The way we have become accustomed to building, transporting ourselves and living in Los Angeles isn’t sustainable. There simply aren’t enough resources to keep developing this way anymore – land, water, building materials, to name a few. Furthermore, a large majority of the city is zoned for lower density, single-family homes and, instead of building denser, multifamily housing, our reliance on cars has fueled urban sprawl. Parallel to this, we’re struggling to adapt to increasingly extreme weather.

If we are going to combat global warming, we need to lower our carbon footprint and be smarter about the way we utilize our finite resources. We need to create new ways of living together through holistic, intentional design that leverages sustainable building practices including reducing our use of concrete, focusing on net zero operations by going all electric, recycling and redirecting water, building by high frequency public transit, pairing park space with living lungs that clean contaminants from the air, etc.

We can build a more sustainable and equitable LA by focusing on density, walkability and access to shared green spaces for all. In this manner, the region and specifically its residential buildings, can become the catalyst for solving global warming while meeting our housing needs.