The Stock Market Is Not Your Friend, Jacoby Says

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Public Policy Professor Sanford Jacoby spoke to WalletHub about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on American workers’ sense of job security as Labor Day approaches. A WalletHub survey found that 75% of people will not travel this Labor Day weekend, and Jacoby predicted that reduced revenue for those in the vacation industry will hit small businesses the hardest. Jacoby recommended helping small businesses and restaurants through government subsidies of restaurant meals, as well as the elimination of fees at state and national parks and campgrounds. He also argued that big shareholders have taken advantage of labor during the pandemic, contributing to the staggering inequality in the American economy. “The top 10% of the wealthiest American households own 93% of the stock, while the bottom half of U.S. households own no stock whatsoever,” he said. “It’s time to educate Americans that the stock market is not their friend and that it mostly benefits America’s wealthiest.”

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Few Trying to Skip Out on Rent During Pandemic, Study Finds

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A new UCLA-USC study that took a deep dive into how Los Angeles County tenants are handling rent and finances during the COVID-19 health crisis was covered by media outlets including the Orange County Register. Since the start of the pandemic, landlords have argued that tenants who were shielded from possible eviction would refuse to pay rent, the article noted. In fact, while the study showed that many have struggled to make rent, most tenants have not used the pandemic as an excuse to take a rent holiday, according to the study conducted by scholars from UCLA Luskin’s Lewis Center for Regional Studies and USC’s Lusk Center for Real Estate. One factor measured in the study was the impact of direct assistance to renters who need it. The findings showed that tenants collecting unemployment insurance were 39% less likely to miss rent payments. The report’s findings were also highlighted in Courthouse News, Commercial Observer and Pasadena Now. 

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Umemoto Remembers Mentor Lane Hirabayashi

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A Rafu Shimpo obituary of renowned scholar and author Lane Ryo Hirabayashi included a tribute from Urban Planning Professor Karen Umemoto. Hirabayashi, professor emeritus of Asian American Studies at UCLA, died Aug. 8 at age 67. “We will sorely miss Lane Hirabayashi, a beloved teacher, mentor and friend,” said Umemoto, director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center. “He left us a priceless gift in his lifetime of scholarly research and writings on Japanese American history, and World War II incarceration history in particular.” Hirabayashi authored over 30 scholarly articles, taught courses on the Japanese American experience and Asian American studies, and worked with many community-based organizations. “His work advanced the field of Japanese American studies and also community-driven public history,” Umemoto said. “We are humbled by his selfless contributions to the community as well as to the generations of students and colleagues who were transformed by his wisdom and generosity.”

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Loukaitou-Sideris on Making Urban Neighborhoods More Livable

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Urban Planning Professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris was featured on KPPC’s Take Two discussing the lasting impact of racist policies such as redlining in urban neighborhoods. A recent New York Times report found that formerly redlined neighborhoods experience some of the highest temperatures in the summer. Loukaitou-Sideris explained how the now-illegal practice of redlining, which classified some communities as “least desirable for investment,” facilitated segregation as banks refused home loans and insurance to low-income and minority people who lived there. According to Loukaitou-Sideris, “greenery and trees are the best way to protect from the urban heat island effect,” but disinvestment in high-density areas generally means less money to spend on planting, watering and maintenance of trees. “We need to do something to make these neighborhoods more livable,” Loukaitou-Sideris said in the segment beginning at minute 17. She proposed using empty and underutilized lots for green spaces and increasing city funding for tree planting and maintenance.

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Concerns About Student Well-Being as Virtual Learning Resumes

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The blog of the National Association of Social Workers spotlighted a report, co-authored by Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor, on the wide-ranging needs of schoolchildren as virtual learning resumes amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A high proportion of students, especially from low-income families, are experiencing hunger, housing instability, health and mental health issues, and other challenges, according to the report, which drew its findings from a large-scale survey of school social workers around the country. These social workers play a key role in assessing students’ mental health and social care needs and connecting them with vital community resources, the article noted. The report called for a coordinated and comprehensive response from federal and state policymakers and national educational leaders to address the needs of students during the crisis. Astor co-authored the report with scholars from Loyola University Chicago, Cal State Fullerton, Hebrew University and UCLA.

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Shoup Offers Tips to Improve Parking in Cities

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Urban Planning Professor Donald Shoup spoke to the Parking Podcast about his recommendations for improving parking in cities. First, he recommended charging a fair market price to use the curb. Parking meters are the exception in most cities. Shoup argued that parking “should be priced so there is never a shortage of parking.” He defined the fair market price as the lowest price a city can charge and still have one or two open curb spaces on every block. Next, he argued that cities should limit off-street parking, or at least remove off-street parking requirements. Shoup’s third recommendation is for cities to dedicate all or some revenue from parking meters to fund additional public services on metered streets, including landscaping, cleanliness and accessibility. He noted that if people know how the meter revenue is being spent to benefit the community, they may be less resistant to paying for parking.

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Yaroslavsky on Vision for a Cultural Hub in Downtown L.A.

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A Los Angeles Times commentary arguing for stepped-up investment in a downtown L.A. arts scene as a way to rebound from the economic devastation of COVID-19 sought insights from Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin. Envisioning a “democratic gathering place for arts and ideas” centered around the monumental Grand Avenue complex now under construction, the author called for building out the area with new and renovated concert venues, car-free stretches and outdoor cultural events accessible to all. Yaroslavsky, known as a supporter of the arts in his decades as a city councilman and county supervisor, endorsed this vision of Grand Avenue for the future but cautioned that it is too soon to expect governments to invest heavily.

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Monkkonen Illustrates Downsides of Single-Family Zoning

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Paavo Monkkonen, associate professor of urban planning and public policy, spoke to the Voice of San Diego about some of the issues associated with single-family zoning. In San Diego, Mayor Kevin Faulconer is pushing housing reforms that would make it easier for developers to build rent-controlled apartments near transit but would not change the single-family zoning that applies to most of the city. Excluding single-family areas near transit from the program might be politically wise, Monkonnen said, but the collective benefit of allowing more people to live near transit should outweigh the concerns of people who don’t want their neighborhoods to change. “A big problem for California is we have never allowed single-family neighborhoods to change, and so people are overly concerned about what would happen if we did,” he said. Allowing California residents to build four homes on any single-family lot would be a big step toward addressing the state’s housing crisis, he said.

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Akee Highlights Benefits of Child Subsidies

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Associate Professor of Public Policy Randall Akee was featured in a New York Times article discussing the growing threat of child poverty and child allowances as a potential solution. In the United States, low-income children are bearing the weight of the pandemic, with hunger rising, classrooms closing and parental stress surging. A Duke University study found that subsidizing the incomes of poor families leads their children on average to better health, more schooling and higher earnings as adults. In North Carolina, Cherokee Indians opened a casino and began sharing the profits with every household in the tribe, creating a local version of guaranteed income. Akee published four studies of the tribal subsidies and found they improved everything from the children’s education to their propensity as adults to vote. “When you remedy child poverty, children become more productive members of society across multiple dimensions,” he explained.

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Ling Describes Healthy Housing Market Indicators

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Urban planning lecturer and policy analyst Joan Ling spoke to WalletHub about how to better understand the housing market. The COVID-19 pandemic has had unique effects on the housing market as mortgage rates hit record lows. While it’s difficult to tell how the pandemic will impact the market in the upcoming months, Ling predicted that interest rates will remain low for at least the next year. She attributed low homeownership rates among millennials to the disconnect between wages and prices and the need for a sizable down payment, which create a high barrier for first-time buyers. She also highlighted the top five indicators she looks for in evaluating the healthiest housing markets: affordability, monthly cost equivalency between renting and owning, healthy vacancy rate, housing production, and good public infrastructure and services. Ling’s expert advice guided an analysis of 300 U.S. cities to determine the best local real-estate markets.

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