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LISC LA Presents At HUD-Japan Delegation 2019

For three days in June 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hosted a Japanese delegation in Los Angeles. The Japanese delegation was made up of ranking members from the Japanese Urban Renaissance Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism. These annual meetings are part of a joint memorandum of cooperation released in 2017 that affirmed the two countries’ commitment towards researching novel methods for accommodating the living challenges of aging populations. 

During the Los Angeles site visit between HUD and the Japanese Delegation, LISC LA’s Program Officer, Jessica Wackenhut, Youth Policy Institute’s Iris Zuniga, Martin Leitner of Perkins and Will, and Erich Yost of HUD presented on the Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan in Hollywood. The HUD Choice Neighborhoods program leverages public and private funding to support locally driven strategies to address struggling neighborhoods around distressed public housing through a comprehensive neighborhood approach. Youth Policy Institute was awarded a Choice Neighborhoods Planning grant in 2013 in which they partnered with developer McCormack Baron Salazar, and the Housing Authority of the City of LA to understand the challenges around the Las Palmas Gardens, a 72-unit public housing site for seniors and people with disabilities.  

The Transformation Plan that was completed in 2015 leverages public and private funds to support a wide array of initiatives focusing on three core components: housing development and preservation, neighborhood revitalization, and people through supportive services and programs around a public housing site. The Plan is unique in utilizing universal design for seniors and disabled individuals to age in place and has continued to advance the strategies laid out in the Transformation Plan through the LA Promise Zone Working Groups. 

Jessica reviewed the progress of the Transformation Plan, highlighting the importance of transportation accessibility, economic development initiatives and the preservation of affordable housing for the aging population in Los Angeles.  

However, there is still much work to be done. Jessica detailed the major concerns reported by seniors in Hollywood, such as the lack of access to green space and accessible sidewalks, the increase of rent burden, a rise in homelessness and a rise in crime.  While many of these are citywide issues, she outlined the innovative strategies that are being implemented in the LA Promise Zone.  

Overall, the presentation from YPI, Perkins & Will, and LISC LA provided an overview of the neighborhood revitalization efforts in Los Angeles that were groundbreaking, especially when thinking about universal design. While marking an end to one phase of the Transformation Plan, LA Promise Zone partners are continuing to implement the strategies for a more equitable future for seniors and people with disabilities in Hollywood and beyond. 

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Jessica Wackenhut, Program Officer
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