Public Housing and the Vote to Repeal Article 34

Welcome back to episode 15 of Urban Planning is Not Boring! This week, we have a very special guest on the podcast! Elizabeth Pino, a community engagement specialist and Planning Commissioner for the City of Torrance, speaks with Sam about everything from her role as a commissioner, how to get involved in public service, her experiences as a woman and mother, and the group that she helped found, Anti-Racist Moms (ARMs).  About Elizabeth Pino: Elizabeth Pino is a Latina immigrant, wife, proud mother, and passionate public servant.   She currently serves as Planning Commissioner for the City of Torrance and as a community engagement specialist for Wider Circle - a community-based health organization that drives better health for older adults and other vulnerable communities. Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, during one of the darkest times in the country, known as "The Pablo Escobar Era." Elizabeth witnessed things a young child shouldn’t have to. The country was going through a volatile political era. This experience helped shape her perspective and fully understand how any country can fall apart without proper government control. These injustices motivated her to attend a four-year university, studying Political Science, and choose a career serving others. She also holds a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on Nonprofits.  During her first year in college, she interned at City Hall Los Angeles with Councilman Greig Smith. Where her love for public service evolved. After graduating from college, she co-founded a non-profit called Kiikas.org. Through this non-profit, Kiikas helped to educate young women on self-awareness techniques and provide tools to increase proactive participation in their health.  Meet Elizabeth Pino ...

In this episode of Urban Planning is Not Boring, Sam is joined by her friend Gia Chinchilla. Sam and Gia met through Climate Action LAb, a collective that Gia founded in 2019 that aims to inform & empower Angelenos to tackle environmental justice and climate-related issues in our city. Since working at CLAb together, Sam and Gia have bonded over their shared passion for equitable and sustainable transportation solutions. Tune in to hear our conversation about Climate Action LAb, the LA Green New Deal, transit in LA, and the Urban Future conference.    About Gia: Gia (she/her) is an e-Mobility professional, carbon consultant, and writer based in Los Angeles and Paris. She is driven by the simple question: how can we create systems that sustain our well-being? With over five-years experience in clean technology and consulting, Gia has helped her clients reach innovative solutions to challenging decarbonization problems with a holistic “roadmap” to zero emissions technology. A natural storyteller, she has leveraged her experience in interpersonal communication as Founder of @climateactionlab by connecting members with the environmental movement in an approachable manner. Her work has been featured at the United Nations, the TED stage, and multiple global conferences. Outside of work, you can find Gia searching for inspiration by exploring her favorite cities via two-wheels, running trails, and her appetite   To keep up with Climate Action LAb, visit @climateactionlab and the website.    To join the Climate Action LAb Club, visit the registration form   For more information about the LA Green New Deal, check out the pLAn.    For more ...

Welcome back to another episode of Urban Planning is Not Boring! Sam and Nat took a couple of weeks off to focus on school, work, travel, etc., but we are BACK! In this episode, we are talking about a relatively new phenomenon - builder's remedy. If you're from LA or living in LA currently, you've probably heard of the 4500 proposed units of housing in Santa Monica in response to builder's remedy. Why is there a sudden push to propose so much housing? Does builder's remedy have the potential to help us solve the housing crisis? We explore these questions and more in this week's episode! For more information, check out these resources: A Primer on California’s “Builder’s Remedy” for Housing-Element Noncompliance Builder’s remedy could allow thousands of new homes in California Santa Monica’s ‘builder’s remedy’ experiment holds lessons for the region City leaders still hope to block 15 of 16 builder’s remedy projects   ...