:CityLAB

cityLAB has developed proposals and policies that address the California affordable housing shortage, including co-authoring housing policy legislation.

One of cityLAB's longstanding research projects is addressing Los Angeles' housing shortage by building additional units in the backyards of single-family houses. cityLAB's research showed how outdated fire codes, setback requirements, and parking requirements could be adjusted to make such additional units, also called backyard homes or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), easier to permit. In 2015, cityLAB partnered with Kevin Daly Architects and UCLA architecture graduate students to build the BI(h)OME, a full-scale, prefabricated ADU prototype on UCLA’s campus.{{Cite web |last=Webb |first=Michael |date=10 Aug 2015 |title=Could the Bi(h)ome solve LA’s housing crisis? |url=https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/could-the-bihome-solve-las-housing-crisis |website=The Architectural Review}} Based on their research into backyard homes, cityLAB co-authored AB 2299 (Bloom, 2016), which reduces restrictions on ADUs statewide and became state law in 2017. Working with the city of Los Angeles, cityLAB created a handbook guides homeowners in the process of building an ADU legally.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Adele |date=9 Apr 2018 |title=Los Angeles Plans To Find The Solution To Its Housing Crisis In Its Backyards |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40553482/2018-world-changing-ideas-awards-winners-urban-design-los-angeles-adu |website=Fast Company}} 83,865 ADUs were permitted in California between 2016 and 2022.{{Cite journal |last=Gray |first=M. Nolan |title=California ADU Reform: A Retrospective |url=https://cayimby.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CAY-ADU_Report-2024-v4.pdf |journal=California YIMBY}}

In addition to backyard homes, cityLAB has identified other overlooked land that could be sites for affordable housing. Starting in 2018, they researched building affordable housing for teachers and other education staff on public land owned by schools, including K-12 public schools, community colleges, and public universities.{{Cite web |last=Borland |first=Kelsi Maree |date=26 Sep 2019 |title=School Sites Could Provide Ample Space for Affordable Housing |url=https://www.globest.com/2019/09/26/school-sites-could-provide-ample-space-for-affordable-housing/?slreturn=20240821152207 |website=Globe St}} Working with the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, and the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, cityLAB found that every county in California has public school-owned land with the potential for education workforce housing. Based on this research, cityLAB co-authored AB 2295 (Bloom, 2022), which makes it easier for California school districts to build housing on their property, supporting efforts to attract and retain teachers.{{Cite web |last=Flint |first=Troy |date=28 Sep 2022 |title=Governor notches victories on affordable housing and the teacher shortage by signing AB 2295 |url=https://www.csba.org/Newsroom/PressReleases/2022/AB2295-signed#gsc.tab=0 |website=California School Boards Association Newsroom}} AB 2295 went into effect on January 1, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Lambert |first=Diana |date=4 Oct 2022 |title=California removes hurdles to building more affordable teacher housing: ‘We can do better’ |url=https://www.mtshastanews.com/story/news/state/2022/10/04/california-removes-hurdles-building-teacher-housing-ab-2295/8181029001/ |website=Mt. Shasta News}} cityLAB is working with school board members and district staff to train them in the process of planning and constructing affordable housing.{{Cite web |last=Gregory |first=Anna |date=8 Nov 2022 |title=Newsom signs bill co-authored by Bruins to help build affordable teacher housing |url=https://dailybruin.com/2022/11/08/newsom-signs-bill-co-authored-by-bruins-to-help-build-affordable-teacher-housing |website=Daily Bruin}}

In 2019, cityLAB and UCLA’s Transportation Services found that 43% of students commuting to campus had one-way commutes of 60 minutes or more, and of those students, 42% had slept overnight on or near campus, sometimes in their cars, rather than commute home at night.{{Cite web |last=Miranda |first=Carolina A. |date=9 Oct 2021 |title=Newsletter: I tried a sleeping pod at UCLA’s new commuter student hub |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/newsletter/2021-10-09/ucla-sleeping-pod-design-for-commuter-students-essential-arts |website=Los Angeles Times}} To meet the needs of these housing-insecure and long-distance commuter students, cityLAB designed the BruinHub,{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=Niall Patrick |date=24 Sep 2021 |title=UCLA’s BruinHub will give respite to students facing long commutes and housing insecurity |url=https://archinect.com/news/article/150282571/ucla-s-bruinhub-will-give-respite-to-students-facing-long-commutes-and-housing-insecurity |website=Archinect}} a dedicated space in a former squash court in UCLA’s John Wooden Center which opened in 2021. The BruinHub provides study tables, charging stations, snacks, a microwave and refrigerator,{{Cite web |last=Ahn |first=Ashley |date=1 Apr 2024 |title=Exhausted, hungry and sleep-deprived: UCLA student super-commuters search for relief |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-01/ucla-creates-hubs-for-student-commuters-avoiding-rush-hour |website=Los Angeles Times}} as well as bean-shaped pods for naps, which were designed in partnership with Marta Nowak, a founder of the design studio AN.ONYMOUS. The project is a collaboration between cityLAB and UCLA Recreation, UCLA Student Affairs and the student organization Bruin Commuters. In winter quarter of 2024, a second BruinHub opened in the Strathmore Building on campus.

With support from the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, cityLAB studied intergenerational public space use in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2021.{{Cite web |title=Creating Common Ground: Opportunities for Intergenerational Use of Public Spaces in Disinvested Communities |url=https://www.lewis.ucla.edu/research/creating-common-ground-opportunities-for-intergenerational-use-of-public-spaces/ |website=UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies}} In 2022, they conducted a post-occupancy evaluation of Golden Age Park, a pocket park in the Westlake neighborhood,{{Cite web |title=Green Open Space and Physical Activity for Seniors: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Golden Age Park |url=https://www.lewis.ucla.edu/research/green-open-space-and-physical-activity-for-seniors-a-post-occupancy-evaluation-of-golden-age-park/ |website=UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies}} and organized a public celebration in the park.{{Cite web |date=18 Mar 2022 |title=UCLA Luskin Students Host First In-Person Event at Golden Age Park |url=https://luskin.ucla.edu/ucla-luskin-students-host-first-in-person-event-at-golden-age-park |website=UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs}} In partnership with the community organization Heart of Los Angeles and with support from the Institute of Transportation Studies, cityLAB has worked directly with youth to research how sidewalks impact their mobility and can support their independent travels.{{Cite web |title=Pathways to Autonomy: Supporting Youth Independent Mobility in Westlake, Los Angeles |url=https://www.ucits.org/research-project/2023-29/ |website=University of California Institute of Transportation Studies}}{{Cite web |title=Sidewalking: Designing Sidewalk Interventions with Youth in Los Angeles |url=https://www.ucits.org/research-project/2024-44-3ac/ |website=University of California Institute of Transportation Studies}}

In 2013, supported by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,{{Cite web |last=Wing |first=Sherin |date=15 May 2013 |title=UCLA’s cityLAB Explores Innovative Strategies for Cities |url=https://metropolismag.com/projects/ucla-team-explores-innovative-strategies-for-cities/ |website=Metropolis}} cityLAB launched the interdisciplinary Urban Humanities Initiative at UCLA, bringing together students and scholars from architecture, urban studies, and the humanities to study contemporary urban issues in the megacities of Mexico City, Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles. UCLA’s Urban Humanities Initiative was a main sponsor of the inaugural Urban Humanities Network conference, which was held in Tucson, AZ in 2023.{{Cite web |date=2 Mar 2023 |title=Inaugural Global Urban Humanities (Un)Conference Draws Emerging Scholars and Practitioners to the Desert |url=https://humanities.arizona.edu/news/inaugural-global-urban-humanities-unconference-draws-emerging-scholars-and-practitioners |website=The University of Arizona College of Humanities}}

The BI(h)OME, designed by Kevin Daly Architects based on cityLAB's research on backyard homes, received an AIA Small Project Award in 2018.{{Cite web |last=Cogley |first=Bridget |date=6 Jun 2018 |title=AIA recognises the best small projects in the US for 2018 awards |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2018/06/06/aia-small-projects-awards-winners-2018/ |website=Dezeen}}

In 2019, cityLAB founder Dana Cuff received Architectural Record’s Women in Architecture Activist Award for her work at cityLAB.{{Cite web |last=Mavros |first=Kara |date=6 Sep 2019 |title=Architectural Record’s 2019 Women in Architecture Award Winners Announced |url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14254-architectural-records-2019-women-in-architecture-award-winners-announced |website=Architectural Record}} In 2020, she received recognition for cityLAB by receiving the ARCC James Haecker Award for Distinguished Leadership in Architectural Research,{{Cite web |date=26 Nov 2019 |title=2020 ARCC James Haecker Award for Distinguished Leadership in Architectural Research |url=https://www.arcc-arch.org/2020-arcc-james-haecker-award-for-distinguished-leadership-in-architectural-research/ |website=Architectural Research Centers Consortium}} and in 2022, she received a UCLA Public Impact Research Award.{{Cite web |last=Snyder |first=Manon |date=19 May 2022 |title=Six professors receive UCLA Public Impact Research Awards |url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-public-impact-research-awards-faculty |website=UCLA Newsroom}}

cityLAB has developed long-term partnerships with community organizations in Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles Public Library and Heart of Los Angeles. Reflections{{Cite web |last=Plattsmeier |first=Christopher |date=29 Jun 2022 |title=Interview: Dana Cuff, cityLAB |url=https://oth.thirdchapter.org/features/interview-dana-cuff-citylab/ |website=Oh, the Humanities!}} and Markings are two projects in partnership with these organizations that focus on telling immigrant histories in the neighborhood of Westlake, Los Angeles.{{Cite web |date=5 May 2023 |title=Mellon Foundation advances cityLAB-led "Markings" project with transformative grant |url=https://www.aud.ucla.edu/news-events/news/citylab-markings-mellon-grant |website=UCLA Architecture and Urban Design}}

• [https://www.citylab.ucla.edu/ cityLAB]
• [https://www.aud.ucla.edu/ UCLA Architecture and Urban Design]

Category:UCLA research institutes

Category:Urban design

Category:Urban planning