The Last Metro Mile claims that publicly owned land and increased land values along Los Angeles’ Metro lines can be leveraged to deliver space and funds for a new wave of public housing. While public transit investments have significantly increased surrounding land values, resulting gains are commonly privatized. Simultaneously, the city owns a lot of properties in the vicinity of metro lines, which are seldom used for affordable housing. This project aims at combining these two aspects: installing a system of Land Value Capture (LVC) within defined zones next to Metro lines, and unlocking properties owned by public institutions, the capital gained through LVC will be used to fund public housing on these properties. To control design and planning costs, The Last Metro Mile develops a prototypical, modular and flexible housing type, which is able to adapt to a variety of existing contexts. Focusing on three sites along the South Central and West Adams corridor, this project shows how these prototypes could become the face of a new generation of public housing in Los Angeles.
