These Are the Most Expensive US Cities for Renters, With Some Prices Up 41% "Over half of the costliest metro areas for dwellings are in California" (Bloomberg CityLab)

SoLa Impact and Riot Games' Tech Center is a Digital Oasis for South Central LA's Youth "The facility had its grand opening Aug. 11, welcoming in 200 people to explore the campus and learn about SoLa Impact’s various programs, which are run through its nonprofit I CAN Foundation. The next round of programs begins Sept. 11, 2022. There’s a one-time annual $25 membership fee, which includes unlimited access to the Tech Center and its gaming lab. The I CAN Foundation also offers scholarships, and recently helped send 24 students to college this fall." (dot LA)

Growth in L.A. County homeless population slowed during pandemic, count finds "The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which coordinates the annual count for most of the county, found that the region’s homeless population grew by 4.1% from 66,436 in 2020 to 69,144 in 2022. The percentage of those individuals living indoors in shelters increased from 28% to 30%." (LA Times)

Homelessness Is Rising Slower Than It Did In Previous Years But How Accurate Is The Data? "Since the pandemic started, homelessness has increased by a little more than four percent in the county and almost two percent in the City of Los Angeles. Those numbers are down significantly from the double-digit increases experienced in the years preceding COVID....The latest figures estimate the number of people living on the streets, in vehicles, shelters, and makeshift dwellings on any given night, but how accurate is the data?" (LA Taco)

Metro and L.A. Keep Widening Streets At Transit Stations: Regional Connector Grand Avenue Edition "This sort of street widening at Metro Stations is not uncommon; it already happened at many many stations along Metro’s Blue, Red, Purple and Expo Lines. And it’s not entirely Metro’s fault....The city of L.A. has lots of street widening embedded in its city plans, including its supposedly multi-modal Mobility Plan. Street widening seems the one part of the city’s Mobility Plan that actually gets implemented during construction." (Streetsblog LA)

Tropical Storm Kay ‘keeps punching’ as it hits SoCal with 100-mph winds, intense rain Southern California is feeling like Southern Florida right about now (LA Times)

South Bay council of governments studies ADUs as an affordable housing solution "ADUS have been touted as one solution to the ongoing housing crisis but data on how much they increase the affordable housing stock is limited." (Daily Breeze)

Check out the progress on the 7th Street Improvement Project! Construction of the curb-protected bike lanes is mostly complete between San Pedro and Wall Street. The final project will add cycle tracks and other upgrades to 7th from San Pedro to Figueroa. (LADOT Twitter)