Indonesia’s Democratization at a Crossroads: BGI Report Highlights Rising Challenges Despite robust economic gains and improved public goods provision, Indonesia faces mounting hurdles in governance.

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The newest BGI report reveals striking insights for Indonesia, which faces complex governance dynamics as an archipelagic state and the country with the largest global Muslim population. Achieving full democratization proves a challenge for Indonesia, with the BGI report revealing a decline in democratic accountability. State capacity measures appear to remain stagnant, despite the country experiencing significant economic growth. However, this trend is not uncommon to its Southeast Asian neighbors- illustrating that Indonesia must continue to invest its economic gains in state capacity. Public goods provision has significantly increased, but the country’s complex regional governance system may prove a challenge to maintaining these gains. As Indonesia accelerates its development, it must face these challenges head-on– struggles which have been amplified due to authoritarian tendencies, crippling regional inequality, geopolitical challenges, and struggles with trade diversification as it emerges as a leader on the global stage.

Read the full report here.

Underpaying and Overusing Our Roads: The True Cost of Driving UCLA Luskin’s Mike Manville is challenging how we think about traffic, housing, and fairness.

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by Peaches Chung

If you’ve ever been stuck in gridlock traffic on the 405 or circled the block looking for parking in L.A., you’ve experienced the kinds of problems Michael Manville has spent years researching and trying to solve. As professor and chair of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Manville is reshaping how we think about transportation and housing in a sprawling city like Los Angeles and turning his research into real-world impact.

At the center of Manville’s transportation research is a deceptively simple idea: the way we price things matters and how we price things shapes how we use them.

” Driving costs less than it should, because the full social costs of driving, like congestion, pollution, infrastructure wear, aren’t reflected in what we pay to use our roads.”

“Driving is too cheap, and housing is too expensive,” he says. “Driving isn’t cheap in the absolute sense of the word ‘cheap’ because cars aren’t cheap and gas isn’t free, but in the sense that it costs less than it should, because the full social costs of driving, like congestion, pollution, infrastructure wear, aren’t reflected in what we pay to use our roads.” The price of housing, meanwhile, is driven up by restrictive land-use policies that limit supply.

Manville’s first introduction into urban planning began in a newsroom while covering transportation and housing topics as a local reporter. When the newspaper he worked for went bankrupt, he joined the local planning commission. Eager to turn his newfound passion into a career, he enrolled in the urban planning master’s degree program at UCLA and after a summer as a research assistant, decided to pursue a Ph.D. Today, he leads the department that jumpstarted his second career.

Building on the groundbreaking work of his mentor Donald Shoup, former UCLA urban planning professor and pioneer in parking reform who famously argued that free or underpriced parking distorts urban development, Manville and many other experts in the field have expanded this logic more broadly, emphasizing that it’s not just parking that’s mispriced, it’s also the roads themselves.

One proven strategy to address this is congestion pricing, a transportation policy that charges drivers a fee to use certain roads during peak traffic times. A controversial idea that has gained some traction in recent years, the goal primarily is to improve traffic flow and lower pollution, although it can also generate revenue for public transit and infrastructure.

It’s the idea that using roads during peak times should come with a price, just like electricity or water. “We meter every other government-owned utility,” Manville explains, “but not roads.” “It’s the only system that we don’t charge prices for, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s the only system that colossally breaks down about two times a day.” Manville argues that the same basic principle we apply to everything else in our economy, pricing goods and services based on demand, should also apply to road usage.

“We meter every other government-owned utility, but not our roads. It’s the only system that we don’t charge prices for, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s the only system that colossally breaks down about two times a day.”

Cities like Singapore prove it can work. In Singapore, dynamic tolling keeps traffic flowing at 45–55 mph even in a city as densely populated as San Francisco. Manville argues that Los Angeles could reap similar benefits if it embraced the idea. “We’ve normalized the dysfunction of our transportation system,” he says. “But there’s nothing inherently fair about free roads, or unfair about charging for their use.”

For Manville, reimagining cities isn’t just about policy; it’s about turning research into practical, real-world implementation. At UCLA Luskin, he says, that happens through teaching the next generation of planners, working directly with policymakers, and ensuring research is more accessible to community members. “The biggest impact we can have,” he explains, “is making sure our students leave with the ability to weigh tradeoffs—not chase perfect solutions.”

When asked what he hopes for the next generation of urban planners who will be tasked to solve some of the most complicated issues our cities face today, Manville had some wisdom from his own experience as a young planner.

“I came to UCLA convinced there were a bunch of right answers,” he reflects. “But the biggest lesson I’ve learned, and hope to pass on, is that progress comes from understanding the nuance and complexity of the issues we hope to solve. In a city as vast and diverse as L.A., differing perspectives are inevitable and real change begins with listening, especially to those you may not agree with.”

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. 

Luskin Alum Edgar Garcia MURP ’06 Welcomes Mayor Bass at Executive Directive Signing Edgar Garcia stands alongside Mayor Karen Bass as city advances protections for immigrants at historic Los Angeles landmark.

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UCLA Luskin alum Edgar Garcia MURP ’06 helped mark a significant moment in Los Angeles history as he welcomed Mayor Karen Bass to El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument on July 11, where she signed a new executive directive to strengthen city protections for immigrant communities.

“In 1931, our plaza here, was the site of the forced repatriation of U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage, where raids occurred on unsuspecting visitors…It’s a sad history but a powerful reminder of what we are facing today,” said Garcia. “The fear and trauma of so many back then, has once again been awakened across our city. But there’s also another history — one rooted in hope, unity and solidarity.”

From the painful legacy of forced repatriations in the 1930s to the sanctuary movement sparked at La Placita Church in the 1980s by Father Olivares, Edgar reminded us our city’s history holds both trauma and hope — and a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable.

Mayor Bass’ directive comes in response to a wave of recent ICE raids in Los Angeles. The directive requires all city departments to comply with L.A.’s sanctuary ordinance, submit preparedness plans, and expand access to resources through Immigrant Affairs Liaisons. It also forms a working group to guide LAPD response to ICE activity and seeks federal records on recent immigration enforcement actions.

Garcia currently serves as Interim General Manager of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, where he uses his educational background in urban planning as a tool for preservation, education, and community empowerment. His leadership reflects a deep commitment to honoring Los Angeles’ diverse history while shaping how future generations engage with and protect the city’s cultural and historic spaces.

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.

Fernando Torres-Gil highlights systemic gaps in long-term elder Torres-Gil describes the U.S. long-term care system as “a huge for-profit industry."

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Fernando Torres-Gil, professor of social welfare and public policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging, was quoted in a recent Los Angeles Times article examining the rising costs of in-home elder care — which can reach up to $18,600 per month in Southern California. Torres-Gil described the U.S. long-term care system as “a huge for-profit industry,” emphasizing that America remains “behind the curve” compared to other countries that offer universal long-term care support. He described the American care system as “a huge for‑profit industry,” noting that unlike many other developed nations, the U.S. lacks universal long-term care financing—a failure that has left “Americans behind the curve.”

UCLA Latino Politics and Policy Institute Maps the Heat: New Dashboard Reveals Climate Inequities for Latinos New UCLA dashboard highlights stark environmental health disparities impacting Latino communities.

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A powerful new tool from UCLA Luskin’s Latino Policy & Politics Institute reveals the disproportionate impact of climate-related health risks on Latino communities across California. Featured in a recent Los Angeles Times article, the Latino Climate and Health Dashboard showcases stark disparities in heat exposure, pollution levels, and environmental conditions in Latino-majority neighborhoods compared to predominantly white areas.

The dashboard, which covers 23 counties home to over 90% of California’s Latino population, shows that Latino communities experience an average of 23 more extreme heat days per year and often face infrastructure challenges like limited tree canopy and older, poorly ventilated housing. These factors, combined with a high prevalence of outdoor labor, intensify environmental and health vulnerabilities.

The dashboard aims to empower policymakers, advocates, and communities to take informed action. Explore the tool at latinoclimatehealth.org.

Former U.S. Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Delivers Luskin Lecture Robert Hampshire shares lessons learned leading research and technology agenda for the nation’s transportation systems. 

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By Stan Paul

For Robert Hampshire, former Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), leading innovation at the federal level involves cooperation and building trust among multiple industries and stakeholders.

Hampshire, who also served as the department’s Chief Science Officer — the first person to fill that role in more than four decades — came to UCLA this spring to discuss the importance of a mission-focused approach to challenges in transportation safety and serving all travelers on the nation’s roads and in the air.

Adam Millard-Ball, professor of urban planning and director of ITS,  introduced the keynote speaker for the April 28 Luskin Lecture co-hosted by the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) as part of the Martin Wachs Distinguished Lecture Series.

Hampshire also talked about supply chain resilience and the future of un-crewed aerial systems (UAS) and shared his first-hand experiences and lessons learned during his four-year public service post. At USDOT, he led the federal agency’s research and technology agenda, including its $2 billion research and technology portfolio, across all modes of U.S. transportation while leading more than 1,000 public officials and public servants.

Since completing his service in 2025, Hampshire has settled back into his role as associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. But, he told the audience, “I’ve have had a little bit of time to rethink and formulate some thoughts about particularly now what it means to serve and the complexity of our times, challenges that we see to democracy, the polarization. But, all this in the context of so much technological change.”

As an academic, Hampshire describes his research as a blend of public policy, operations research, data science, and systems approaches to analyze novel transportation systems. These include smart parking, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, ride-hailing, bike sharing, car sharing, as well as pedestrian and bicyclist safety. At the same time, he focuses on environmental impacts, equity, and access to opportunities.

Hampshire said an additional aim of his talk was to provide examples to researchers and students how to be more impactful, particularly as researchers.

“I really believe that as researchers, technologists, within the transportation sector, we need to work diligently to increase with our social capital. That’s our networks, not just who you know,” he said, emphasizing the importance of building trust, especially with different communities and building reciprocity and shared values, “…reaffirming things like ‘safety is why we’re here’…and particularly how we need to be more embedded into the transportation ecosystem, and also the non-transportation ecosystem — our friends in health, our friends in education and others.”

He recalled a number of experiences where research and technology played, and continues to play, an important public role. One example that made an important national impact was the implementation of 5G cellular which came into conflict with safety concerns for U.S. aviation while he was with USDOT. In late 2021, the FAA was preparing to ground every single airplane across the nation, just days before Christmas. But, Hampshire said, months before he was tasked with leading the technical response side of negotiations that involved the FAA, the White House and industry.

Hampshire said what was missing at that moment was social capital to get things done. But, ultimately a deal was negotiated where the telecom industry delayed deployment of 5G so they could work more closely with the aviation industry to roll it out nationwide in an orderly manner with no incident, Hampshire said.

“These are all little stories that you don’t hear, but there’s heroic efforts behind it. And I think that level of social capital and working relationships that were built during this time, are certainly going to serve the nation,” he said.

Ann E. Carlson, Faculty Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment at UCLA School of Law, later joined the lecture serving as moderator for further discussion on issues including drastic changes and budget cuts occurring at the federal level and their impact on federal employees and transportation. Hampshire and Carlson, who also served in the Biden-Harris administration as acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), discussed the future of automated vehicles, high-speed rail in California and also shared anecdotes about working with former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

Hampshire praised the leadership of Buttigieg and the many federal employees he worked with during his first stint in public service saying, “I’ll forever be grateful for what they taught me about public service and certainly, for the students and others, there’s true honor in public service. It’s something that’s worthwhile, and I’d do it again.”

Watch the full video of the event. View photos.

The UCLA Luskin Lecture Series enhances public discourse on topics relevant to the betterment of society. The Series features renowned public intellectuals, bringing together scholars as well as national and local leaders to address society’s most pressing problems. Lectures encourage interactive, lively discourse across traditional divides between the worlds of research, policy and practice. The Series demonstrates UCLA Luskin’s commitment to encouraging innovative breakthroughs and creative solutions to formidable public policy challenges.

The UCLA Institute of Transportation’s Wachs Lecture Series draws innovative thinkers to the University of California to address today’s most pressing issues in transportation. Created by students to honor the late Professor Martin Wachs upon his retirement from the University, the lecture rotates between Berkeley and UCLA, the campuses at which Marty taught. He passed away April 12, 2021.

Luskin Lecture on the Ongoing Fight for LGBTQ+ Equality Tony Hoang joins Luskin Lecture Series for a timely dialogue on civil rights and the road ahead.

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Amid rising political polarization and legislative efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights and protections, UCLA Luskin brought the conversation home with a powerful event exploring what’s at stake — and what’s possible — in the ongoing fight for equality. 

 

“LGBTQ+ Equality and the 2025 Landscape,” the latest in the Luskin Lecture Series and co-hosted by UCLA Luskin’s Office of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations, took place May 20 at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Grand Salon. The evening featured keynote speaker Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California and Silver State Equality, who delivered a sobering yet hopeful message about the road ahead. 

 

The son of Vietnamese refugees and the first in his family to attend college, Hoang now leads the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. Hoang began his presentation with a look back at key moments in California’s legislative history in the fight for marriage equality — from Prop 22 and the Knight Initiative to Obergefell v. Hodges — highlighting how far the movement has come. 

 

The event, moderated by Michael Fleming, president and founding executive director of the David Bohnett Foundation and longtime lecturer in social welfare at UCLA Luskin, brought together students, faculty, alumni, and community members for a timely dialogue on civil rights, civic engagement and the power of community mobilization. 

 

Hoang addressed a troubling trend among major corporations pulling back from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to mounting political backlash. He expressed deep concern over what he sees as a growing retreat by once-supportive businesses and national brands, many of which are wary of aligning in opposition to the Trump administration.

 

“There are a lot of challenges ahead,” Hoang said. “But know that this community has been here before. It’s about how we show up — organizing, coalition-building — that will make all the difference in how we continue to move forward. That’s how we keep our eyes ahead of us.” 

View event photos.

From Social Work to City Hall: Luskin Alum Nikki Perez Breaks Barriers in Burbank Nikki Perez, MSW ’18, is the youngest mayor to serve the city in its history —  and that's only the start.

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By Stan Paul

As mayor of Burbank, Nikki Perez, MSW ’18, represents a few firsts.

She’s the youngest mayor to serve the Southern California city in its history as well as the first Indigenous and openly LGBTQIA+ mayor.

Perez won a seat on the city council in 2022 with a record-breaking 17,958 votes. Then in December 2024— during the city’s annual reorganization meeting — she was elected mayor by her fellow council peers. She previously served as Burbank’s vice mayor.

“It is a great honor to be selected to serve as Burbank’s Mayor, and I appreciate the City Council’s confidence in me,” Perez said upon being elected to the one-year term.

The daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala, Perez attended local public schools in Burbank, developing a deep commitment to public service and to the city she calls home.

She now serves as an associate clinical social worker with youth and families and most recently worked as program manager for Kids First, a City of Los Angeles program that she developed to bring nonprofit, government, and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) partners together in to increase academic success for unhoused students in the San Fernando Valley. She also served as an education and workforce development coordinator for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, program manager for New Economics for Women, and as chair of the Burbank Library Board of Trustees.

“Born in raised in Burbank, this community has shaped who I am, and I am committed to building upon a city where everyone has a voice and opportunity to thrive,” she said. “I look forward to working with the entire City Council and our community on the issues that matter most to our residents and businesses.”

For Perez, becoming Mayor can feel a bit surreal at times, she said, but, she enjoys the policy work associated with her role on the council and as mayor, especially the ability to make meaningful change. She recalled an experience as city councilmember on an issue that was contentious and drew a crowd of people to the council meeting.

“They were really impassioned, and one gentleman came forward and said, ‘This is what you have to do!” But, in the remaining seconds of his time, he said, “Hi Nikki, so good to see you.” The man was her fifth-grade teacher.

Perez earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and music performance from UC Riverside. But it was her experience as a graduate student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs that helped her envision a life in public service.

“Being at Luskin was what really got me into wanting to work in macro social work and the policy or advocacy side of things.”

“Being at Luskin was what really got me into wanting to work in macro social work and the policy or advocacy side of things,” she said, explaining that the MSW program requires two one-year internships outside of UCLA.

“They try to place you somewhere where you probably will be a little uncomfortable because you need to get your sea legs,” she said.

She was placed on a Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) contract to be a social worker for children and families at a Head Start program.

“My client base was really one- to four-year-olds,” she said. “It was a really diverse group of folks and I realized that regardless of what any of these families face — some of them were foster families, some of them were single moms, some of them were facing issues of immigration — regardless of what it was, at some point they all ran into a similar issue with a bureaucracy or a system that just didn’t make sense.”

That experience led her to think critically about the people making decisions in Sacramento and Los Angeles for children and families.

“I started looking at their backgrounds and wondering why we didn’t have somebody like a social worker in there.”

Perez said that sparked her thinking about wanting to work in government, “…and really do the macro social work piece when you take what you’ve learned working one-on-one with folks and apply it to policies so that we can have a system where the goal of a policy actually matches the application.”

She later joined the state legislature, where she began as a field representative for a state assembly member and later became communications director.

“It was really interesting because I got to serve him in his first term. So, when he was getting his feet wet and learning about the state, I was also learning about it through the lens of a staffer,” where she said she learned about committees where money moves.

“This is how cities can actually advocate for things. This is how residents should ask for legislation to be passed.”

Another thing she learned is that legislators also listen to constituents and sometimes get their ideas for bills from constituents.

“And I think that’s one of my favorite things to do in my role because as someone who came from working in the state and who was really motivated to run for my city council because of how I saw the state give out grants, how bills affect your localities.”

Perez said that a major focus of her turn as mayor is, “making sure that I’m now advocating for my city, to our state, to our federal elections in the right way…bringing those dollars back.”

She recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with other mayors from across the United States, and to meet with California’s representatives there and to advocate on a number of common local issues for city leaders including municipal bonds, water and power.

Her background in social welfare continues to influence her work as mayor.

“I think in multiple ways I can say it’s been helpful in the fact that as a social worker, as somebody who knows how to work with people to, to reach a goal, we have a council that is not only diverse in age and race and where they come from in the city, but also diverse in politics. She added, “I have to say, we keep decorum and many times we reach a middle ground all together. It’s my job to steer all five of us to consensus.”

“My social welfare training has been very helpful in that…I really do think more social workers should run for office,” she said, citing fellow 2018 Luskin social welfare alumna Caroline Menjivar, who serves in the California State Senate representing the Burbank and San Fernando Valley area.

Upon becoming Mayor, Perez said received a lot of support. In response to a congratulatory social media post, Perez replied, “Thank you so much for the recognition! It’s an absolute honor to serve as Mayor of Burbank and I couldn’t have done it without all the amazing folks I met at Luskin and the amazing faculty who encouraged me!”

Perez also recently made another historic first as mayor of the city.

“I’m youngest mayor we’ve ever had. And now the first pregnant mayor we’ve ever had.”