The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has announced the results of the 2024 Homelessness count and (surprise!) it has gone down for the first time since 2018.
“For so many years, the count has shown increases in homelessness, and we have all felt that in our neighborhoods. But we leaned into change. And we have changed the trajectory of this crisis and have moved L.A. in a new direction,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass in a news release. “There is nothing we cannot do by taking on the status quo, putting politics aside, and rolling up our sleeves to work together. I want to thank the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, LAHSA, our state, federal and community partners and our service provider partners for locking arms to confront this crisis with the urgency that it requires. This is not the end, it is the beginning – and we will build on this progress, together.”
The city's news release points to a 10 percent drop in street homelessness within city limits, as well as a 38 percent decrease in makeshift shelters. This comes as the city has moved aggressively to bring people indoors through the Inside Safe initiative.
Overall, it is estimated that there are still more than 75,000 homeless people across Los Angeles County, which is down slightly. Likewise, the City of Los Angeles has roughly 45,000 unhoused residents, a 2.2 percent reduction from the prior year.
Rendering of a high-speed trainCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority
This week, the California High-Speed Rail Authority's Board of Directors approved the final environmental document for the project's 38-mile segment between Palmdale and Burbank. That represents the final environmental clearance between downtown San Francisco and Downtown Los Angeles, making almost the entire first phase of the project now "shovel-ready." The final component of phase one, between Downtown and Anaheim, remains in the environmental review phase.
Here's what we're reading this week:
Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Sleeping Outdoors in Homelessness Case "The case is likely to have broad ramifications for how cities across the country respond to homelessness." (NY Times)
LA receives millions for landfill to park conversion "California's Wildlife Conservation Board approved a $12.5 million grant to help L.A. County convert the Puente Hills landfill into a large park. The money's intended to help restore native chaparral, coastal sage scrub and grassland habitats, in an effort to boost biodiversity in the long degraded area." (LAist)
Ford to open EV development center in Douglas Park "The 250,000-square-foot facility will include office, labs and a design studio for up to 450 workers." (Long Beach Watchdog)
How a warehouse development is reshaping one community in the Inland Empire "Over the last 15 years or so, this once-rural town that’s bordered by the cities of Fontana, Rialto and Jurupa Valley has been surrounded by warehouses being built to support our online shopping habits and the supply chain corridor from the ports of L.A. and Long Beach. That pipeline is one of the largest sources of the Southland’s health-harming and planet-heating pollution." (LAist)
Eyes on the Street: Reseda Boulevard Complete Streets Project Completed "Reseda Boulevard now features the longest continuous protected bike lanes in Southern California: 3.9 miles long" (Streetsblog LA)
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