On the Clear, Practical and Revolutionary Work of Don Shoup

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Donald Shoup’s travels down paths that other academics overlooked have profoundly changed the way we understand cities, and inspired a viable movement to improve them. That’s the message of an essay published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research that offers a personal glimpse into the life and scholarship of Shoup, the distinguished professor whose research has shed light on the consequences of misguided parking policies. The essay is written by Michael Manville, his colleague on the UCLA Luskin Urban Planning faculty, who describes Shoup as the unique academic who offers practical, specific solutions to policy puzzles. His work has led to a “monumental act of reform” in California, a new law abolishing parking requirements within half a mile of transit. “What truly sets Don apart is his relentless pursuit of clarity,” Manville writes. “Don has shown that when we give people knowledge, they will use it, and the world will, in small steps, get better.” 

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Yaroslavsky on Standing Up Against Hate

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Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke with KPCC’s “AirTalk” about a new report on hate crimes in Los Angeles County. In 2021, the number of reported hate crimes rose from 641 to 786, the highest since 2002, according to the county’s Commission on Human Relations. The most targeted groups were the Black, LGBTQ, Latino and Jewish communities. Yaroslavsky said public officials must use their positions of authority to stand up against hate. “You speak up. You make it socially unacceptable to behave in bigoted ways, not just antisemitism but racism, sexism, homophobia,” said Yaroslavsky, who served as a Los Angeles councilman and supervisor for 40 years. “One of the most important roles an elected official can perform is to set the bar high when it comes to human relations, and to give no quarter to anyone who advocates persecution, who traffics in bigotry and antisemitic or racist tropes.”

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Manville on Proven Strategies to Improve Transportation

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News outlets from around the country turn to Michael Manville, associate professor of urban planning, for insight into transit and land use issues. Manville spoke to the Los Angeles Times about a question Mayor Karen Bass must consider: Should train and bus rides be free? History shows that this strategy to increase ridership on public transit can work, Manville said. In the San Diego region, a $160-billion plan to expand the rail system includes road charges that will levy a per-mile fee on drivers. “If you design the road-user charge correctly, some of the biggest beneficiaries will be drivers,” Manville told the San Diego Union-Tribune. In Kentucky, an attempt to ease congestion by adding lanes to highways is misguided, he said. “The typical highway widening project has costs that exceed its benefits and probably shouldn’t be done,” Manville told Louisville Public Media, noting that adding tolls is the only proven way to consistently reduce congestion.

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Read the Union-Tribune article
Read the Louisville Public Media article

 

Vestal on Whether Access to Housing Will Become a Fundamental Right

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In a YES! magazine story profiling the activities of the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU), UCLA Luskin’s Marques Vestal talks about the long-term impact of the pandemic and whether it will lead to changes in housing access. The assistant professor of urban planning and critical Black urbanism at UCLA is also a member of LATU. He says it remains to be seen whether the public will accept “going back to normal” or instead back mass movements that demand that housing be treated as a fundamental right. “That’s what’s going to give a future political movement of tenants that’s happening in the country right now longevity,” Vestal said.

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Matute on Debate Over Transportation and Climate Goals in California

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Juan Matute, deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, is quoted in a San Diego Union-Tribune article about the future of transportation in California in light of a state plan to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035. State leaders, researchers and proponents of various modes of transportation continue to debate solutions to meet California’s climate goals. Energy demand is expected to grow with increased heatwaves and electrification of everything from cars to households, and experts contend that converting to electric cars alone will not be enough. Phasing out fossil fuels; the use of clean autonomous vehicles, trains and buses; wind and solar power; as well as promoting dense, walkable neighborhoods are all part of the debate. “If you don’t change development patterns, you end up having more power generation, including delaying retiring existing natural gas plants to accommodate the switch to electric vehicles,” Matute said.

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A Historic Leadership Transition in L.A.

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Media covering the swearing-in of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spoke to experts from UCLA Luskin about the historic leadership transition. “Los Angeles is a city at a crossroads,” Sonja Diaz, executive director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, told the Washington Post, noting that Bass must deal with great increases in housing insecurity, food insecurity and economy inequality. Michael Lens, associate professor of urban planning and public policy, spoke to LAist about hurdles Bass is likely to face, including resistance to zoning changes that could ease construction of various types of housing. And Jim Newton, editor of UCLA’s Blueprint magazine, wrote a CalMatters commentary about Bass’ tenure as a test for Democrats in California and nationally. Newton also spoke to KPCC’s AirTalk about the historic arc of Los Angeles’ mayors, their scope of authority and leadership styles.

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Read the LAist article
Read the CalMatters commentary
Listen to the AirTalk interview

 

Manville Says Removing Parking Mandate Will Bolster State’s Affordable Housing Stock

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Michael Manville, associate professor of urban planning, writes about California’s recent reduction of parking requirements at many housing developments in the November newsletter about real estate and economic issues distributed by UCLA Anderson Forecast and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. He says that Assembly Bill 2097 is an important step in addressing how parking mandates undermine housing affordability and encourage people to drive more, while discouraging them from walking or using public transit. AB 2097 is unlikely to result in a wave of new housing being built without parking. Instead, eliminating mandatory parking requirements will allow for housing to be built on some parcels where it would have previously been infeasible. “Losing a few housing units here and there, or even the occasional parcel, may not seem like a big deal,” Manville writes. “Multiplied over many years and many thousands of parcels, however, these small losses add up.”

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Torres-Gil on Retirement Security for Latinas

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A New York Times story on efforts to equip Latinas to save for retirement cited Fernando Torres-Gil, professor of social welfare and public policy. Latinas, who are among the longest-living yet lowest-earning groups in America, have faced challenges ensuring that their later years are financially secure. But that trend is changing, in part due to an increasing number of Hispanic women who are entering higher education. “They’re recognizing that they have to depend on themselves first, and they’re far more likely than previous cohorts to invest or have access to 401(k)s,” said Torres-Gil, an authority on demographics, disability and the politics of aging. He teaches his students that social programs meant to lift women out of poverty are essential. “We have to reinforce for them the critical importance of keeping Social Security,” he said. “Because a lot of them know it’s important for their elders, but they don’t think they’ll ever see a check themselves.”

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Tilly on Costco’s Labor Policy

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Urban Planning chair Chris Tilly appeared on Yahoo Finance Live to discuss Costco’s labor policy and the impact of the Teamsters Union reaching a contract with the big-box retailer. Tilly was asked about the increasing pressure on Costco as some competitors raise employee benefits — and prices — to try to be more competitive. “I think that there’s two sources of pressure. One is, in fact, that competitor pressure,” Tilly said. “Nonetheless, there’s also a source of pressure because as inflation goes up, workers’ expenses go up. And Costco has to keep pace with that.” As an example, Tilly explained that, during negotiations, Costco offered a settlement that workers turned down in August, threatening to go on strike. “And so I think that’s the other source of pressure. And that’s going to continue, both because inflation is continuing and because right now the worker shortage is continuing.”

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Miyashita Ochoa on Outdated Blood Donation Restrictions

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Social Welfare faculty member Ayako Miyashita Ochoa spoke to ABC News about prospects that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will update its blood donation policy, which restricts participation by some members of the LGBTQ community. The policy has evolved over the years. In 1985, the FDA banned all donations from men who have sex with men in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Today, donations are accepted from gay and bisexual men who abstain from sex for 90 days. If a policy change is implemented, gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will be able to donate without abstaining from sex. Implementing the change would help battle stigma and address future blood shortages. Research by Miyashita Ochoa found that eliminating the ban could increase the donation supply by 2% to 4%, bringing in more than 615,000 pints of blood every year. “That isn’t a small amount,” she said. “That 2 to 4% count is roughly calculated to a million lives saved.”

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