After climbing for the past five years, overall homelessness leveled off in Los Angeles city and county this year, with fewer people living on the streets, according to the annual count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

The 2024 count appeared to show the effects of city and county programs to clear out encampments. LAHSA estimated that there were 75,312 homeless people across the county, down 0.3% compared to the prior year. In the city of Los Angeles, the number was 45,252, a reduction of 2.2%.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

Join Jarrett Walker as he talks about his new book, Human Transit, Revised Edition and offers guidance to achieve successful public transit that will enrich any community.

Transportation expert Jarrett Walker believes that transit can be simple, if we focus on the underlying geometry that all transit systems share. Jarrett’s gift is being able to break down the basic principles of public transit so that you may have the tools necessary to clarify and advocate for your own values.

Learn more and RSVP here.

Experience the powerful firsthand accounts of formerly unhoused college students and young adults aging out of foster care.

When teens age out of the foster care system, the combined challenges of independent living can be overwhelming. Join us as we explore solutions that allow them to thrive and the transformative impact of community support on their lives.

Hear from housing innovator Sam Prater (founder of Los Angeles Room & Board) and acclaimed author David Ambroz, recognized as an American Champion of Change by President Obama. Guiding us through the evening is the talented actor, producer, director, and activist Shanola Hampton.

Learn more and RSVP here.

Enjoy an Inspiring Afternoon at the 2023 Connections Count Showcase!

Join us at the Connections Count Showcase for an inspiring afternoon - learn how OCLA's WIN app not only connects those who are homeless to essential services but also and works to break the pipeline to homelessness by empowering those who are struggling to find needed support before they fall into homelessness. Connections Count will be held at the Santa Monica Bay Woman's Club, 1210 4th Street, Santa Monica ( or join us via livestream). This year's Showcase will feature live entertainment - including performers from Urban Voices, testimonials from those who have used WIN to help others and opportunities enjoy wine and cheese as you support the raffle and silent auction!

Learn more and RSVP here.

Is your city's park and greenspace strategy helping everyone thrive?

Equitable development means making sure that everyone’s needs - especially those in underserved communities - are met as our cities change and transform over time. As cities find new ways of reducing disparities and creating strong, livable communities, it’s essential that parks and greenspaces are prioritized as part of the solution.

Parks and greenspaces can help address some of the most urgent challenges of today and tomorrow. They link neighbors to each other, provide space for leisure and exercise, and create shade and protection from weather events. They offer powerful opportunities to build healthy and connected neighborhoods, and places that people want to live, work, and play. However, with 100 million people lacking access to close-to-home parks, these benefits are not equitably available. And unless action is taken today, these inequities will continue to grow.

Come join us for an engaging discussion on how city leaders can plan for parks and greenspace projects that benefit all residents, especially those who are most impacted by economic burdens, health issues, and social disparities. During this 10-Minute Walk Mayors Roundtable, you’ll hear from city leaders who are using innovative policies and practices that leverage parks as a tool for equitable development. They’re helping to tackle systemic community problems like poverty, environmental justice, and health equity through their park and greenspace projects.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how your city can create a more inclusive and thriving community through its park and greenspace strategy!

Learn more and RSVP here.

Join ULI Los Angeles for an online panel discussion on what different jurisdictions are doing to create an accommodating environment for outdoor dining as we move away from an emergency solution to permanent planning and urban design guidelines!

As we move away from the COVID emergency, what are different jurisdictions planning to create a permanent, accommodating environment for outdoor dining? What will future planning and urban design guidelines look like? Has this changed how the development community and restauranteurs plan and implement their current and future projects?

Learn more and RSVP here.

Place—the unique space where the physical environment meets the social, emotional, and spiritual aspects unique to human life—is one of the most important drivers of equity and prosperity in communities. However, far too many neighborhoods in the United States have faced decades-long disinvestment, increased concentrated poverty and ongoing, systemic racism, challenging the benefits that vibrant communities can bring.

In response, civic infrastructure, such as parks, trails, libraries, community centers and the public realm, is increasingly critical to creating economic opportunity, eliminating racism, and promoting health.

Join Reimagining the Civic Commons for the release of Place Driving Equity: An evidence-based action guide on the role of public space for shared prosperity. Kyle Kutuchief, Knight Foundation’s Program Director in Akron, will present the publication’s findings and be joined by panelists—Dr. Eugenia (Gina) South, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Shamichael Hallman, Senior Library Manager of Cossitt Library in Memphis in a conversation with Lynn M. Ross from Spirit for Change Consulting. The panel will highlight the centrality of place as a crucial tool in overcoming inequity, building trust, and generating community-based opportunity and wealth.

Reimagining the Civic Commons is a national initiative transforming public spaces to foster engagement, equity, environmental sustainability and economic development in cities across the country.

Find out more about speakers and RSVP here.

Our cultural infrastructure in cities across America – the spaces where creative people and professionals live, work, make, rehearse, present, and perform – is under threat. Even before the pandemic, museums, artist and recording studios, rehearsal spaces, and independent music venues and theaters have been feeling the squeeze of growing development pressure and restrictive planning policy, rising rents, and changing business and revenue models across the creative industries. And while the pandemic has had a profound impact across the economy, it has been uniquely brutal for cities’ creative economy and cultural sectors. Due to these sectors’ dependence on in-person events, many cultural venues saw revenue losses of up to 90 percent, and some of our cities’ most beloved cultural spaces have closed permanently.

The thought of a post-pandemic without the arts and cultural ecosystems that gives our cities their sense of place and community is a bleak one.

Find out more and RSVP here.

The pandemic has proved the importance of public parks for our physical and mental well-being, as well as the environmental health of communities. During this watershed moment, new funding offers an opportunity to improve access to public spaces for all. This discussion will illuminate pathways to increase park equity in Los Angeles and beyond.

Learn more and RSVP here.

Please join us to discuss Civic Space in Los Angeles.

With the election, pandemic and social justice still top of mind as we enter the Fall, people are also thinking about what our lives and common spaces may be like as we begin to reconnect.

With prospects of better testing, a vaccine, and a change in leadership, how will our transportation and open spaces evolve? Will streets given over to pedestrians, restaurants, bicycles remain like that? How can parks and other civic gathering places better accommodate the diverse needs of citizens in these new circumstances, especially the elderly and those with less access to traditional open spaces? How can the design of neighborhoods effect our public health, economics, education, civic life? 

This panel will include experts discussing the past, present, future of LA’s civic spaces in relation to neighborhoods, urban design, and environmental justice: how we got here, where we are now, and potential solutions for the healthy and beautiful city in which all can thrive. 

Free Registration Here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eK7CJrqFStCqjNrydEqXEQ

Learn what cities, developers and restaurants are doing to help the restaurant industry and Main Streets survive amidst, and even thrive despite, the impacts of COVID-19. Hear from experts on both short and long-term effects of social distancing protocols and how present & future urban design and policies can be beneficial to the urban fabric and streetscapes. Insights will be shared and discussed amongst panelists from these different vantage points, as well as what to expect with Al Fresco 2.0 and the evolving urban fabric.

Learn more and register here.

On Wednesday, September 16 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, join Next City for a webinar with guest presenter Lindsey Walker, who will discuss how Philadelphia maintained clean parks in the face of pandemic related budget cuts.

Due to the pandemic, more and more folks have begun to flock to outdoor green spaces for recreation. Unfortunately, the pandemic has also impacted how these parks are being managed. Parks in Philadelphia saw the cancelation of hundreds of volunteer events. Additionally, park maintenance was slashed due to budget cuts. With an increase in park usage came an increase in litter and fewer people to clean it up. 

To address this problem, Love Your Park, a collaboration between Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, and Philadelphia’s Park Friends Network developed a solo cleanup program to replace the collaboration’s usual group volunteer events. This initiative offers Philadelphians a safe outdoor activity that simultaneously provides the city with critical park maintenance, thus creating clean and positive spaces for all. 

Volunteers are encouraged to clean up their local parks alone or with other members of their household. Love Your Park’s Solo Cleanup Program provides Philly residents with clean-up kits that include gloves, trash bags, cleanup instructions, safety and social distancing tips, and a Fairmount Park Conservancy bandanna. Additionally, the organization encourages volunteers to track the amount of litter they remove from the parks. 

To date, Love Your Park has engaged more than 500 volunteers and distributed more than 400 cleanup kits. They’ve also raised over $2,000 in donations to support the program and recruited new members to their organization. This has resulted in over 500 hours of service. 

“Many of us feel a bit helpless right now, and many of us are seeking a way to find peace and community during a truly difficult time,” says Walker. “This program is giving people something positive and tangible to do, and encouraging people to explore our parks.”

Walker is the volunteer and environmental program manager at Fairmount Park Conservancy. She is developing the Conservancy’s first volunteer leadership and environmental

education programs and also organizes Love Your Park. Lindsey has a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and her favorite park in Philly is FDR Park.

This webinar is to pay what you wish to register. Pay any amount that you would like or nothing at all. Those who become sustaining members of at least $5 a month, or who make a one-time donation of at least $20, may receive “19 Best Solutions of 2019” — Next City’s solutions of the year magazine. Your contribution toward this seminar will be used to find even more amazing guests, cover hosting fees and organize seminars like this one more frequently. A video of the webinar will be made available to those who register.

RSVP here.