From the Foundation Up: Affordable Housing in Los Angeles

Abstract

Angie, Kether and I interned full time at organizations dedicated to solving LA?s housing crisis. We learned that the housing shortage is a result of various forces and must be addressed from both national perspectives as well as on local and community levels. There are four major reasons for the lack of affordable housing in LA. The first is the high cost of real estate. The second is the nature of the present economy. Lack of federal funds to close the gap between wages and housing costs have also cause the shortage. Finally, gentrification is also causing displacement and homelessness in the city. I worked as East Los Angeles Community Corporation to alleviate high costs of housing. I worked along side developers and learned the ropes of the highly complex field of affordable housing development. There are four stages in the development of a piece of property. Acquisition, predevelopment, construction, permanent development and operation. Different people and companies comein and out in each of these steps. Our job as developers is to coordinate with each of these ?development team members? and to keep communication clear thus ensuring the flow of the project. Besides working on funding applications, I also participated in the construction process on the development Lorena Terrace, located in Boyle Heights. In construction, my role continued as a liaison between the various team members on a project. I helped to keep each member of the development team on the same page so that construction would run smoothly and roughly along schedule.