Earlier this year, the City of Los Angeles, UCLA’s CityLab, and the nonprofit organization LA4LA launched a design competition called Small Lots, Big Impacts. This initiative is aimed at tackling the city’s escalating housing shortage and sky-high housing costs by encouraging innovative infill projects. The competition seeks to foster building designs that are both replicable and easy to implement across Los Angeles, using underutilized city land to address the growing demand for affordable housing.
The core goal of this competition is to inspire designs that not only address the practical needs of the community but are also sustainable and cost-effective. As urban development pressures mount, small, undeveloped plots of land throughout the city have become prime locations for new construction. The idea behind the competition is simple: by filling in these vacant spaces, Los Angeles can offer more housing options and promote sustainable urban growth.
The launch of this design competition comes at a critical time, as Los Angeles grapples with a serious housing crisis. According to the competition’s criteria, designs need to be highly practical, adaptable to different sites across the city, and cost-efficient, addressing the real needs of residents. Many of these underused land plots could become ideal sites for development, especially for residents who need affordable housing in downtown or surrounding areas. Filling in these vacant spaces can offer tangible housing solutions that are both immediate and scalable.
Following the judging of the submissions, the competition organizers plan to release a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to invite developers to submit proposals for the demonstration projects. Up to twelve city-owned small lots will be made available for development. This isn’t just a construction initiative; it’s a collaboration between the city, designers, and developers to create housing solutions that are not only livable but also sustainable in the long term. The city’s Housing Department, the Mayor’s Office, and CityLab-UCLA will support winning projects through all stages of the process, from design consultations to permitting and approvals. This comprehensive support ensures that the ideas chosen can be seamlessly transitioned into real-world construction projects.
Los Angeles currently has about 24,000 vacant lots, including 1,000 owned by the city. Following the devastating fires that destroyed nearly 11,000 homes in the region, this number is expected to rise. The urgent need for housing makes the use of these vacant plots even more critical, and filling these gaps with creative, sustainable designs could significantly ease the city’s housing burden.
Looking to international examples, similar successful projects in Europe and the U.S. offer useful lessons for Los Angeles. In London, the “Filling Empty Spaces” initiative used vacant land throughout the city to create affordable housing for low-income families. These once-neglected sites were transformed into small community developments, offering comfortable living spaces that also embraced sustainable design, minimizing environmental impact. Similarly, San Francisco faced its own housing shortages and launched its “Small Spaces, Big Opportunities” redevelopment project. By using design competitions, the city found quick, adaptable solutions for its empty urban spaces, addressing both the demand for housing and the need to use city land efficiently.
These European and American success stories serve as important references for Los Angeles. They make the goal of the Small Lots, Big Impacts competition clearer: not only is it about solving the housing shortage, but it’s also about creating solutions that are economically viable and sustainable, even on limited resources. As the city’s population continues to grow, the challenge becomes balancing the use of available land with the increasing demand for affordable housing. Yet this challenge also presents a unique opportunity—through innovative and forward-thinking design, Los Angeles could set a new precedent for other major cities struggling with similar issues.
Despite the positive response to the Small Lots, Big Impacts competition, there remain many challenges ahead. One major hurdle is ensuring that the winning designs meet the needs of residents while also keeping costs down and construction timelines short. Additionally, the long-term sustainability of these communities—while maintaining affordability—is another critical issue to address. As Los Angeles continues to develop economically, the demand for housing will only grow. The question becomes: how can the city make the most of its limited space while creating enough housing, without compromising the integrity of existing neighborhoods? While this is undoubtedly a challenge, it also presents a significant opportunity for the city to innovate in the realm of urban design.
Through the Small Lots, Big Impacts competition, Los Angeles is not only taking action to address its own housing crisis but also offering valuable insights to other large cities facing similar struggles. This initiative is more than just a design competition—it’s a call for innovative thinking. By focusing on underused city spaces, Los Angeles is creating new solutions for housing that could provide residents with affordable living options in a city known for its high living costs. As the competition progresses, Los Angeles could provide the blueprint for other cities around the world, showing how to navigate the complexities of housing crises through creative urban planning and design.