UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge Report Highlights Surge in Non-Criminal Immigration Arrests in Washington State New report documents rising arrests of non-criminal immigrants and disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities

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A new analysis from The Seattle Times shows that immigration enforcement in Washington state shifted significantly during Donald Trump’s presidency. Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grew more aggressive, with an uptick in people detained who had no criminal record. Data reveals that while deportations declined nationwide in recent years, the share of arrests in Washington involving individuals without prior convictions rose sharply, heightening fears within immigrant communities. Advocates warn that such tactics have lasting impacts on public safety and family stability.

The UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge contributed crucial data to the report, offering a detailed breakdown of arrest patterns and demographic impacts. Their analysis helped quantify how enforcement priorities changed under the Trump administration and illuminated disproportionate effects on certain immigrant groups in Washington. By mapping these shifts, UCLA CNK’s research provided a factual foundation for understanding how federal policy translated into local consequences.

Jorja Leap on Building Trust and Lasting Change in Watts 60 Years After the Riots Leap underscores the need for genuine respect and trust-building, rather than symbolic gestures alone.

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Nearly six decades after the 1965 Watts Riots, sparked by a routine traffic stop that spiraled into six days of violence and civil unrest, the South Los Angeles community has seen pockets of progress, from improved healthcare access to innovative community policing efforts. Yet, for many residents, deep challenges remain: fragile trust with law enforcement, persistent violence, and limited pathways to economic opportunity.

While demographics have shifted and some progress has been made, Watts continues to struggle with issues of poverty and underfunding, with local leaders emphasizing that real change requires sustained public investment,

UCLA Luskin social welfare professor Jorja Leap, who is on the board of the Watts Gang Task Force and Chair the Research and Evaluation Center, stresses that meaningful progress in Watts requires far more than community events like National Night Out or youth outings organized by law enforcement. For there to be meaningful change, “the LAPD and the Sheriff’s Department have to stop being badge-heavy,” Leap told the Los Angeles Daily News. “Day in and day out, they have to act as respectful partners. As long as we have people being stopped without cause, whether they are Black or Brown, we have a problem. And all the National Nights Out isn’t going to matter.”

Michael Manville Critiques L.A.’s Vision Zero: Progress ‘Incredibly Disappointing” Urban planning expert Michael Manville says Los Angeles’ Vision Zero traffic safety initiative has failed to deliver

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The Los Angeles Times article examines the harsh reality of implementation challenges for ambitious urban goals like phasing out gas-powered vehicles or becoming a fully interconnected Smart City. Most notably, the Vision Zero initiative—the city’s pledge to end traffic deaths by 2025—has stumbled amid funding shortfalls, political inertia, fragmented coordination, and a lack of accountability.

On Vision Zero’s failure, UCLA professor and chair of urban planning Michael Manville didn’t mince words: “Incredibly disappointing,” he said. “The city remains incredibly dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians.”

Despite these setbacks, Los Angeles has committed significant resources to Vision Zero. In the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the city approved a budget of $100 million for Vision Zero initiatives, including road redesigns, improved signage, and enhanced lighting in high-risk areas.

Rising Temperatures Cause Students to Underperform Across the World UCLA’s Edith de Guzman highlights how overheated classrooms are widening educational inequities.

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An article published in the Los Angeles Times quotes Edith de Guzman, a climate researcher at UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation, highlighting how rising temperatures are undermining students’ ability to learn—particularly in underserved communities. A comprehensive review, analyzing data from 14.5 million students across 61 countries, found that heat exposure reduces cognitive performance, especially in complex subjects like math. Even moderately warm days, between 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, impair students’ attention, memory, and focus.

Heat doesn’t affect all students equally. Black, Latino, and low-income students experience up to three to four times more learning loss from heat exposure compared to white and affluent peers. This disparity is largely due to inequalities in infrastructure—many under-resourced schools lack adequate air conditioning, shade, or green space, making classrooms unbearably hot during warmer months.

“As classroom temperatures rise over time — especially during extended heat waves or in schools with less shade, poorer insulation and lacking access to air conditioning — students tend to show declines in attention, memory and test performance,” said Edith de Guzman, a climate researcher at UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation. Heat can also affect students’ abilities to enjoy outdoor recreational activities, having serious effects on their physical, mental and social well-being, she said.

The study also found that these effects are cumulative, with heat exposure throughout the school year having a greater impact on learning than just exam-day temperatures. Simple solutions—such as air conditioning, improved ventilation, and increasing tree canopy around schools—can dramatically reduce heat-related learning loss. However, many schools lack the funding to implement these upgrades.

D.C. Tops L.A. for Worst Traffic in the U.S. in New Report Mike Manville explains how traffic congestion signals economic growth and how unregulated road access worsens it.

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According to a new MSN report based on Consumer Affairs data, Washington, D.C. now ranks as the city with the worst traffic in the U.S., overtaking Los Angeles.The average commute time in D.C. is 33.4 minutes, edging out L.A., which now holds the No. 2 spot. While Los Angeles still leads in total weekday congestion hours (7 hours and 51 minutes), D.C. follows closely with 6 hours and 35 minutes.

Experts suggest that increased congestion may indicate a thriving economy. Professor and chair of the urban planning department Michael Manville explains that areas with economic opportunity attract more residents, and keeps current residents because of opportunities.

“Because we don’t do anything to regulate access, the roads in an area with a booming economy become overloaded and congested,” Manville added.

The exact causes of D.C.’s worsening traffic remain uncertain but could include a return to office mandates under recent federal policies. In contrast, cities with the least traffic include Rochester, Salt Lake City, Cleveland, Hartford, and St. Louis.

Rebuilding for Resilience: Minjee Kim on Post-Fire Urban Planning In the Building Better Cities podcast, Minjee Kim discusses how the aftermath of L.A.’s wildfires presents a chance to reimagine recovery—through sustainable, equitable, and long-term urban planning.

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Dr. Minjee Kim, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin, was featured on the Building Better Cities podcast in the episode titled “Who Rebuilds LA? Planning Post-Fire Recovery with Dr. Minjee Kim.” In the wake of the devastating LA wildfires, Kim presents this disaster as an opportunity to rethink how cities rebuild with long-term resiliency in mind. “The L.A. fires presented the opportunity to think large scale,” she says. “I see the Los Angeles fires that happened as an opportunity to think about urban planning and development in the long term… in terms of resiliency and fire resiliency, but also in terms of what is a good sustainable form of urban development.”

In conversation with host Kate Gasparro, Kim discusses how post-disaster recovery can serve as a launchpad for long-term, equitable urban planning—if supported by the right governance structures. Drawing from her research and experience advising the L.A. County Blue Ribbon Commission on post-fire recovery, she explores potential models for regional redevelopment agencies, citing examples from San Francisco, New York City, and Cincinnati.

Minjee Kim Weighs In on the Rise of Gated Communities in the U.S. In a recent CNBC feature, Prof. Kim weighs on the growing rise of popularity in gated communities across America.

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Dr. Minjee Kim, assistant professor of urban planning, was featured in CNBC’s “Why Americans Keep Moving Into Gated Communities,” which aired on July 18. The segment explores the growing trend of Americans choosing to live behind gates and walls, driven largely by a desire for safety, stability, and control in uncertain times.

Kim highlights that gated communities are often marketed not just as secure, but as exclusive and desirable. “The whole point of creating HOAs and possibly gating, is to create that location premium,” she explains. “You are essentially creating this marketing that this place is a desirable place to live. You’re paying a premium to live in a homogenous environment.”

While residents may be drawn by the promise of safety and order, the broader societal impacts are more complex. Gated communities can deepen economic and racial segregation, divert resources away from public infrastructure, and contribute to social fragmentation by isolating residents from the wider civic community.

Watch the full feature here. 

UCLA teams up with USC and civic partners to cool the Los Angeles region ShadeLA aims to expand urban tree canopy and shade infrastructure, building heat resilience for Angelenos

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Los Angeles faces a growing challenge: heat. Record-breaking temperatures, combined with inadequate shade, are making it harder to walk to school, wait for a bus or play sports. Today, ShadeLA launches as a public campaign to raise awareness, spur action and create collaborations that will work to expand tree canopy and shade infrastructure while leaving a safer, more climate-resilient Los Angeles.

ShadeLA is led by USC Dornsife Public Exchange in collaboration with UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, with participation by the city of Los Angeles, the county’s Chief Sustainability Office, LA Metro and the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, or LA28. The world will be watching Los Angeles over the next three years as the region hosts global sporting events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Super Bowl LXI, culminating with the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. ShadeLA plans to leverage this unique window of attention and investments to expand access to shade around communities that need it most, as well as Olympic venue sites and other shade deserts — areas lacking adequate shade — in Los Angeles’ most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods.

ShadeLA is structured around four goals, each rooted in research, policy and community engagement:

  1. Expand shade through design competitions, new shade concepts and pilot projects
  2. Preserve and maintain shade through tree maintenance toolkits and stewardship models
  3. Guide the placement of new infrastructure using shade mapping, planning and other tools
  4. Inform and mobilize people through community shade planning events, story campaigns and toolkits for residents, businesses and schools

“ShadeLA is a powerful example of how UCLA research and collaborations lead to real-world impact,” said UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk. “This project will greatly benefit communities across Los Angeles — and with the eyes of the world turning to our city in the lead-up to 2028, we have a unique opportunity to showcase what inclusive climate action can achieve.”

The campaign is powered by a growing list of community collaborators leading on-the-ground shade projects that help ensure solutions are locally driven and responsive to neighborhood priorities.

“For years, USC Dornsife Public Exchange has been leading the way on sustainable urban forestry. Now, we’re proud to be spearheading ShadeLA, an important initiative that leverages our cutting-edge research to improve quality of life for all of us in Los Angeles,” USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said.

Heat is the largest weather-related killer facing Los Angeles, especially its vulnerable populations. A key solution: shade. It is one of the most effective, low-cost ways to reduce heat risk. Whether from a tree, canopy, awning or bus shelter, shaded areas can drop the “feels-like” temperature by 35 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (or 20 to 40 degrees Celsius). It is simple, scalable and can be integrated into everyday spaces where people live, learn, work and play.

Los Angeles County has less shade than the national average. Urbanized areas of the county have an average of 21% shade at noon compared with the national average of 27%, according to the Luskin Center for Innovation’s national Shade Map, which is part of American Forests’ Tree Equity Score.

“We’re at a critical juncture as L.A. gets hotter, and we are thrilled to partner with USC to lead with evidence and to collectively envision a livable future for our region,” said Edith de Guzman, water and adaptation policy cooperative extension specialist at the Luskin Center for Innovation.

“ShadeLA is about more than trees and structures — it’s about people,” said Monica Dean, climate and sustainability practice director at USC Dornsife Public Exchange. “This campaign addresses heat not just as an environmental issue, but as a public health, infrastructure and community challenge.”

LA28 has pledged to weave shade planning and heat mitigation measures into its planning processes.

“LA28 is committed to incorporating sustainable solutions throughout the Games footprint,” said Becky Dale, vice president of sustainability at LA28. “ShadeLA supports not only keeping spectators cool during the Games, but also leaving a legacy of a cooler, greener Los Angeles for all Angelenos.”

By expanding shade in coordination with local communities, USC and UCLA aim to model collaborative climate action while creating safer, healthier public spaces for decades to come.

The article was originally published on UCLA Newsroom. Read the full article here.

Turner on the Power of Shade to Combat Urban Heat

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UCLA Luskin urban planning professor Kelly Turner lends her expertise in urban planning and heat resilience to offer data-backed perspective on how shade — both leafy and architectural — is essential for public health. In a New York Times opinion piece, Turner challenges the conventional wisdom that shade makes public spaces less usable and desirable. She explains that shade can reduce outdoor heat burden as much as 30%, offering critical relief to vulnerable communities who bear the brunt of urban heat.

Turner most recently, in collaboration with American Forests, developed an innovative shade-mapping tool to identify where shade is most needed. These maps can guide transit planners to reroute bus stops to cooler corridors or encourage cities to add shade where it will have the most impact.

Though much of our current planning policy still prioritizes sunlight, Turner argues it’s time for a shift. As climate change accelerates, shadows shouldn’t be feared — they should be welcomed.

Edith de Guzman on How Extreme Indoor Heat is a Public Health Crisis De Guzman advocates for stronger renter protections amid Los Angeles’ rising temperatures.

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Edith de Guzman of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, is quoted in a Patch article highlighting the urgent need for air conditioning access in Los Angeles rental housing and the broader health impacts of rising temperatures on vulnerable communities.

“Extreme indoor heat isn’t just a climate issue — it’s a public health issue,” says de Guzman. “The effects of unsafe indoor heat are not hypothetical — we all know what it’s like to live through a heat wave. It affects everything: your ability to work, cook, sleep and even breathe.”

As Los Angeles braces for a future with triple the number of 95-degree days due to climate change, a new report by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) urges stronger tenant protections to ensure renters have access to air conditioning — which it calls a life-saving necessity during extreme heat. The report highlights that many low-income renters in South L.A. lack cooling options and fear retaliation if they request them, despite the severe health risks posed by prolonged indoor heat. While California law mandates heating, it does not require landlords to provide cooling, prompting calls for new policies to guarantee tenants the right to install or receive AC.