L.A. Reluctant to Give Its Bums the Rush

The Los Angeles City Council this week banned demolition of about 240 flophouses in the city's downtown for at least one year.
By: Andrew Glazer: REALTOR® Magazine Online
The moratorium gives officials time to figure out how to simultaneously encourage gentrification and preserve affordable housing.

The city recently commissioned a study that examined the problem of dwindling housing for skid row denizens, including drug users and prostitutes. The study recommended that the city and county spend $15 billion on preserving single-room accommodations and preventative services.

Not everyone is enamored with the study or the city’s actions. "Preserving units built in the early 1900s to house migrant railroad workers that have no bathrooms or kitchens does not strike us as the best low-income housing policy for the city," says Carol E. Schatz, president and CEO of the Central City Association.