Blog Posts

I. Introduction & Summary In June of 2022, Los Angeles County launched a land banking pilot program, allocating $50 million to begin implementation. The goal of the land bank pilot is to prevent displacement near new development spurred by the Los...

Background In November 2022, 58% of Angelenos voted to pass the United to House Los Angeles (ULA) ballot measure, commonly referred to as the “mansion tax,” to fund affordable housing. ULA is a Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) on high-dollar real...

The first time I heard of the European Common Agrarian Policy ( CAP) I was around ten years old. That–you may think—is probably too tender an age to get into the weeds of one of the most technical policy areas in the European Union. And you would be...

In late 2023, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell forecasted that 2024 would be the year of fear. Borrell expressed his concern that Europeans’ fears would lead them to elect the far right en masse. In that respect, he is probably...

Opening Thoughts Facing the fierce winds of climate chaos, of growing geopolitical instabilities around the world, of declining trust in democratic institutions, and of pandemic futures replete with bacterial agents and viral thresholds, it is...

The colonization of Indigenous lands and peoples in what is now called California included the state-funded genocide of 90 percent of Indigenous populations and the accumulation of land and wealth among white settlers. According to Dr. Cutcha Risling...

The year 2023 has been full of violence. The ongoing killing and injury of tens of thousands of non-combatants and especially of children in Gaza, at the hands of the Israeli military, defies imagination. Russia's war on Ukraine continues unabated...

With the death toll in Gaza climbing past 8,500 people, including more than 3,500 children, and hundreds more being killed each day in Israel's relentless bombardment of homes and other civilian infrastructure, we at OBI join a growing global chorus...

What happens when race and political preference are so strongly correlated that state legislatures can cloak racial gerrymanders in the guise of partisanship? That's the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Alexander v. South Carolina...

A few months ago, I managed a focus group exploring attitudes towards climate with young Spanish progressives from urban centers. Whenever I manage focus groups, I like to begin with the question “what are the most important issues facing the country...

In recent years, advocates’ push for development without displacement in California has been incorporated into state grant-making pilot programs like the Equitable Community Revitalization Grant. Investments in urgently needed low-income housing...

Note: This blog post describes the content and status of these bills as of July 11, 2023. You can follow new updates and amendments on the California legislative information website. California policymakers are showing new interest in using social...

There is usually a trigger event. George’s Floyd murder. Aylan Kurdi. The most vitriolic displays of racism on the football pitch. Open arms to Ukrainian refugees, closed doors to Syrians and Afghans. A speech by Orbán addressing “the mixing of races...

I recently gave a talk to a local California Association of Realtors group on the “Past, Present and Future of Fair Housing” to commemorate Fair Housing month (April), and to help the group think about their role in promoting fair housing. It is...

There is a clip of US Senator Bernie Sanders making the rounds from a recent episode of Bill Maher’s HBO program, in which the host asked Senator Sanders to distinguish “equality” from “equity.” Senator Sanders explained that “equality” refers to...