An adaptive reuse ordinance limited to the city’s downtown core helped create roughly 12,000 units of new housing.
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning has released details about its new Citywide Adaptive Reuse program, calling it “an innovative strategy that facilitates the conversion of existing underutilized or historically significant buildings into housing.”
The program would expand on an existing adaptive reuse initiative that has been in place in downtown Los Angeles since 1999 and is credited with creating over 12,000 housing units in former garment factories, warehouses, and other vacant downtown buildings.
According to the city’s press release, “Drafted with post-pandemic economic recovery in mind, the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance incentivizes the conversion of existing commercial buildings to housing, providing a faster review process for older buildings, allowing for flexible unit sizes, and allowing buildings to retain their building shell while the interior may be converted to housing.”
City officials say the ordinance will promote infill development, historic preservation, and mixed use, lowering carbon emissions and extending the life of existing buildings. The program is part of the Citywide Housing Incentive Program, a six-part plan for meeting the city’s state-mandated housing goals.
FULL STORY: City Planning Releases New Proposed Incentives to Repurpose Vacant Commercial Spaces for Housing
Old Walls, New Homes
From forgotten buildings to thriving neighborhoods, adaptive reuse has the power to transform our cities.
New California Law Supports Adaptive Reuse
AB 2243 paves the way for easier conversion of industrially and commercially zones properties for residential development.
Connecticut Bill Could Streamline Adaptive Reuse
The proposed law would exempt some conversion projects from local zoning regulations.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research