Turner Weighs In on the Approaching Summer Heat

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Temperatures are reaching record-breaking highs on the West Coast, and experts from UCLA shared their concerns with Sierra Sun Times about the changing climate and phenomena like El Niño and heat waves that predict sweltering conditions in the following summer months.

V. Kelly Turner, associate professor of urban planning and geography at UCLA, noted that the early-season heat caught many communities unprepared. She emphasized that such events challenge traditional assumptions about when and how heat should be managed, underscoring the need for more adaptive, year-round planning strategies.

Turner concluded by emphasizing the importance of CalHeat Score, a tool that reveals the risk of the heat on health by using public health data, and called it “an important step in the right direction.”

As temperatures continue to rise, researchers stress that proactive planning and increased awareness will be critical to protecting vulnerable populations and building climate resilience.

UCLA Luskin Maintains Top Rankings in U.S. News & World Report

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The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs continues to be ranked among the top public affairs graduate schools in California, maintaining its position as the No. 3 public affairs school in the state.

Nationally, UCLA Luskin is ranked No. 20 (tie) in the latest U.S. News & World Report reflecting sustained excellence across the School’s academic programs and strong recognition from peer institutions.

UCLA Luskin’s Social Work program maintained a top-tier position at No. 8 in the nation. The School also remains highly ranked across several key policy subspecialties: No. 6 nationally for social policy, No. 11 for urban policy, and No. 18 for public policy analysis. The School earned new recognition in the local government management category.

Founded in 1994, UCLA Luskin brings together social welfare, urban planning and public policy in a uniquely interdisciplinary school of public affairs. Through cutting-edge research and collaborative teaching, the School addresses pressing challenges shaping communities locally and globally.

See the full list of the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools. 

Zev Yaroslavsky Reflects on 1984 Olympics and Weighs in on LA28

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Appearing on “Inside the Issues“ with Amrit Singh on Spectrum News 1, Zev Yaroslavsky reflected on the legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as the city prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. Scheduled for July 2028, the Games will mark the third time Los Angeles has hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Yaroslavsky, who served on the Los Angeles City Council during the 1984 Games, emphasized the importance of fiscal safeguards that guided the city’s approach at the time. “We did not want taxpayers on the hook for the 1984 Olympics, so we proposed a charter amendment to prevent the city from using general fund dollars to operate the Games,” he said. “Ultimately, voters approved that amendment in 1978.”

Looking ahead to 2028, he expressed cautious optimism about the Games’ financial outlook. “There is no reason why the LA28 Olympics shouldn’t break even or make a profit,” he said, noting that in 1984, organizers were forced to “maximize revenue and minimize expenses” because the city was not financially backing the event.

However, Yaroslavsky also raised concerns about the stalled negotiations between the city and LA28 organizers, particularly the absence of similar taxpayer protections. Host Amrit Singh underscored the potential risks, noting that if costs exceed projections, “the city and the state are on the hook.”

Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, called for greater transparency and stronger agreements as preparations continue, urging stakeholders to reach a clear and accountable path forward.

Ron Avi Astor Receives AERA Research Award in Human Development

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UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor has received the Division E Distinguished Research Award in Human Development from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Astor and three co-authors were recognized for their article “The Contribution of School Victimization to Sadness, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Among Bias-Based and Non-Bias-Based Victims and the Moderating Role of School Climate.”

Published last year in the journal Educational Researcher, the article examined the impact of students’ victimization, including how a positive school climate could affect mental health outcomes. The research was based on a study of more than 1 million middle and high school students in California.

Astor, an international scholar of school climate and violence, has a dual appointment with the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. The award will be presented at AERA’s annual conference in Los Angeles this week.

Read the full story.

Read more about the research.

Rethinking L.A. Traffic: Manville Highlights Congestion as a Sign of Prosperity

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A recent op-ed for Town & Country by journalist Annie Goldsmith reexamines Los Angeles’s reputation for notoriously bad traffic. Opening with the iconic freeway scene from “La La Land” she frames traffic not merely as a nuisance but as a defining characteristic of the city.  She argues that unlike older cities with dense, rigid street grids, Los Angeles offers multiple routes and relatively predictable congestion, allowing drivers to plan their travel more effectively.

Goldsmith reframes traffic as a byproduct of economic vitality and personal mobility rather than dysfunction.

Luskin urban planning professor Michael Manville reinforces this perspective, stating: “Congestion is oftentimes a sign of economic prosperity.”

Ultimately, the piece portrays Los Angeles traffic as culturally embedded and even somewhat romantic—encouraging readers to reconsider it as an inevitable and even perhaps meaningful aspect of urban life.

UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Receives Landmark $13.5 Million Investment to Revolutionize Youth Mental Health Training Part of a $33 million campuswide investment from Ballmer Group, the funds will address critical workforce shortages

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The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs has received a transformative $13.5 million award to its Department of Social Welfare, marking a pivotal moment in the school’s history. This funding is a cornerstone of a larger $33 million investment to UCLA by Ballmer Group to expand efforts in improving the mental health and well-being of youth and families across Los Angeles.

At a time when more young Californians than ever are reporting poor mental health —particularly in low-income, underserved “care deserts” — this investment will allow UCLA Luskin to directly address the critical shortage of trained professionals equipped to serve these communities.

Strengthening the Pipeline of Care

This award represents the largest single donation to UCLA Luskin since the school’s naming gift from Meyer and Renee Luskin. It underscores an increasing national urgency: the need for a robust, highly trained workforce to provide lifesaving access to care.

UCLA Luskin Social Welfare, consistently ranked among the top graduate programs in the nation, will use the funding to support a new cohort of students dedicated to youth mental health. By increasing access to specialized training and reducing financial barriers through new fellowships, the school will empower a diverse student body to enter high-need communities immediately upon graduation.

“We are absolutely delighted and grateful to Ballmer Group for this transformational investment,” said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, interim dean of UCLA Luskin “In Social Welfare, we are dedicated to tackling the worsening youth mental health crisis. These fellowships will train the best and brightest social workers, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to improve community mental health in our city and beyond.”

A Legacy of Community Impact

UCLA Luskin is uniquely positioned to maximize the impact of this award. Through existing partnerships with approximately 250 social service agencies, Luskin students already complete more than 50,000 hours of fieldwork annually. Ballmer Group’s investment will leverage this existing infrastructure to create a direct pipeline of support for Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable children and families.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to expand our department’s ability to train social workers to meet so many urgent needs,” said Poco Kernsmith, chair of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare. “They will be sent out to work with local nonprofits in underserved communities, provide counseling services and supports for youth and families, and provide early intervention services to prevent a myriad of mental and behavioral health issues among youth and young adults.”

This grant is part of an overall $110 million investment that Ballmer Group simultaneously made to Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills. Addressing a significant portion of Los Angeles County’s projected workforce need, the three universities will support almost 2,600 new behavioral health graduates by 2031, with exponentially more on the horizon.

ICE Deployment to U.S. Airports Raises Questions Amid Shutdown

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An NPR report examines the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to major U.S. airports during a partial government shutdown that left the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) understaffed. With hundreds of TSA workers resigning or calling out after working without pay, federal officials reassigned ICE agents to help maintain airport operations.

While ICE agents are assisting with tasks such as crowd control, monitoring entrances, and verifying identification, they are not trained to conduct core TSA screening procedures. Their presence has raised broader questions about the agency’s role in domestic travel spaces.

Experts note that ICE’s core mission remains immigration enforcement. Paul Ong, research professor and director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, explained, “ICE is an agency that’s created for enforcement, within the U.S., and so that will still be with them. While they’re there, they will carry out what they believe is their charge of identifying potential immigrants who are not in this country legally.”

California Is the Most Expensive State for a Comfortable Lifestyle

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California remains one of the nation’s most expensive states to live in, with communities like San José, San Francisco, and Orange County demanding six-figure incomes for comfortable living.

A recent SmartAsset study shows that a single adult in San José needs nearly $160,000 annually, while a family of four requires over $400,000, far outpacing local median incomes. Los Angeles ranks 16th, where single adults need $120,307 and families over $280,000. Housing costs are the primary driver of this gap, compounded by rising grocery and gas prices and stagnant wages.

The study underscores the broader housing affordability crisis in California, highlighting how daily necessities continue to climb while wages lag behind.

“It’s a problem that we created very slowly over a long period of time,” said Paavo Monkkonen, UCLA professor of urban planning and public policy, in a Los Angeles Times article.

Volatility Ahead in LA Mayor’s Race; UCLA Luskin Poll Finds 40% of Voters Undecided ‘It’s a wide-open race’ ahead of the June 2 primary election

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With just two months to go before a primary election for Los Angeles’ next mayor, 40% of the electorate remains undecided, signaling volatile weeks of campaigning ahead, according to a new poll by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass led the field with 25% support, followed by conservative television personality Spencer Pratt at 11% and Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman at 9%, according to the poll of likely LA primary voters.

Also on the ballot are tech entrepreneur Adam Miller and housing activist Rae Huang, who each received 3%. Nine percent of respondents indicated they would support “a different candidate.” A total of 14 candidates are vying for the city’s top office.

If no candidate wins a majority in the June 2 primary, the top two vote-getters will face off in November to determine who will lead the nation’s second-most populous city.

“It is unusual for 40% of likely voters to be unsure of their choice just two months before an LA mayoralty election,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, who served for decades as an elected leader in Los Angeles city and county.

“Although Mayor Bass faces the most challenging reelection of an incumbent mayor in decades, it is highly likely that this election will be decided in a November runoff. A lot can change between now and then, so it’s a wide-open race.”

The poll, which surveyed 813 likely primary voters between March 15 and March 29, is part of UCLA Luskin’s annual Quality of Life Index measuring Angelenos’ perception of their well-being across issues like safety, cost of living, health care and the environment. This year’s survey was conducted in partnership with the California Community Foundation, and complete results will be released on April 15 at the UCLA Luskin Summit.

The large bloc of undecided voters indicates that many are still assessing Bass’ record against her opponents’ qualifications. The 2025 Quality of Life Index, released weeks after the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires, found that the mayor was viewed unfavorably by 49% of respondents, a significant increase from 32% a year earlier.

Undecided voters may be unfamiliar with many of the names on this year’s ballot. Among the more prominent are Pratt, best known for his appearances on reality television shows, and Raman, elected in 2020 to represent Los Angeles’ 4th District, which stretches from Reseda to Los Feliz. Raman entered the mayor’s race just hours before the filing deadline closed on Feb. 7.

This year’s UCLA Luskin poll also measured support for candidates across different demographic groups.

  • Bass, the first Black woman to lead Los Angeles, drew the support of 53% of African American respondents, with 29% undecided.
  • Among white, Latino, and Asian and Pacific Islander respondents, the undecided category outpaced support for Bass.
  • Among voters age 65 or older, Bass received support from 31%, with 36% undecided.
  • Among voters aged 40 to 64, 23% supported Bass. Collectively, her top four opponents drew 30% support. A similar pattern emerged among voters aged 18 to 39, with 21% supporting Bass and 29% supporting one of her four closest contenders.
  • Undecided voters were the largest segment in each of the age categories.

The poll, conducted by public opinion research firm FM3 Research by phone and online in English and Spanish, has a margin of error of 4%. Funding for the Quality of Life Index is provided by Meyer and Renee Luskin through the Los Angeles Initiative, as well as the California Community Foundation.

 

Wasserman on the K Line Northern Extension Project

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The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board recently voted on whether or not to approve the K Line northern extension project that will connect San Vicente to Fairfax. The project is expected to boost ridership by nearly 100,000 daily users while linking key job centers and destinations, further strengthening the region’s growing light rail network.

Experts say the expansion could reshape how Angelenos navigate the city. Jacob Wasserman of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies shared with Los Angeles Times that the project could help create a more interconnected rail grid, allowing riders to travel across Los Angeles with fewer transfers.

“It’s really going to change people’s geography of L.A.” Wasserman said of the K line extension. “It’s creating this nice grid network of rail, so that you can get anywhere in the city with ideally just one transfer at most by rail. … It’ll change people’s mental model of the city where they live or work.”

The project has faced opposition from some residents concerned about tunneling beneath residential neighborhoods. Transit officials have emphasized that the tunnels will be constructed deep underground and are not expected to impact surface properties. Part of the project’s first phase is not set to begin for nearly 15 years, in 2041.