De-Commodifying Housing During Covid-19

The 2020 UCLA Community Collaborative is an applied research project that operated through the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs from January to June 2020. Coordinated and taught by adjunct faculty member Sandra McNeill, the project brought graduate students in Urban Planning and Public Health together with community partners from South and East Los Angeles to address the question: How can LA’s working-class communities of color disrupt the devastating impact of speculative capital that is raising housing costs, creating displacement, and destabilizing neighborhoods?

The project evolved to also address the emergent COVID-19 crisis, the stay-at-home orders, and the impact of the subsequent economic crisis on Los Angeles area housing. The course gave students and local practitioners the opportunity to learn together, conduct research, and develop a final project serving community organizers and policy makers.

The report includes popular education materials in English, Spanish and Chinese, including a Housing Commodification Timeline, World We Want To Live In graphic, and a graphic explanation of the 2008 Housing Crisis.