ACT-LA creates just and equitable housing and transit systems for Los Angeles, placing the interests of low-income communities and communities of color first as we work towards a more sustainable region.
About Us
ACT-LA is a broad-based coalition made up of organizations with expertise engaging in transit justice, housing justice, environmental justice, and public health.
Our vision is an equitable transformation that benefits and centers low-income communities and communities of color throughout the county, so that these communities will be organized into an unstoppable force with ample political power.
Our Work
ACT-LA envisions Los Angeles as a transit-rich county where all people have access to quality jobs, healthy and affordable housing, ample transportation options, and a voice in decision-making. We will have a sustainable community with clean air, improved public health, and the preservation of community culture and heritage.
Transit Justice
Transit riders in Los Angeles are overwhelmingly low-income, people of color, and/or essential workers. Over a million people in the county do not have regular access to a car—yet our transit system is unreliable and fails to adequately connect people with their jobs, school, health care and other needs. Therefore, transit justice is a key avenue for racial and economic justice, as well as climate justice, in Los Angeles county.
Our coalition’s collective vision for transit justice in Los Angeles county: Metro is a sanctuary for the public. The train and bus are fareless, consciously part of the region and integrated into people’s daily lives and neighborhoods. Metro serves the public as libraries do, a public system where people go to feel safe, access information, and receive a high level of service. Metro feels honored to serve youth of color and be a resource for all. Los Angeles is proud of how we have embraced a healthy, community-serving, world-class transit system.
Our Transit Justice Campaigns:
Housing and Land Use Justice
Los Angeles has a history of racist and discriminatory land use practices—and a lack of investment in tenant protections and affordable housing. These historical urban planning priorities have benefited primarily white homeowners, and led to detrimental health consequences, lower life expectancy, and traumatic lived experiences for generations of low-income families and families of color.
Our vision for housing in Los Angeles county: Everyone in Los Angeles will have access to housing that fits their family’s size, needs, and budget and live in communities that are dignified spaces, in safe and healthy environments, and have access to economic, social and cultural resources. Housing is planned thoughtfully in its quality, design, amenities and size to meet our housing needs. Residents have decision-making power regarding their housing, can exercise self-determination, and more. Angelenos will build community through collective ownership of their homes and land. Everyone will have equal access to live in whichever neighborhood they choose, families can choose to stay in their homes for as long as they want, and future generations will have the choice to continue living in the same neighborhoods as their families.
Our Work:
Our Members
ACT-LA is a coalition of 45 member organizations throughout Los Angeles county. Together, we participate in advocacy, organizing, and policy-making—and collaborate on regional campaigns to improve the Southland.
Chairs, Coalition Building Committee
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA)
LA Forward
Chairs, Executive Committee
Esperanza Community Housing
Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC)
Chairs, Housing and Land Use Justice Committee
Community Power Collective (CPC)
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)
Chairs, Transit Justice Committee
Community Power Collective (CPC)
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)
Our Staff
Take Action
Look below for how to take action and fight for transit justice and housing and land use justice in Los Angeles. Don’t see any actions you can take? Sign up for our email updates and we’ll send you action alerts as they happen.
Resources & Updates
Resources
Will We End Housing Instability in Los Angeles? The 2024 Rezoning Process is Critical
Will We End Housing Instability in Los Angeles? The 2024 Rezoning Process is Critical The red indicates areas where affordable…
Letter to Planning: City of LA Rezoning Recommendations
As part of the City of Los Angeles’ rezoning process, ACT-LA has submitted an open letter providing a series of…
Three ways Metro’s police dollars would be better spent
Three ways Metro’s police dollars would be better spent If the Metro board is sincere in its desire to address…
Updates
Getting Serious about Safety on Metro
Getting Serious About Safety on Metro by Marissa Ayala Worldwide, the safest public transportation systems are thriving, widely-used systems. In…
Will We End Housing Instability in Los Angeles? The 2024 Rezoning Process is Critical
Will We End Housing Instability in Los Angeles? The 2024 Rezoning Process is Critical The red indicates areas where affordable…
Three ways Metro’s police dollars would be better spent
Three ways Metro’s police dollars would be better spent If the Metro board is sincere in its desire to address…
ACT-LA Instagram Feed
“There’s very little housing available, and what is available is way out of my reach,” she said. “Eventually, I probably will have to move somewhere else because I’m never going to be able to afford a house or an apartment on my own up...”
Read "‘The Social Contract Has Been Completely Ruptured’: Ireland’s Housing Crisis" by Megan Specia for the New York Times (and learn about our work to bring social housing to scale in Los Angeles) at the link in our bio.
“There’s very little housing available, and what is available is way out of my reach,” she said. “Eventually, I probably will have to move somewhere else because I’m never going to be able to afford a house or an apartment on my own up...”
Read "‘The Social Contract Has Been Completely Ruptured’: Ireland’s Housing Crisis" by Megan Specia for the New York Times (and learn about our work to bring social housing to scale in Los Angeles) at the link in our bio.
We *can* have fast, reliable, frequent, and quality bus service in Los Angeles.
Some of the solutions that will help create this public transit future in LA that we are working on include:
• Creating bus lanes across Los Angeles so that buses (as well as pedestrians and cyclists) have priority, not cars,
• Making LA Metro universally fare-free, so that transit becomes a safer and more attractive option, and
• Funding care-based safety programs and infrastructures - like seating, shade from trees, and transit ambassadors on rail and bus - so that transit riders feel safe and welcomed on transit.
(We also support bus operators and frontline transit staff having a quality work environment and good wages, among many other solutions.)
We will continue to work with, and put pressure on, our local agencies and offices to ensure that we create a region where our bus service is high-quality. You can learn more about our work to do this at our website: act-la.org.
We *can* have fast, reliable, frequent, and quality bus service in Los Angeles.
Some of the solutions that will help create this public transit future in LA that we are working on include:
• Creating bus lanes across Los Angeles so that buses (as well as pedestrians and cyclists) have priority, not cars,
• Making LA Metro universally fare-free, so that transit becomes a safer and more attractive option, and
• Funding care-based safety programs and infrastructures - like seating, shade from trees, and transit ambassadors on rail and bus - so that transit riders feel safe and welcomed on transit.
(We also support bus operators and frontline transit staff having a quality work environment and good wages, among many other solutions.)
We will continue to work with, and put pressure on, our local agencies and offices to ensure that we create a region where our bus service is high-quality. You can learn more about our work to do this at our website: act-la.org.
"Welcome to Vienna, the city that may have cracked the code of how to keep inner-city housing affordable. As other cities battle spiralling rental prices, partly fuelled by inner-city apartments being used as short-term holiday rentals or being kept strategically vacant by property speculators, the Austrian capital bucks the trend. In the place that last year retained its crown as the world’s most livable city in the Economist’s annual index, Vienna’s renters on average pay roughly a third of their counterparts in London, Paris or Dublin, according to a recent study by the accounting firm Deloitte."
Read "The social housing secret: how Vienna became the world’s most livable city" by Philip Oltermann for The Guardian (and learn about our work to bring social housing to scale in Los Angeles) at the link in our bio.
"Welcome to Vienna, the city that may have cracked the code of how to keep inner-city housing affordable. As other cities battle spiralling rental prices, partly fuelled by inner-city apartments being used as short-term holiday rentals or being kept strategically vacant by property speculators, the Austrian capital bucks the trend. In the place that last year retained its crown as the world’s most livable city in the Economist’s annual index, Vienna’s renters on average pay roughly a third of their counterparts in London, Paris or Dublin, according to a recent study by the accounting firm Deloitte."
Read "The social housing secret: how Vienna became the world’s most livable city" by Philip Oltermann for The Guardian (and learn about our work to bring social housing to scale in Los Angeles) at the link in our bio.
It`s our first action alert of the year: Call in Thursday and tell @metrolosangeles to fund care-based programs so that transit riders feel safe!
Policing contracts with LA Metro have failed and not led to safety—it`s instead led to the harassment of Black transit riders. Instead of looking to fund in-house Metro police, LA Metro could be funding:
• Social service and mental health outreach workers
• Transit ambassadors, elevator attendants, and bathroom attendants, and
• Increased cleaning and maintenance staff.
These are all programs that are data-backed to be successful at keeping transit riders feeling safe and comfortable on transit. Call in on Thursday, January 25th to call for funding these programs, instead of failed policing. Call-in instructions and sample script available at: go.act-la.org/actionalert (Link in bio).
It`s our first action alert of the year: Call in Thursday and tell @metrolosangeles to fund care-based programs so that transit riders feel safe!
Policing contracts with LA Metro have failed and not led to safety—it`s instead led to the harassment of Black transit riders. Instead of looking to fund in-house Metro police, LA Metro could be funding:
• Social service and mental health outreach workers
• Transit ambassadors, elevator attendants, and bathroom attendants, and
• Increased cleaning and maintenance staff.
These are all programs that are data-backed to be successful at keeping transit riders feeling safe and comfortable on transit. Call in on Thursday, January 25th to call for funding these programs, instead of failed policing. Call-in instructions and sample script available at: go.act-la.org/actionalert (Link in bio).
안타깝게도 메트로 버스가 교통 체증에 갇혀 역까지 제시간에 못가거나 탑승객이 지각하게 만드는 경우가 종종 있습니다. 하지만 꼭 이럴 필요는 없다는 것을 알고 계셨나요? 우리의 선출직 대표들은 버스 서비스 개선의 한 요소인 버스전용차선를 설치함으로써 이를 바꿀 수 있는 힘을 가지고 있습니다. 버스 전용차로는 우리 지역 전체에 많은 이점을 가져다줍니다:
안타깝게도 메트로 버스가 교통 체증에 갇혀 역까지 제시간에 못가거나 탑승객이 지각하게 만드는 경우가 종종 있습니다. 하지만 꼭 이럴 필요는 없다는 것을 알고 계셨나요? 우리의 선출직 대표들은 버스 서비스 개선의 한 요소인 버스전용차선를 설치함으로써 이를 바꿀 수 있는 힘을 가지고 있습니다. 버스 전용차로는 우리 지역 전체에 많은 이점을 가져다줍니다:
"Social housing is publicly financed and controlled, with the express aim of housing people, not extracting profit." -From House Our Neighbors
Learn more about ACT-LA`s campaign to bring social housing to scale in Los Angeles City (thanks to funding from #MeasureULA @unitedtohousela) at act-la.org/social-housing.
"Social housing is publicly financed and controlled, with the express aim of housing people, not extracting profit." -From House Our Neighbors
Learn more about ACT-LA`s campaign to bring social housing to scale in Los Angeles City (thanks to funding from #MeasureULA @unitedtohousela) at act-la.org/social-housing.
Desafortunadamente, puede ser habitual que los autobuses de Metro se queden atascados en el tráfico, lo que hace que lleguen tarde a los usuarios del transporte público o que éstos se retrasen. Pero, ¿sabías que no tiene por qué ser así? Nuestros representantes electos tienen el poder de cambiar esta situación, y pueden hacerlo instalando carriles para autobuses, uno de los componentes de la mejora del servicio de autobuses. Los carriles de autobuses tienen numerosos beneficios para toda nuestra región:
Desafortunadamente, puede ser habitual que los autobuses de Metro se queden atascados en el tráfico, lo que hace que lleguen tarde a los usuarios del transporte público o que éstos se retrasen. Pero, ¿sabías que no tiene por qué ser así? Nuestros representantes electos tienen el poder de cambiar esta situación, y pueden hacerlo instalando carriles para autobuses, uno de los componentes de la mejora del servicio de autobuses. Los carriles de autobuses tienen numerosos beneficios para toda nuestra región:
The ACT-LA coalition is hard at work this January! We had our first all-member-organization meeting last week, where staff who represent the organizations within our coalition met to discuss our new 2024-2029 strategic plan, coalition-wide outcomes, and campaign priorities for the year.
In the coming weeks, we will be meeting within our Transit Justice committee and Housing and Land Use Justice committees to talk with member organizations about work specifically in these committee spaces.
Thank you to everyone who attended this and (our upcoming) meetings!
The ACT-LA coalition is hard at work this January! We had our first all-member-organization meeting last week, where staff who represent the organizations within our coalition met to discuss our new 2024-2029 strategic plan, coalition-wide outcomes, and campaign priorities for the year.
In the coming weeks, we will be meeting within our Transit Justice committee and Housing and Land Use Justice committees to talk with member organizations about work specifically in these committee spaces.
Thank you to everyone who attended this and (our upcoming) meetings!
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