APA Honors Urban and Regional Planning Alumna for Transportation Equity Research The award-winning capstone project sheds light on the toll of extreme commutes on low-income communities in the San Fernando Valley.

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Alejandra Rios Gutiérrez MURP ’24 was recently honored with the Academic Award by the Los Angeles section of the American Planning Association (APA) for her capstone project, “Lost Hours, Lost Opportunities: The Toll of Extreme Travel on Lower-Income Communities in the San Fernando Valley.” The award, which recognizes innovation and community impact in the field of planning, was presented at the APA awards ceremony held June 26 in Downtown Los Angeles.

Gutiérrez’s research, conducted in partnership with Pacoima Beautiful, a leading environmental justice organization serving Northeast San Fernando Valley’s Latinx communities, explores the profound and often invisible burdens of “extreme travel”—defined in her project as commutes exceeding 180 minutes per day for all essential trips, not just work. Her project, which included in-depth interviews and surveys, illuminated how transportation challenges intersect with systemic issues like housing unaffordability, job sprawl, and limited transit access—leaving low-income residents with fewer choices and heavier costs.

“My capstone was inspired by past coworkers and friends whose extreme commutes had serious impacts on their lives,” Gutiérrez shared. “I saw how long commutes take a toll on overall well-being, especially for low-income workers who have fewer choices about where they live or work.”

Her project does more than document these struggles, it reframes the entire planning conversation. “It was important to me that the project not only document the problem but also challenge how we define ‘access’ and who we design for. I want to center people’s time, labor, and well-being as core planning issues.”

Gutiérrez’s work arrives at a critical moment as the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project prepares to break ground. Her findings offer key policy insights that could help ensure the project serves the communities most impacted by extreme travel. “Receiving this award from APA Los Angeles is a meaningful honor, especially because the project was rooted in the experiences of people whose needs are often overlooked in planning processes,” she said. “It affirms the importance of making visible the realities faced by extreme commuters and reinforces my belief that equity-centered research and advocacy are essential to the future of planning.”

She credits her training and education at UCLA Luskin for shaping her values as a planner. “My time at UCLA Luskin shaped my approach by encouraging both a critical lens and a strong commitment to justice. The program gave me the tools to analyze complex systems, as well as the space to ask deeper questions about who planning serves, what values guide our decisions, and how we build accountability into our work.”

Read her project “Lost Hours, Lost Opportunities: The Toll of Extreme Travel on Lower-Income Communities in the San Fernando Valley” here.

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.

Terriquez Highlights Stark Latina Wage Gap in New Regional Study New research reveals significant wage gap for Latina workers in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties.

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Veronica Terriquez, a professor of Urban Planning and director of UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center, co-authored a recent UCLA-led study that reveals a stark wage disparity faced by Latina workers in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Despite making up nearly half of the female workforce in those regions, Latinas earn only 47–50 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men — a gap Terriquez attributes to systemic barriers such as limited access to quality education and occupational segregation.

“Many Latinas are the primary earners in their households, and they contribute significantly as taxpayers and community members. When they are underpaid, the impact extends beyond individual workers, affecting families’ ability to access housing, education and health care and to plan for retirement,” the authors wrote in their analysis. “The consequences of their financial challenges ripple across the entire region.”

A Chicana sociologist and longtime advocate for social justice, Terriquez also co-founded the Latina Futures 2050 Lab, a CSRC initiative dedicated to advancing research and policies that promote equity and opportunity for Latina communities.

Read all Santa Cruz County reports here.

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.

A View from the Top UCLA Luskin students get a look at policymaking, public service work and life in Los Angeles city government

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by Stan Paul

The view from the top of the iconic Art Deco-style tower of Los Angeles City Hall provides a unique, 360-degree prospective of the sprawling Southern California city — vast, complex and in constant motion. 

On April 11, a contingent of UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs graduate students gathered inside the tower’s 27th floor to gain perspectives from top city and county leaders, including UCLA and UCLA Luskin alumni, about their work with city government and their insights on important and pressing daily issues that drive the bustling city below.  

The 19th annual Luskin Day at Los Angeles City Hall was held in partnership with UCLA Government and Community Relations and the Office of City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky. Students from UCLA Luskin’s three graduate programs, Public Policy, Social Welfare, and Urban and Regional Planning, engaged in conversation with the group of experienced leaders and high-level city officials and experts in various fields on topics including housing, homelessness, sustainability and transportation.  

“I hope today gives you an honest look at the complexity of city government, and I hope you walk away with the understanding of the deep sense of the purpose of mission driven work that we do here in L.A. and especially in this time of difficulty,” said guest panelist Kristin Torres Pawling, a 2009 UCLA and 2012 UCLA Luskin urban planning alumna. 

“I also entered the working world in a time of global uncertainty…know that the relationships that you make here today, the relationships that you’ve made with each other, will drive you forward,” she said. “Your ideas and energy, the fresh conversation that you’re bringing to City Hall today, are important to us.” 

The day began with formal recognition of the students and the Luskin program during a live city council meeting — a chance to witness local government in action — followed by an opportunity to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it in the day’s discussion. 

Lourdes Castro Ramírez, a 1994 UCLA and 2003 UCLA Luskin urban planning alumna, led the day’s first expert policy panel including Nancy Sutley, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Energy and Sustainability; Laura Rubio-Cornejo, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and also a 2003 Luskin urban planning alumna; and Zev Yaroslavsky, UCLA alumnus and former longtime member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and former Los Angeles City Councilmember. Each shared their journey into public service and their various roles and responsibilities. 

Castro Ramírez currently serves as president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), the second-largest housing authority in the nation which serves more than 200,000 people. The first-generation college graduate said she was encouraged to see students pursuing degrees in public affairs programs as well as careers in the public sector. 

“I am deeply grateful to UCLA for investing in me and deeply grateful to UCLA Luskin for giving me the tools necessary to be able to address some of the most complex issues impacting not only our city and the state, but also equip me to serve at the federal level and work on these issues,” said Castro Ramírez, who also has served on UCLA Luskin’s board of advisors. 

“Government has the opportunity to be transformational – to improve the quality of life for residents, to be innovative, and also to be nimble all the times,” she said adding, “I think government gets a bad rap – that it’s not creative, that we’re very bureaucratic, that we don’t really care.  My experience has been the complete opposite.” 

Yaroslavsky said that whether working for the city or county, or a smaller jurisdiction, “Get into to the game…don’t underestimate how your superiors and others will see you for your work product, for your competence, for your vision and for all of the things that make you who you are and part of that is having your Luskin education.” 

A lunchtime session with City of Los Angeles personnel experts also provided a deep dive into navigating the city’s application processes and best practices and tips for gaining employment.   

UCLA alumna Wendy Greuel, former L.A. city councilmember, and current vice chair of LAHSA Commission and co-chair of the Los Angeles Unified School District Task Force, kept the momentum of the day going.  

Greuel, who helped launch the first UCLA Luskin Day at Los Angeles City Hall and who has supported the program since, moderated a panel including 1996 UCLA alumnus Todd Sargent, who leads the global organization development team for Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products and who has served as a Senior Fellow in the UCLA Luskin’s mentorship program. Matt Szabo, Los Angeles city administrative officer, joined Pawling, who also serves as deputy chief of staff for councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, and fellow Luskin planning graduate Edgar Reyna MURP ’23, a climate resilience senior analyst for the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Energy and Sustainability. 

 The panelists shared their own experience working in the fast-paced daily life serving the city and its residents, as well as advising them on what work and life are like in city government at the local level to interactions at the state and national levels. Greuel asked what ultimately drew them to working at the local level. 

“When I got involved in local work, in city commission work, the impact was so much more real. You could literally see the work you did manifest in the local community,” said Sargent, who previously worked in Capitol Hill where he said things moved at a much slower pace. 

Szabo, appointed to his current position in 2023 and who formerly served as deputy chief of staff to former Mayor Eric Garcetti, remarked, “If you’ve been out on the ledge here, if you just look outside, everything that you see that isn’t privately owned is pretty much the responsibility of the city, the streets, the sidewalks, the trees on the sidewalks…it’s all the things you can touch and feel immediately and that for me is more gratifying now.” 

A final question for the panel was, “What gives you hope?”  

“Hope for me is all of you in this room,” said Greuel. 

The day concluded with a round table policy and career session with Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, a UCLA Law School graduate, who was elected in 2022 to serve the city’s fifth district. 

Yaroslavsky talked about managing a public service career, serving her constituents and the city while taking on many new roles since being elected, including chair of the city’s Budget and Finance committee and the task of running the city more efficiently. 

 “There’s lots of ways to make things better, to make ourselves more efficient, to attract business, to support people who need help to, to work on homelessness and public safety and holistic ways,” she said.  

As a member of LA Metro’s Board of Directors, Yaroslavsky said she is excited about projects underway including Metro stations opening across the city’s Westside region, “…the first time since the Red Car in the 1950s and 60s that the Westside will be linked to downtown by mass transit,” she said. For Yaroslavsky, the station openings represent an incredible opportunity for more people to get onto the system who might not know about it and to know what public transit is all about. 

Yaroslavsky also dispensed public service career advice to the students including being open to both constructive and unconstructive criticism as part of an important skill set.  

“I think it’s hard to do. It’s hard to give constructive feedback. It’s also really hard to take. Both are really important.” 

Also difficult is taking risks like changing careers and pursuing public office, she said.  

“Once in a while do something that really scares you,” she said recalling daunting decisions as “the best choices I’ve ever made in my career.”  

“And, if you give yourself some space and you’re willing to take chances that you are able to take, I think that’s where you grow the most,” Yaroslavsky, concluding with thanking the students for attending the Luskin Day event and taking an interest in — and aspiring to — public service roles.  

“It’s really heartening to see so many folks who care and want to be part of the solution, so don’t be strangers.” 

To view more photos from this day, please see photo album.

UCLA’s LPPI and Luskin Host Panel on Los Angeles Wildfire Recovery Panelists discussed prevention, equity as wildfire rebuilding efforts continue

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​On March 20, 2025, UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) and the Luskin School of Public Affairs convened a distinguished panel to address the multifaceted challenges of wildfire recovery in Los Angeles. The event, part of the “Defining L.A.’s Future: The Collision of Federal Politics and Local Realities” series, underscored the imperative for equitable and resilient rebuilding strategies.​

Interim Dean Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris opened the discussion by emphasizing the necessity of inclusive recovery efforts that serve all residents. “It’s vital that we ensure that our rebuilding strategies are inclusive and address the systemic barriers that disproportionately impact our most vulnerable communities,” said Loukaitou-Sideris. She highlighted the importance of addressing these barriers and aligning federal policies to ensure justice in the city’s response to wildfires.

LPPI Faculty Director Amada Armenta presented data revealing the uneven impacts of wildfires across communities, noting that many lack the resources required for effective rebuilding. She referenced collaborative research from LPPI, the Bunche Center, the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, and the Asian American Studies Center to illustrate these disparities.​

Moderated by esteemed journalist Jorge Ramos, the panel featured California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan MPP ’18, Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and urban planning expert Cecilia Estolano MA UP ’91. Assemblymember Bryan advocated for addressing the root causes of wildfires, including the climate crisis, and called for long-term investments to combat worsening conditions. Councilmember Hernandez highlighted the exacerbation of health disparities in Black and Latino communities due to wildfire smoke, stressing the need for targeted health interventions and worker relief. Estolano proposed innovative approaches such as leveraging California’s redevelopment law to create disaster recovery zones, acquiring land from owners unable to rebuild, and increasing housing density to facilitate equitable recovery.

The panel collectively emphasized that wildfire recovery in Los Angeles requires a comprehensive approach that integrates climate action, health equity, and strategic urban planning to build a more resilient future for all communities.​ See highlights from the event in our photo gallery here.

For an in-depth account of the panel discussion, please read the full article in the UCLA Newsroom.

UCLA Grants Deepen Ties to the L.A. Community Projects by Luskin faculty will build collaboration among scholars, students and local partners

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The first goal of UCLA’s Strategic Plan is deepening collaborations and connections with Los Angeles. This academic year, several UCLA Luskin faculty are helping the university meet that mark.

As recipients of grants from the UCLA Center for Community Engagement, these faculty will explore ways to strengthen ties between community partners and UCLA students and scholars, with the goal of finding solutions to L.A.’s most pressing issues.

This year, the UCLA Community-Engaged Research Grants will fund exploratory projects including:

Achieving and Implementing Abolition in Los Angeles

Co-Principal Investigators: David C. Turner III, assistant professor of social welfare, and Kelly Lytle Hernandez, professor of history, African American studies and urban planning

Community Partners: Justice LA; Check the Sheriff’s Coalition; Police-Free LAUSD Coalition; People’s Budget LA Coalition; PUSH LA Coalition; LA Youth Uprising Coalition

Million Dollar Hoods is a UCLA research project that advances the labors of activists and advocates working to change how public dollars are spent in Los Angeles. In particular, it advances the work of those seeking to reduce criminal justice budgets while expanding health services, housing options, welfare benefits and employment opportunities. This grant will fund a deep strategic planning and research process focused on implementing community-led policy initiatives that reallocate public resources to supporting human-centered services.

Aligning Housing Policy With Popular Demand for More Housing

Co-Principal Investigators: Zachary Steinert-Threlkeld, associate professor of public policy, and Paavo Monkkonen, professor of urban planning and public policy

Community Partner: Abundant Housing Los Angeles

Angelenos understand the scarcity of housing and want to see more constructed. According to a November 2020 survey by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, 64% of Angelenos call increasing housing supply a top or high priority. Support for more housing is one of the few bipartisan policy issues in the country, yet new housing construction in Los Angeles remains at multi-decade lows and rents and housing prices continue to rise. Untangling this puzzle is the focus of this community research.

Building Urban Soil Networks in Los Angeles for Research and Action

Co-Principal Investigators: Kirsten Schwarz, associate professor of urban planning and environmental health sciences, and Jennifer Jay, professor of civil and environmental engineering

Community Partners: TreePeople; Physicians for Social Responsibility – LA; Communities for a Better Environment; Watts Labor Community Action Committee – Better Watts Initiative

Urban soils are an important regional and national equity concern that shape the health and well-being of urban dwellers. They also represent a paradox of sorts, as contaminated soils are a hazard and clean soils are beneficial to the ecosystem. This project brings together community groups active in urban soils work in the L.A. region to build relationships, identify potential collaborations, and begin the process of coalescing around a common set of research priorities and actions.

Building Worker Power: Support for Low-Wage Worker Leadership With the Los Angeles Worker Center Network

Co-Principal Investigators: Chris Zepeda-Millan, associate professor of public policy, Chicano/a and Central American studies and political science, and chair of UCLA’s Labor Studies program; and Tobias Higbie, professor of history and director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Community Partners: Los Angeles Worker Center Network, including: CLEAN CarWash Worker Center; Garment Worker Center; Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance; Los Angeles Black Worker Center; Pilipino Workers Center; Restaurant Opportunities Center Los Angeles; Warehouse Workers Resource Center

The UCLA Labor Center, a founding member of the Los Angeles Worker Center Network, seeks to document best practices around multi-racial, multi-industry, multi-language organizing in support of labor standards, immigrant rights and anti-discrimination enforcement. In this project, researchers and worker centers will determine the best methods — such as popular education, storytelling, academic journals and social media — to document successful and replicable L.A. worker campaigns since 2009. They will also implement legal clinics and provide technical assistance to local agencies enforcing fair labor laws.

Healing Within While Incarcerated: The Role of Credible Messengers in Transformative Justice in L.A. County

Co-Principal Investigators: Lauren Ng, assistant professor of psychology, and Laura Abrams, professor of social welfare

Community Partner: Healing Dialogue and Action

Incarcerated youth experience a multitude of poor social, emotional and physical health outcomes after detention. To address these concerns, Los Angeles County has adopted a “rehabilitative, care-first model” of juvenile justice that is being implemented by Credible Messengers — leaders with the lived experience of incarceration. There has been limited academic collaboration investigating Credible Messenger programs. This partnership with an organization working in county juvenile justice facilities will advance the science behind the Credible Messenger approach with the aim of promoting healing of justice-involved youth.

Housing and Homelessness Justice Research Collaborative

Co-Principal Investigators: Chris Herring, assistant professor of sociology, and Ananya Roy, professor of urban planning, social welfare and geography

Community Partners: LA Tenants Union; Union de Vecinos

This grant supports a recently established collaborative partnership between UCLA faculty and the Downtown local of the LA Tenants Union. The funds will allow the partners to broaden a study of Los Angeles’ Permanent Supportive Housing initiative to address homelessness. Despite billions of dollars recently committed to this initiative, no research to date has examined its success or weaknesses. The UCLA grant will allow additional community partners to participate and aid the collaborative in envisioning a multi-year tenant justice research agenda.

Interdisciplinary Center on Housing and Homelessness

Co-Principal Investigators: Till von Wachter, professor of economics; Michael Lens, professor of urban planning and public policy; and Elizabeth Bromley, professor in residence of psychiatry and anthropology

Community Partners: Individual community members; Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority; L.A. County Department of Health Services; L.A. County Department of Mental Health; L.A. County Department of Social Services

L.A.’s housing and homelessness crises are caused by a complex web of factors ranging from lack of housing production and zoning policies to structural racism in labor markets and justice systems. This project focuses on developing an interdisciplinary center that brings research communities together with people with lived experience of homelessness and policymakers from Los Angeles government and nonprofit agencies. The project emphasizes structural reforms needed to reduce homelessness and aims to inform the public debate by replacing misconceptions with data and research.

Previous awards from the UCLA Center for Community Engagement supported the development of two courses designed to immerse undergraduates in community-engaged research. The grants went to Associate Professor of Public Policy Meredith Phillips, who developed a course on data analysis for educational research, and Associate Professor of Social Welfare Lené Levy-Storms, who developed a course on human aging through an interdisciplinary lens.

Read about all of the 2024-25 Community-Engaged Research Exploratory Grants.

Rapid Research Provides Vital Context to Address L.A. Wildfires UCLA Luskin data informs recovery efforts and counters misinformation during times of crisis

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By Stan Paul

During a natural disaster such as the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, information is needed — in real time — to assess and predict what will be required to help and rebuild communities. That information can be vital to address practical problems, to answer questions and even to counter false narratives that were fanned and spread as fast as the flames that destroyed entire neighborhoods.

That’s where UCLA Luskin and its research centers come in. In addition to responding to media and becoming a go-to source for expertise from day one of the fires, researchers quickly collaborated with their campus colleagues and beyond to create rapid responses to address pressing issues in the moment.

Rapid Response and Luskin’s Legacy of Community-Based Research

UCLA Luskin has a long legacy of community research. Even before L.A.’s most recent disaster, the School’s researchers have worked to collect and analyze data on issues that impact neighborhoods, individuals and businesses, especially those on the margins.

For researchers in the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK) and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI), information is needed to help communities they know well. For them, it’s personal.

Silvia González, LPPI’s director of research, said the concept of rapid research response really grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. The institute was very proactive in providing data for policymakers and community-based organizations working to prioritize equitable recovery in any type of disaster or crisis.

“We learned from COVID-19 that people of color are not well represented in data points that inform crisis response. … That is where our community gets left behind in terms of getting their needs met,” González said.

pine sprout on burned ground

Read more about the rapid research produced by UCLA Luskin scholars to understand the causes and impacts of Los Angeles’ catastrophic fires at luskin.ucla.edu/fire-research

These communities have needs that are different from the broader community, including a higher exposure to environmental hazards, language barriers, and disproportionate health, economic and social risks, she said. “And so that really was the motivation for responding with original research on the L.A. wildfires.”

A team, including Paul Ong, research professor and director of CNK; Chhandara Pech, the center’s deputy director; and other contributors from LPPI, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, produced a number of key research projects.

Among them was a data brief examining the impacts of wildfires on Black households in Altadena, a historically Black, middle-class and culturally vibrant community that was devastated by the January 2025 Eaton fire. The brief provides a starting point for considering what an equitable recovery should include, the researchers said.

It also provides new information on the historical trajectory of Altadena’s Black community and the impacts from the wildfires, using multiple data sources. Using existing trends in the Altadena housing market and Black settlement patterns, combined with damage and destruction created by the Eaton fire, the researchers were able to demonstrate the disproportionate impact of the fires on Black households in that community.

The report also underscores the urgent need for disaster response and long-term recovery efforts tailored to the unique needs of Altadena’s Black community, the researchers wrote.

“Altadena is a litmus test about how committed we are to racial justice,” Ong said in an interview with CBS Evening News in February.

This is also true of Latino communities. In another research project, Ong and his team note that wildfires in California are not just a seasonal concern, but have far-reaching effects that go beyond the burn zones.

Together with CNK, the LPPI research team plans to develop ongoing analyses that examine the short- and long-term consequences of the wildfires on Latino communities with a focus on health vulnerabilities, economic disruptions and gaps in preparedness.

“As researchers of color, the pandemic showed us the invisibility of our community in data … but it also helped train us to do this research now,” said Pech, adding that the team wants to ensure that elected officials have a clear and more nuanced understanding of the wildfires’ impacts across different racial and socioeconomic groups.

“One of the things we do know is that these events are very complex. They’re embedded in complex structures,” Ong added. “So, part of what we try to do is understand some of the hidden dimensions of this complexity. We try to understand the rippling effects, a sort of cascade, beyond the most immediate and obvious impacts.”

Wildfires, Water and Transportation

Rapid response from other areas of Luskin, as well as cross-campus partners, include expertise on water and climate from the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI). At the same time, experts from the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies and UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies quickly initiated research projects while providing media with context about how transportation planning plays a role in how communities and regions can plan for disaster.

Research projects include:

  • Understanding mobility challenges for vulnerable communities with limited vehicle access —Tierra Bills, UCLA assistant professor of public policy and civil and environmental engineering
  • Improving evacuation plans for transit riders —Madeline Brozen, deputy director of the Lewis Center
  • Bridging gaps in evacuation and resilience strategies for older adults with disabilities — Yeonsu Song, UCLA assistant professor of nursing and medicine
  • Exploring community-driven approaches to infrastructure rebuilding —Megan Mullin, faculty director of LCI

“We’re supporting research that can help us to be prepared for a future emergency, and to plan for rebuilding in an equitable, resilient manner,” said UCLA ITS Director Adam Millard-Ball, emphasizing that the wildfire threat in Los Angeles is not going away.

In January 2025, Millard-Ball and a team of UCLA researchers published an article in the journal Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives that lays out a collaborative approach that puts people and equity at the center of transportation research. One section identifies auto dependency as a challenge for cities.

“Dependence on cars … leaves cities vulnerable to crises,” the researchers write. “For example, it leaves few options for evacuation in case of fuel shortages or road blockages, or for people who do not drive.” During the L.A. fires, that was a reality that could be seen in news coverage of abandoned and burned vehicles.

Media and Misinformation

From the beginning of the fires, Greg Pierce, LCI’s co-executive director and the director of UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, responded to media outlets looking for facts behind emerging narratives. False and misguided fire story frameworks spread out of control, so in addition to quickly responding to news outlets, Pierce and his team provided a Question and Answer resource for the media and public.

A common question was, “Can urban water supply systems put out wildfires?” The quick answer is no. “Urban water supply systems are not designed to fight large wildfires or large-scale fires that start in wildland areas and spread to urban areas,” according to the Q&A.

“I don’t know that any place in the world has a system like that,” said Pierce, who explained to media that such a system for fighting wildfires would be extremely expensive as well as come with potentially negative climate impacts that could create further fire risks.

Pierce became the de facto go-to expert for media outlets including POLITICO, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Reuters and LAist on the wildfires and related issues such as water.

The fires touched almost every aspect of living in Los Angeles, from cars, work and land use to housing and rent — and UCLA Luskin had researchers on hand to respond.

Liz Koslov, assistant professor of urban planning and an expert on climate retreat, told the New York Times, “Rather than dream we can retreat our way out of the crisis, we must relearn, and learn anew, how to live with fire.”

Michael Manville, chair and professor of Urban Planning, commented in the media, saying, ‘The upshot is that a lot of people who had been housed … have just been thrust into the housing market, and they’re going to push up prices and rents, and also compete for contractors in an already tight labor market to get things rebuilt.”

Environmental issues also intersected with health for those affected by smoke from the fires. According to a recent UCLA report, smoke produced by California wildfires kills more people than fire, with thousands of premature deaths attributable to exposure to toxic particles. Rachel Connolly, a project director at LCI, served as the lead author of the study published in the journal Science Advances.

Recovery and the Road Ahead

UCLA Luskin researchers are also partnering with local government for the long recovery ahead, leading research for a blue ribbon commission launched by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

Horvath and UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that UCLA will provide its world-class research expertise and programmatic support to the independent commission tasked with developing policy recommendations to guide a safe and resilient recovery.

Mullin, the LCI faculty director, is leading UCLA’s advisors in consultation with Julia Stein, deputy director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, and in partnership with Alex Hall, director of UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge.

“Our region has always lived with fire, but our communities weren’t built for the climate-induced mega-fires we see now,” Mullin said during a press conference. “We have a short window of opportunity to not only rebuild homes and businesses but also to create more resilient and equitable communities.”

In addition, this year’s Luskin Summit quickly pivoted to focus on the L.A. fires. The summit will provide policymakers and nonprofit leaders with the latest research and guidance from UCLA Luskin experts, community groups and government agencies to guide the effort to expedite recovery equitably.

In the years ahead, the work of UCLA Luskin researchers will continue to be an important resource as Los Angeles and the region recover.

A First-Hand Look at How a Public Affairs Education Translates Into Real Action The second annual UCLA Luskin Sacramento Briefing immerses students into research that shapes policy

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This year, UCLA Luskin hosted the 2nd Annual Sacramento Briefing, an event that informs state legislators of the breadth of research happening within the school. The gathering featured two panel discussions coordinated by esteemed UCLA Luskin faculty members and their affiliated research centers in collaboration with elected officials, government agencies and other policy experts. This year, the Institute of Transportation Studies presented on reducing vehicle miles traveled on California’s roads, and the Luskin Center for Innovation presented on creating heat-resilient communities. 

Ten public affairs undergraduate students and 14 master of urban planning students received scholarships to attend the briefing, and also meet with legislative staffers, receive a private tour of the Capitol building, and sit down with Assemblymembers Mike Fong and Josh Hoover, both UCLA alumni.

We asked Mai Vu, a public affairs major who will be graduating this June, to reflect on her experience as part of the first undergraduate cohort to attend the event. Next year, Mai will be working in-house in the private sector for a global consumer goods company, focusing on government and regulatory affairs.

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By Mai Vu

The 2025 Luskin Sacramento Briefing was an eye-opening experience that brought policy to life in ways I hadn’t imagined. As part of the first cohort of Public Affairs undergraduate students to receive a travel grant for this two-day professional development event, I had the opportunity to step inside the heart of California’s state government and witness firsthand how decisions are made at the state level. More importantly, I was able to connect with UCLA alumni — now staffers, policymakers and legislative aides at the state Capitol — who had once been in my shoes and could share their experiences and career paths from Westwood to Sacramento in a way that felt especially relatable.

“As a student researcher, this experience challenged me to think about how I can ensure my own work is accessible, actionable and relevant beyond the academic setting,” says Luskin undergrad Mai Vu.

Engaging with State Governance

On our first day in Sacramento, we met with UCLA alumni at the Capitol who discussed their work in state policymaking. Sitting in the very spaces where decisions are made, I saw how the issues we study in Public Affairs — from infrastructure to education — translate into real governance. Touring the Assembly and Senate galleries reinforced this connection, as we engaged with elected officials, policy analysts and professionals in administrative and judicial roles, making me realize the many pathways into state government and broadening my perspective on career opportunities in Sacramento.

Like many of my peers at Luskin, I am drawn to public service by the desire to create meaningful change. My time in Sacramento showed me how state government can be a direct and impactful avenue for that work, particularly in my home state of California. Speaking with policymakers and legislative staff, I gained a clearer understanding of how California’s Legislature functions within the broader political landscape and how it differs from the intense partisanship that often defines U.S. politics.

While political divisions certainly exist, my discussions in Sacramento helped me realize that California’s legislative majority allows for a greater focus on policy implementation rather than ideological debate, leading to more effective governance. This became clear in our discussion with Assemblymember Josh Hoover, who explained how working in the Republican minority requires a strong focus on bipartisan collaboration. His approach to coalition-building challenged my assumptions about politics, reminding me that progress relies more on negotiation, adaptation and shared priorities than strict party alignment.

Equally inspiring was our meeting with Assemblymember Mike Fong and his chief of staff, Sophia Kwong Kim, who spoke about their roles in the California Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus. As a Vietnamese American student interested in government, seeing leaders who not only shared my API background but were actively working to amplify API voices in policy and create pathways for diverse representation was incredibly meaningful.

Bridging Academia, Policy and Local Communities

The second day’s policy briefing challenged me to think more critically about how research translates into action. As an undergraduate student researcher, it was particularly meaningful to see UCLA faculty — many of whom have taught my classes — present their work in front of legislators and policy practitioners. It reinforced that academic research doesn’t exist in isolation; when framed effectively, it has real-world implications. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that there is real benefit in research, no matter how rigorous or theory-driven, being communicated in a way that policymakers and the public can engage with. As a student researcher, this experience challenged me to think about how I can ensure my own work is accessible, actionable and relevant beyond the academic setting.

Another key takeaway I had from the policy briefing was realizing the power of collaborating beyond just my immediate peers. Seeing faculty, policymakers and community stakeholders engage in discussions — not always agreeing, but always exchanging perspectives — was a reminder that policymaking is rarely black and white. It requires negotiation, compromise and an open acknowledgement of competing priorities.

As I prepare to graduate and begin my career in regulatory and government affairs for the private sector, this experience reaffirmed the importance of cross-sector collaboration. The briefing exposed me to a range of perspectives — from legislators to policy researchers and advocacy groups — mirroring the diverse stakeholder landscape I will navigate. Like policymakers balancing competing priorities, I will need to negotiate between corporate interests, regulatory requirements and public concerns. This experience also provided an early foundation in state government processes and expanded my UCLA network, making future opportunities in public policy, consulting or regulatory agencies more accessible.

 

UCLA Partners With New Independent Commission for Climate-Resilient Fire Recovery Experts will provide L.A. civic leaders with research-informed policy options for building safer, more resilient communities

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By Jason Islas

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that UCLA will provide its world-class research expertise and programmatic support to an independent commission tasked with developing policy recommendations to guide a safe and resilient recovery for Los Angeles in the wake of the 2025 wildfires.

“The commission we are announcing is a terrific example of our university and its partners in the region working together,” Frenk said at a Feb. 13 news conference. “UCLA is not just a university in Los Angeles. It is a university of Los Angeles. Today’s blue-ribbon commission answers that call to action, and we are pleased to partner with Supervisor Horvath on this important initiative.”

“Los Angeles County cannot afford to simply rebuild what was lost — we must build for the future,” Horvath said. “This is our opportunity to rethink how we design communities, fortify infrastructure, and protect lives from the growing threats of the climate crisis. The blue-ribbon commission will ensure that we lead the way in creating fire-safe, climate-resilient communities that will stand for generations. Our communities are invited into this process led by Los Angeles’ leading experts across academia, urban design and sustainability, environmental justice, housing and finance.”

UCLA’s advisors will be led by Megan Mullin, faculty director of the Luskin Center for Innovation, in consultation with Julia Stein, deputy director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, and in partnership with Alex Hall, director of the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge. They will marshal UCLA’s expertise to bring objective, research-informed insights and innovative options to a commission of more than a dozen respected civic leaders, chaired by Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator CEO Matt Peterson, to inform their policy recommendations for L.A.’s future.

“Our region has always lived with fire, but our communities weren’t built for the climate-induced mega-fires we see now,” Mullin said. “We have a short window of opportunity to not only rebuild homes and businesses but also to create more resilient and equitable communities.”

The commission will develop recommendations focused on:

  • Fire-safe reconstruction: Implementing fire-resistant materials, defensible space strategies and climate-smart building standards.
  • Resilient infrastructure: Undergrounding utilities, expanding water storage and conveyance, and hardening power grids.
  • Faster rebuilding: Identifying resilient home designs and systems that could be pre-approved to expedite reconstruction, and offering financial incentives to support rebuilding.
  • Equitable recovery: Reducing the risk of displacement, ensuring affordable insurance and prioritizing support for vulnerable communities.

“An uncoordinated race to rebuild will amplify inequality and leave people at risk of future fires. This commission seeks to change that with thoughtful, data-driven policy solutions to build resilient communities for the future we’re facing,” Mullin said.

Hall, who launched the Climate and Wildfire Research Initiative through the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge to develop knowledge, tools and new modes of thinking to confront Southern California’s rapidly evolving wildfire challenge, said, “Los Angeles is at a turning point. This commission is a generational opportunity for UCLA to provide L.A. civic leaders with the expert knowledge — drawn from years of rigorous research — they need to create the policies that will shape the region for decades to come.”

“The world is watching to see how L.A. comes back from these devastating fires; it is hard to overstate the historic importance of this moment — and the role our university will play,” Hall said.

Participating UCLA faculty include:

  • Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment: Mary Nichols
  • Luskin School of Public Affairs: Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Evelyn Blumenberg, Greg Pierce, Mike Lens, Paul Ong, Minjee Kim, Liz Koslov
  • School of Architecture and Urban Design: Dana Cuff, Stephanie Landregan
  • Ziman Center for Real Estate: Stuart Gabriel
  • Institute of the Environment and Sustainability: Stephanie Pincetl, Aradhna Tripati
  • UCLA Labor Center: Saba Waheed
  • Fielding School of Public Health: Wendy Slusser

A portion of this effort is supported by a grant from the California Community Foundation and in-kind support from UCLA.