Exploring the Feasibility of Building a Housing Stock Tool to Address Homelessness in Los Angeles

Despite the dramatic scope of homelessness in Los Angeles County, there is not a credible, comprehensive source of data on the housing stock that is available for addressing this issue. With this tool, we aimed to bring together an unparalleled amount of data on the current supply of housing in Los Angeles County. We take a broad view of housing that incorporates not only resources such as interim and shelter facilities and permanent supportive housing but also deed-restricted affordable housing developments and other residential settings that address physical, mental, and substance use treatment needs.

This tool is a database that aggregates information from city, county, state, and federal agencies. It combines information across sources to provide information about each housing type (e.g., financing or funding source, size, service provision, client characteristics). All the data in the tool are available for download. The tool is also configured to display selected housing types on a map. The user can select what is displayed on the map in terms of jurisdictional boundaries and various housing type characteristics.

The tool was developed as part of a feasibility study to explore the potential of creating an interactive map-based tool of available housing stock to address homelessness in Los Angeles County. The technical appendix describes the data sources, how the information was compiled into the database, and other relevant context to the work, including challenges with developing and maintaining the tool and other related ongoing efforts that are underway in Los Angeles County. We encourage users of the database to contact the authors with potential corrections.