Date: June 1, 2019
Author(s): Dustin Khuu
Abstract
Jordan Downs is a 700-unit public housing site that is currently being redeveloped into a mixed-income urban village. Jordan Downs and the surrounding Watts neighborhood were awarded a $50 million implementation grant from the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program that allocates California cap-and-trade funds to support projects for Disadvantaged Communities as classified under CalEnviroScreen 3.0. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is interested in leveraging TCC grant funding to explore transportation improvements in the area. This study assesses how community members perceive issues of the built environment, and how these perceptions may influence their transportation mode choice. Funding guidelines for the TCC and Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) grants were analyzed to create a set of recommendations that would be most feasible for implementation. From the analysis and recommendation, a toolkit was created that would help LADOT conduct further mobility assessments in other communities
About the Project
The Jordan Downs housing development is a public housing complex in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. In accordance with the Jordan Downs Relocation Plan undertaken by the City of Los Angeles Housing Authority, the housing complex is currently being re-designed and relocated to an adjacent property. This relocation presents a rare opportunity for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) to address transportation equity concerns in the design of surrounding roads and sidewalks. The purpose of this project was to answer the following two research questions: 1) What built environment factors influence perceptions of mode choice for residents of Jordan Downs and the surrounding Watts community?; and 2) How can LADOT best implement transportation investments to best address these perceptions?