Assistant Professor in Urban Planning José Loya recently appeared in two episodes on the Won’t You Be My Gamer? channel to take on the challenge of building both the “best” and “worst” cities and investigate how these characteristics are expressed in Los Angeles. 

Throughout the episodes, Loya and the co-hosts Elyse Willems and Nikole Zivalich, identified several key factors that influence whether a city thrives or struggles, including housing affordability and availability, unemployment rates, socioeconomic mobility, and access to quality education. Loya focused in particular on housing costs, connecting the game’s challenges to the ongoing housing crisis in Los Angeles. He discussed how disparities in homeownership eligibility contribute to social stratification, which he defined as “how society organizes socioeconomic classes.”

Loya emphasized that addressing these disparities requires expanding access to opportunities that support upward mobility, including high-quality education and affordable childcare. While acknowledging the difficulty of building a truly equitable city, Loya underscored the importance of maintaining hope and investing in systems that promote mobility.

Watch the full episodes here and here.