UCLA's cityLAB, the City of Los Angeles and LA4LA have launched "Small Lots, Big Impacts," an innovative initiative seeking proposals and design plans for quicker, innovative and cost-effective housing on city-owned small lots tailored for first-time homeowners.
Historically, small lots across Los Angeles have been viewed as impractical for housing. "Small Lots, Big Impacts" challenges architects, designers and builders to creatively reimagine these spaces. Competition winners will advance to a second phase this summer, collaborating with development teams to bring their designs to life as prototypes.
"We need to see what's possible for L.A.'s near future," said Dana Cuff, director of cityLAB at UCLA. "By bringing together the best architects, developers and builders, we can invent a new generation of 'SoCal starter homes' — compact, sharing land once occupied by a single house (and) giving dignity and joy to their residents while respecting Mother Nature."
The initiative directly addresses Los Angeles' urgent need for affordable housing. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez emphasized utilizing underused land to create resilient homes accessible to working Angelenos. Tom De Simone, CEO of Genesis L.A., noted how the initiative can streamline housing developments by supporting smaller developers and reducing regulatory barriers.
