SITING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA // PACOIMA

Pacoima, in the northeast San Fernando Valley, exemplifies the region’s housing shortage. The community is zoned for single-family residential development, but high real estate prices and dense population have led to an extreme shortage of affordable housing. Unlike other communities, Pacioma has thousands of extra-large single-family lots of more than 10,000 square feet (nearly twice the size of an average Los Angeles residential lot). The project team will engage in action-oriented research to produce design and land use policy strategies for these sites. This will result in (1) policy recommendations to revise existing approval processes and zoning policies to support quality infill development, (2) collaboratively-shaped development scenarios to serve as models for typical sites, and (3) a best-practices model of neighborhood engagement. The project will produce findings with broad practical implications in policy and building.

This project aims to develop innovative, environmentally conscious, and affordable solutions to the regional housing shortage.  It responds to the significant need to revise those planning and zoning practices that reflect our region’s sprawling past rather than the present infill development pressures.  The multi-disciplinary project team includes the community organization Pacoima Beautiful, senior staff from the LA Planning Department, and staff and graduate student researchers at cityLAB. >> Link: Pacoima Beautiful