WHAT’S YOUR PRIORITY FOR LOS ANGELES?

Farooq Ameen, AIA, RIBA – Founding Principal, City Design Studio

The housing crisis in Los Angeles has reached alarming proportions, posing significant challenges to the well-being and stability of residents. Skyrocketing housing costs have created a scarcity of affordable housing at every scale. Thousands of lower-income families and individuals are pushed to the brink of homelessness, unable to afford even the most basic workforce housing. Without a doubt, the most visible and immediate consequence is the staggering number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. They face immense physical and psychological hardships, making it difficult to escape the cycle of poverty and to find stable housing, resulting in chronic homelessness. The strain on public services and resources is substantial.

The cost of emergency services and temporary shelters outweighs the cost of investing in sustainable housing solutions that can provide long-term stability and support. At the same time, we have an untapped resource right in front of us. Commercial, retail, and formerly industrial spaces lie vacant, wasting away, while the crisis deepens. As architects, we possess the unique ability to creatively transform the built environment. We must step up and lead the charge, guiding public agencies and elected officials to consider a bold pathway that actively adapts these underutilized spaces into housing solutions. It’s not just about proposing zoning and code changes; it’s about showcasing the boundless potential of adaptive reuse in inspiring and transformative ways.

Farooq Ameen, AIA, RIBA – Founding Principal, City Design Studio

Farooq Ameen is the founding Principal at City Design Studio. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the A+D>Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles and the Council on Open Building. Ameen is the author/editor of numerous publications including “deCoding Asian Urbanism”, “Contemporary Architecture and City Form: The South Asian Paradigm” and “50 Under 50: Innovators of the 21st Century”. He has held academic appointments at various institutions including the Southern California Institute of Architecture (Los Angeles & Lugano, Switzerland), Woodbury University, Calpoly Pomona and the Bauhaus, Dessau. Ameen has lectured extensively including Columbia University, the Berlin Stadt-Forum, Harvard University and UCLA, as well as professional bodies such as the AIA and the APA. Current and recent projects include the Intuit Dome Event Plaza Buildings for the Los Angeles Clippers, Transit Oriented Development Plans for 15 communities along the proposed 20-mile West Santa Ana Transit Corridor in Los Angeles County, the Zizhu International High Tech Zone Development in Shanghai, China and the King Fahd Master Plan for the MYAS City Center on the Red Sea for the Royal Commission In the KSA. He Received a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles.