Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to understand the status of the City of Los Angeles's approach to its current affordable housing crisis. This study will provide the City of Los Angeles with a current understanding of its affordable housing strategy so that it can fully engage in efforts to address affordable housing in a more informed manner.Theoretical Framework. This paper attempts to provide a status of the City of Los Angeles's affordable housing strategy using a systems approach. This research is informed by the theories of cooperation, governance networks, administrative conjunction, social network theory, and institutional collective action theory.Methodology. This study employed a systems approach to obtain an understanding of the City of Los Angeles's affordable housing strategy. This study used both primary data, consisting of a survey instrument that was administered to all HCIDLA staff, and secondary data, the City of Los Angeles Housing Element. The quantitative data obtained from the primary and secondary data were input into UCINET and visualized in Netdraw Network to better understand the collaboration within the City's affordable housing network.Findings. The City's affordable housing network comprises 139 programs, 12 objectives, and 24 departments/agencies. Many departments/agencies collaborate with other departments/agencies to create and maintain affordable housing for the City's residents. Although the actors, HCIDLA staff members, work with other departments or agencies outside HCIDLA, it is very minimal and the majority do not work with others outside HCIDLA or with county, state, or federal actors. Social capital is not established within the network with members outside HCIDLA, and long-term relationships do not appear to be established. Findings from the research indicate the affordable housing network in Los Angeles is largely insular, and implications for collaborative efforts are identified.Conclusions and Recommendations. The City may utilize the 9 ICA dilemmas as guidelines to establish policies and procedures. The City may be better situated to reach its goal of providing housing for all residents by establishing policies that increase collaboration and establish trust and social capital. Further research might seek to administer the same survey tool to all departments and agencies that work on affordable housing within the City of Los Angeles.