades, a single woman who purchased her house in 1967. In 1970, according to Ong’s data analysis, about 20,000 Black women owned homes in Los Angeles County, fewer than 2% of all homeowners in the county, and most would have, at some point, had a man’s name on the mortgage. “Single Black female homeowners were very rare,” he said.

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Abrams on the Decline of Juvenile Incarceration in the United States

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Laura Abrams, professor of social welfare at UCLA Luskin, was a guest on a KQED Forum broadcast on the significant decline in juvenile incarceration from 2000-2020 in the United States. Abrams was part of an expert panel discussing shifts in the juvenile justice system and what has been learned about youth crime and incarceration during that time period. There is no one solution, magic or panacea, she pointed out. “Does treatment always work? No. Does punishment work? Not usually on its own,” said the author of two books on the subject: Everyday Desistance: The Transition to Adulthood Among Formerly Incarcerated Youth (2017) and Compassionate Confinement: A Year in the Life of Unit C (2013). “The goal here is to reduce the harmful effects and still promote accountability and have a system rooted in care and compassion for the young people in the system to help mitigate some of the detrimental effects,” she said.

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An Alternative for Funding California’s Road Repairs

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Professor and chair of UCLA Luskin Urban Planning Michael Manville commented in an ABC10 story about a California funding method for road repairs that would have drivers pay based on the miles they drive. The so-called road charge method, if it becomes a reality, would require a monthly fee similar to how public utilities are paid. The system would be an alternative to the current gas tax as California aims to transition to a carbon-emissions-free future. Manville noted that gas tax revenues have declined due to increased use of more fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles. “What that’s led to is this idea that we could charge per mile driving, which of course is such a big change,” he said. Advantages of the current gas tax include low administrative costs, and “anyone who buys gas pays [the gas tax]; it doesn’t matter where they live or if you know anything about their car,” Manville said.

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Leap Discusses Altruism and Cynicism Amid Disaster

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Jorja Leap, adjunct professor of social welfare at UCLA Luskin, commented in a Fast Company story exploring why communities, individuals and even complete strangers come together in times of crisis. Leap was among experts consulted about the social psychology related to collective trauma events and mass tragedies that may explain the impulse for altruism and empathy, or “altruism born of suffering.” A more complicated question is whether the same feeling of empathy and good will persists after a collective trauma such as Los Angeles’ recent fires. At the same time, said Leap, “American mainstream society is about rugged individualism … so people are expected to make it on their own,” pointing out that while disasters can bring people together, it may be accompanied by cynicism. “We may be incredibly altruistic and responsive and then incredibly cynical, and sometimes that cynicism is self-protective. I really believe that cynicism is just cover-up for fear,” Leap said.

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Jacoby on Compensation for California’s Top-Paid Employees

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Sanford Jacoby, distinguished research professor of management, public policy and history, commented in a Sacramento Bee story on the most recent salary data released from the State Controller’s Office showing that the number of million-dollar-plus-earning civil servants has increased in recent years. The story notes that among the highest paid employees, a number come from the state’s two public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS. While recognizing that the compensation for these employees is high, Jacoby said that similar positions on Wall Street “are much, much higher,” explaining that CalPERS, for example, is the largest public pension fund in the country with more than $5 billion in assets. In addition, he said, public pension funds also have to contend with the private sector poaching investment professionals, offering more generous salaries. “There’s a labor market, and if a fund ignores it, there’s a bigger chance it will have more mediocre financial results.”

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Peterson on the Struggle to Provide Mental Health Care

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Mark A. Peterson, professor of public policy at UCLA Luskin, commented in a California Healthline article about problems state health care providers are experiencing in delivering adequate mental health care to their patients. The article focuses on Kaiser Permanente but notes that the state’s largest commercial health care plan is not alone among health plans experiencing a shortage of health care workers coupled with preexisting scarcity. Other problems include therapists declining to contract with insurers and a persistent bias in the health care system against mental health services and patients. Peterson, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, with appointments in political science, health policy and management, and law, said that the “open-ended nature of therapy” can be in conflict with health care plans’ focus on their bottom lines. For insurers, Peterson said, the question is, “How do you put an appropriate limit on that?”

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Abrams on Promoting Justice for Troubled Youth

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A Social Work Advocates article on efforts to help youth navigate the juvenile justice system cited Laura Abrams, professor of social welfare at UCLA Luskin. At universities around the country, social workers are being trained in more holistic strategies and practices to advocate for troubled youth. One role of school social workers is helping youth on probation or who are reentering their community following incarceration to “get readmitted into schools and to feel safe there,” said Abrams, who herself was a school social worker while getting her MSW. California recently closed its major youth correctional facilities, and Abrams’ current research is focused on “how counties can receive some of those young people and have the right types of institutions and rehabilitation programs.” She is also studying the experiences of about 1,000 people who were sentenced as teenagers to life without parole but were ultimately released. Social Work Advocates is a publication of the National Association of Social Workers.

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Armenta on Congress’ New Immigration Bills

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Amada Armenta, associate professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin, commented in a Newsweek story on immigration bills introduced by House Republicans. The bills follow a number of immigration-related executive orders issued by President Trump, and focus on securing the southwest border and addressing immigrants who may be violent criminals. The legislation does not seek overall reform to a complex system that has not seen major changes in at least 30 years, according to the story. “For over three decades, Congress has led with enforcement-only approaches to immigration policy rather than common sense legislation,” said Armenta, faculty director at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. She added that reform would “require acknowledging that immigrants, including millions who are here without a legal immigration status, make tremendous and unacknowledged contributions to society and are crucial to numerous industries in the U.S. economy.” Given the political messaging, she said, “I’m not optimistic.”

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Peterson on Move to Freeze Federal Spending

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Mark A. Peterson, professor of public policy at UCLA Luskin, commented in a Los Angeles Times article on a Trump administration memo ordering a halt to an array of federal financial aid and spending programs. A federal judge blocked the order, finding that it could potentially cause “irreparable harm” to Americans, and several states and nonprofits launched challenges. Subsequently, the administration revoked the directive. The original memo was without precedent and left “extreme ambiguity as to what it affects and how it applies,” or how long it applies, said Peterson, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research who also holds appointments in political science, health policy and management, and law. “Anything that has … the aroma of dealing with equity or inclusion issues could be put under threat,” Peterson said, adding, “there’s so much misunderstanding about what those issues are.”

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