An additional one million new residents could live in LA by 2035: report

As Los Angeles County grapples with a severe housing shortage, a new study finds the population could see an increase of one million people in the next two decades, Curbed reported.

The number of people living in the Southern California county could rise to 11.2 million by 2035, according to a new preliminary estimate released Nov. 3 by the Southern California Association of Governments. Currently, L.A. is home to 10.2 million residents.

That’s likely to put increased pressure on Mayor Eric Garcetti, along with county officials, to find a way to build sufficient housing and transportation infrastructure to accommodate such growth. Just last week, Garcetti announced his goal of reaching 100,000 of new housing units by 2021 was two-thirds complete. Prior to that, he announced his new program “28 by 28,” a plan to accelerate the 28 transportation projects in the works before the 2028 Olympic games.

The city has been making headway in its efforts to expand affordable housing — its Transit Oriented Communities incentive deal has already caught the fancy of at least one developer seeking increased density, and its relaxed restrictions pertaining to granny flats led to construction of twice as many units than were build last year. There are also planners working to update the city’s and neighborhood-specific general plans.

But, many are claiming that’s not enough. A recent report from the nonprofit California Housing Partnership Corporation found that LA County would need to build a staggering 551,807 new units of affordable housing to address demand from lower income residents. [Curbed] – Natalie Hoberman