Joel on KPCC's AirTalk Discussing Solutions to Southern Cal's Homeless Crisis

Urban planning experts join in the conversation to talk about the nature of L.A.’s housing and homeless crisis, the controversy around now-tabled SB-50 and the concept of preserving “local character.

By: KPCC
On: AirTalk® Hosted by Larry Mantle

Click the Play button to listen.

Joel Kotkin, Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Center for Opportunity Urbanism, a think tank in Houston; he is the author of “The Human City: Urbanism for the Rest of Us” (Agate B2, 2016)

Paul Ong, research professor at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA; he is also the director for the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA

Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched a task force to find solutions amid a housing crisis in the most populous state.

The Democratic governor said the state has lacked a strategy to curb homelessness but argued that answers will come from the local level. He said the group will work with cities and counties to develop regional plans for addressing the issue.

Newsom made the announcement in Oakland earlier this week, where county officials said the number of homeless people rose 43 percent over the last two years. Recent data from other counties has shown large increases, too.

Newsom tapped Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to chair the new Homeless and Supportive Housing Task Force. The governor’s office said he will appoint other members later.

The group will meet around the state to see best practices and gather input to propose solutions, Newsom’s office said. The task force will issue at least one report a year to the governor.

Read the entire article at SCPR.org