Category Archives: Los Angeles

The invisibility of code enforcement in planning praxis: The case of informal housing in Southern California

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Pretty cool to be published old school style: in print!

Read the latest from me and Jake Wegmann on #InformalHousing in Los Angeles: “The Invisibility of Code Enforcement in Planning Praxis: The Case of Informal Housing in Southern California,” (2016) FOCUS Journal, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Dept of City & Regional Planning

Abstract: More and better engagement with working class neighborhoods and communities of color are urgent imperatives for the planning profession as the United States transitions to a “majority minority” population. Code enforcement personnel are already doing much of this work, normally in a much more collaborative and less heavy-handed manner than the name of their profession would suggest. However, at present the planning profession largely holds code enforcement at arms’ length. Using the example of the informal housing market in Southern California—managed on a daily basis by code enforcement officers, yet largely unaddressed by planners—we draw on survey and interview data and our own professional experiences to make four propositions about code enforcement work. These are that code enforcement work is unusually cumbersome; it is chronically understaffed; its personnel cope by working reactively rather than proactively; and the profession suffers low prestige as a result. We argue that ending the estrangement between code enforcement and planning would offer numerous benefits to the latter, including inculcating cultural competence in planners through “learning by doing” and working at street level, and injecting sorely needed “community data” into efforts to address vexing issues such as housing unaffordability.

The Dingbat is Dead. Long Live the Dingbat!

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You know the Dingbat apartment building even if you don’t know its history. Architecture historian Reyner Banham coined the Dingbat phrase in the 1970s. It’s that clunky stucco box with a quirky facade perched precariously above parking spaces. Maligned by some, revered by many, studied ad infinitum: the Dingbat is distinctively “L.A.” 

The newest scholarship on this typology is the delightful Dingbat 2.0: The Iconic Los Angeles Apartment as Projection of a Metropolis. This book is a meticulous and exhaustive analysis of one of the most misunderstood building types in Los Angeles. I recommend it highly.

The book’s many essays illuminate the Dingbat’s origins, meaning(s), and (possible) future(s). Pictures are plentiful. Diagrams and photo simulations abound. A newly developed Dingbat taxonomy provides a handy guidebook for spotting them in the environment. And whereas prior studies focus almost exclusively on the Dingbat’s unmistakable facade, Dingbat 2.0 ventures to step inside. Residents share what it’s like to live in this particular form of multifamily housing. This new dimension brings us closer to a “complete comprehension” of the Dingbat.

Dingbat 2.0 is a must-read for urbanists, architects, historians, housing advocates, and everyday Angelenos.

Shout out to Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design and DoppelHouse Press for bringing this to life. The book is helping me finish my own ‘little polemic’ on a Dingbat near me.

An Open Letter to the Pasadena Planning Commission Urging a Comprehensive Overhaul of the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance

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On December 14, 2016, the Pasadena Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider an amendment to the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance. The update is required to comply with the relaxed standards in AB 2299 and SB 1069.

As proposed, the revised Ordinance achieves only minimum compliance with the new housing laws while leaving in place several “poison pill” criteria that discourage new accessory units. This is unacceptable.

Read my Open Letter to the Pasadena Planning Commission urging an overhaul of the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance [published at UrbDeZine.com]

http://losangeles.urbdezine.com/2016/12/12/an-open-letter-to-the-pasadena-planning-commission-and-city-planning-staff-demanding-a-comprehensive-update-to-the-second-dwelling-unit-ordinance/

 

South Central Los Angeles: History and meaning in the historically proper place name

By: Jonathan P. Bell, @c1typlann3r

Decades ago the @latimes uncritically accepted L.A. City’s “South LA” rebranding. Recall that L.A. City’s elected officials wanted to sanitize images of “unrest” that they claimed were associated with “South Central.” So they dropped “Central”… brilliant 🙄. The L.A. Times went along with it wholesale.

We hadn’t seen “South Central L.A.” in an L.A. Times headline for many years until Angel Jennings’s Nov. 22nd story on #TheReef. While it’s in reference to the Historic South-Central district within L.A. City, seeing the historically proper place name was still exciting for many South Central Los Angeles advocates. It was one long overdue step away from revisionist history.

#SouthCentral #LosAngeles #OccasionalCritique #InstaEssay#MicroEssay

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BNh-XSihMg7/?taken-by=c1typlann3r

South Central Los Angeles: Embrace, don’t erase, local history

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Graffiti writers at Slauson and Hooper Aves remind us that this geography is still called South Central Los Angeles. Photo by Jonathan P. Bell, @c1typlann3r
By: Jonathan P. Bell, @c1typlann3r

Remember that this geography is still, and will always be, South Central Los Angeles. The “South LA” rebranding was City of LA’s attempt at revisionist history after the 1992 Uprising (much like the City’s embarrassing 2014 “SOLA” proposal that’s thankfully fizzled).

Invest in place erasure and hope the world forgets: that went nowhere. Stakeholders young and older still call it South Central LA. History matters.

And, for the record, none of the City’s revisionism ever applied in the unincorporated communities: Florence-Firestone, Willowbrook, East Rancho Dominguez, West Rancho Dominguez, West Athens, and Lennox.

💛✊🏽 [Location: Slauson Av @ Hooper Av]

#SouthCentral #LosAngeles #OccasionalCritique #InstaEssay #MicroEssay

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNZ1EhbhQi-/

Latino Informal Housing panel at APA-CA 2016 in Pasadena, Sat 10/22/16


Interested in informal housing? Los Angeles? Latino Urbanism? Attend our talk, “Crafting mi casa: Lessons of Latino Informal Housing Practice in Los Angeles” at the 2016 APA California Conference: Crafting our Future – The Art of Planning in Pasadena, Saturday, October 22, 2016.

Mark Vallianatos, James Rojas, Vinit Mukhija, and I will examine the visual, spatial, policy and regulatory implications this practice has in planning multicultural Los Angeles.

https://planning.org/events/activity/9107473/

OVERVIEW: Latino homeowners renovate their homes based on imagination, needs, and know-how — sometimes without proper permits. This cultural practice has been happening for decades, producing some of the most innovative housing typologies and construction practices, and redefining the basic dwelling unit in Los Angeles. Despite its ingenuity, Latino informal housing development runs into considerable urban planning obstacles. Rigid municipal codes imbued with middle class values render informal units illegal. Rising numbers of tragedies resulting from fires in substandard garage conversions underscore legitimate safety concerns. NIMBYism stifles efforts to build accessory units in Single-Family Residential zones. And in the midst of an acute housing crisis, restrictive zoning and land use laws both discourage and obstruct opportunities to build legally in communities. Planners can learn a lot from the lessons of Latino informal housing practice. This panel will examine the visual, spatial, policy, and regulatory implications Latino informal housing practice has in planning multicultural Los Angeles County.

AICP CM 1.5 units, Course No. 9107473

#APACA2016 #LosAngeles #InformalHousing

Informal Housing and Safety Risks to Occupants: The Case of the Aviles Sisters


Capt. Patrick Wills and I thank everyone who attended our talk today, “Informal Housing and Safety Risks to Occupants: The Case of the Aviles Sisters.”

Please read up on the City of Long Beach’s Aviles Law and ACR 32 addressing unpermitted housing in California.

#InformalHousing #CityofLongBeach #SouthCentral #LosAngeles #ADU #AvilesLaw #CodeEnforcement

Latino Informal Housing panel at 2016 APA CA in Pasadena

I’m moderating a session on Latino informal housing at the APA CA Conference in Pasadena, October 22-25, 2016

Join me, Mark Vallianatos, James Rojas, and Vinit Mukhija as we examine the visual, spatial, policy and regulatory implications this practice has in planning multicultural Los Angeles.

Session:

“Crafting Mi Casa: Lessons of Latino Informal Housing Practices in Los Angeles”

Location:

Pasadena Convention Center

Day/time:

Saturday, October 22, 2016, 2:45p to 4:15p

#APACA2016

#LosAngeles 

#InformalHousing

DRP will stay in DTLA

The misguided plan to move the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning (DRP) to the suburbs bites the dust.

DRP headquarters will stay in #DTLA in the purpose-built, Neutra designed Hall of Records!

Thanks to LA County Supervisors Hilda Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sheila Kuehl, and Don Knabe for their leadership, and everyone who sent letters demanding we #KeepDRPinDTLA

Candidate Statement for CAPE Board of Directors

CAPE represented planners, engineers, appraisers, GIS professionals and inspectors:

My name is Jonathan P. Bell. I’m a planner in the Zoning Enforcement section at the Department of Regional Planning. Currently I’m serving on our CAPE Board of Directors, and was honored to accept the appointment after the retirement of a long-time Director. I’m now seeking a full-term on the Board, and I humbly ask for your vote.

Leadership, experience, and dedication are the qualities I bring to our Board. Since 2012, I’ve served as a CAPE Delegate striving to improve workplace conditions for members. My service includes:

– 2013 and 2015 Contract Negotiations teams
– 2014 Political Endorsement Committee
– Recruitment of 13 new members since 2012
– Organizer for 2013 pay raise petition that garnered over 1,700 member signatures, and was delivered to the BOS

I’m proud that my hard work in support of our members helped me earn the Robert “Bob” Remes Outstanding CAPE Volunteer Award in 2014. This is the passion you’ll always get from me as your Board Director.

Union activism is in my blood. My mom and dad were Communications Workers of America union members for a combined 56 years. Mom was a CWA Shop Steward, and I helped her write grievances when I was in college. As your Board Director, I’ll continue to fight for union members, as I always have.

You need a Board Director who’ll fight hard for better benefits, wages, and pensions for our 2,700+ hardworking members. I have. I WILL.

I humbly ask for your vote.

In solidarity,
Jonathan P. Bell