Uncovering Climate Hazards in California’s Prisons

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A San Francisco Chronicle article highlighted research by UCLA Luskin master of public policy students who found that California’s prison system is not prepared to respond to climate emergencies that threaten the well-being of the state’s incarcerated population. Their report, produced on behalf of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, used a mixed methods approach that included interviews with experts, a spatial analysis and a survey of nearly 600 currently incarcerated people in all 34 of California’s prison facilities. The study found evidence of power outages and generator failures, a lack of shade in outdoor spaces, and a lack of access to air-conditioned spaces or heated facilities during extreme weather events. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said they experienced heat exhaustion while incarcerated. The researchers, MPP ’23 graduates Aishah Abdala, Abhilasha Bhola, Guadalupe Gutierrez, Eric Henderson and Maura O’Neill, offered a series of policy recommendations aimed at keeping incarcerated people safe, protecting taxpayer interests and ensuring that government institutions are held accountable.

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Cohen on Coerced Care That ‘Retraumatizes People Who Have Often Been Traumatized’

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UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor David Cohen spoke to PBS NewsHour about new laws and policies that would make it easier to detain or hospitalize the severely mentally ill against their will. In California, mental health emergencies combined with a rise in homelessness have set the stage for Senate Bill 42, which would allow the state to compel more mentally ill patients into care. However, said Cohen, there is not much data on the success of forced mental health treatment, which “retraumatizes people who have often been traumatized.” People suffering from serious mental illness may need a form of asylum, but one that’s voluntary, he added. “We do need a place for people who can’t take care of themselves,” Cohen said. “What is asylum? It’s shelter. It’s space. It’s books. It’s drugs, if they want them. Probably, 80% of it is just finding shelter for people.” The PBS NewsHour segment on coerced care begins at minute 30.

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Managing Extreme Heat as a New School Year Begins

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NBC News spoke to V. Kelly Turner, associate director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI), about the impact of soaring temperatures on students as the new school year begins. “Children’s bodies are not the same as adults. They are more vulnerable to extreme heat,” Turner said. “If kids don’t feel well or are angry or can’t concentrate, then of course they won’t test well.” She added, “Extreme heat is our new reality. Hot seasons will be longer and more intense, and for many children, school is the only place with air conditioning.” In a separate interview with the Los Angeles affiliate NBC4, Turner said that California lacks a statewide reporting system to track how K-12 schools experience heat, including which campuses have functioning cooling systems. The recent LCI policy brief Protecting Californians With Heat-Resilient Schools offers guidance on how to prioritize heat management on campuses, including through the establishment of a statewide indoor temperature limit.

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‘We Were Prepared and, as a Result, We Made Our Own Luck’

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The New York Times checked in with Los Angeles civic leader Zev Yaroslavsky to discuss the impact of Tropical Storm Hilary, which broke records for August rainfall in Southern California but did not cause catastrophic damage or large-scale loss of life. In some communities, emergency workers were dispatched to ferry people to safety, and crews responded to reports of fallen trees, potholes and downed power lines, along with flooding and mudflows that cut off roads. But officials generally expressed relief that things were not much worse. “I can’t remember a major storm in which we had no fatalities,” said Yaroslavsky, a former Los Angeles county supervisor and city councilman who now directs the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin. “We were prepared and, as a result, we made our own luck.”

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Kaplan on Rising Rate of Suicide in Older Americans

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Mark Kaplan, professor emeritus of social welfare at UCLA Luskin, joined a KCBS Radio broadcast on the increase in suicides nationwide, especially for those ages 45 to 64. Last year, more people than ever died by suicide in the U.S., with a significant increase for that age group, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kaplan noted that from 2000 to 2018 there was a 37% increase in national suicide rates for men and women of all ages. Despite a drop seen between 2018 and 2020, a reversal followed, said Kaplan, “so long-term trends don’t look very good.” He added, “The suicide rate increases especially for men. It goes up as you get older. … So perhaps the population that deserves to be looked at with a closer lens is the older adult group.”

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Loukaitou-Sideris on Transit-Oriented Development and Displacement

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Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, interim dean of UCLA Luskin, appeared on the CitySCOPE podcast to discuss the benefits and unintended consequences of transit-oriented development. Denser development around transit hubs can help accommodate a city’s growth while meeting mobility and sustainability goals. Yet Loukaitou-Sideris’ research also shows that transforming these neighborhoods can have a negative impact on longtime residents. These risks “should be a red flag for planners and policymakers to be able to protect these neighborhoods from the risk of gentrification and displacement,” she said. Over two episodes of the podcast, Loukaitou-Sideris and research partner Karen Chapple of UC Berkeley shared findings from their book, “Transit Oriented Displacement or Community Dividends? Understanding the Effects of Smarter Growth on Communities.” They discussed topics including the heightened risk of displacement experienced by communities of color, the commercial and cultural gentrification that takes place when mom-and-pop stores lose their leases, and instances when grassroots local opposition has succeeded in holding back gentrifying forces.

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On the Benefits and Challenges of Going Car-Less in L.A.

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A Los Angeles Times article on the benefits and challenges of going car-less in Los Angeles cited UCLA Luskin urban planning experts Evelyn Blumenberg and Michael Manville. Going without a car is a choice for some and a necessity for many who cannot afford car payments, insurance and gas. Blumenberg, director of the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, has conducted research showing that car ownership can have enormous benefits for low-income people. “Just imagine even looking for a job, right?” Blumenberg said. “Going to multiple destinations, trying to figure it out, going to interviews, all of that. … It’s very difficult to do without an automobile.” Manville, chair of UCLA Luskin Urban Planning, pointed to the trade-off between efficiency and equity in transportation and called for “policies that convince the majority of us to just drive a little bit less, while allowing some people who right now have legitimately constrained mobility to drive a little bit more.”

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Astor on Clashing Strategies for Making Schools Safer

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UCLA Luskin school safety expert Ron Avi Astor spoke to USA Today about dueling strategies for addressing gun violence on campus. Many schools have increased the presence of police officers and metal detectors, while others prioritize social-emotional learning, which teaches students self-awareness, empathy and resilience. “You have these two genres – the zero-tolerance policies and making each school look like a little prison on one side. Ironically, you have – at the same time – the opposite vision of making school a more loving and caring and supportive place,” said Astor, a professor of social welfare and education. Tapping into both methods at once may create an atmosphere that is confusing to students, he said, recommending that schools adopt a single, consistent approach. Astor added that rates of bullying, fights and drug use in schools have significantly decreased over the past 20 years, largely due to a stronger connection to community resources, the hiring of more social workers and prioritization of student empowerment.

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Segura on Expanding Representation and Accountability in L.A.

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News outlets covering testimony before the L.A. City Council’s ad hoc committee on government reform carried the comments of Gary Segura, professor of public policy at UCLA Luskin. Segura is co-chair of the L.A. Governance Reform Project, a group of university scholars drafting recommendations to increase transparency and accountability at L.A. City Hall. A preliminary report from the project called for several reforms, including the creation of 10 additional City Council seats for a total of 25, including four at-large seats. “The purpose of that was to have an additional cohort of members of the council who had a citywide constituency and therefore were interested in advancing the interests of everyone in the city,” Segura said. He added that the Governance Reform Project is continuing research into the value of at-large seats and conducting further conversations with community-based organizations and members of the voting rights community. The group expects to issue its final report in November.

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A Cautionary Note on the Easing of Water Restrictions

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Gregory Pierce, co-executive director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the easing of water conservation orders by the L.A. Department of Water and Power. The DWP’s 4 million customers may now water their outdoor landscapes on three days a week, up from two days, thanks to a wet winter that replenished reservoirs that had been drained amid drought. Pierce said the DWP’s action is “reasonable as a short-term measure,” but he cautioned that residents should prepare to be flexible as global conditions grow hotter and drier. “I would prefer if the language were more like, two days is what you should expect — it’s going to be more common in the future — but we can allow three in the short-term because of this unusual water year,” said Pierce, who directs the UCLA Human Right to Water Solutions Lab. “I’d prefer the framing of two days as default, three as exceptional.”

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