Los Angeles Launches New ADU Program To Combat Housing Shortage

It’s a rather unfortunate platitude that good design and government programs don’t mix. More than unfortunate, it’s also untrue, as a new initiative from the City of Los Angeles demonstrates.

Los Angeles Launches New ADU Program To Combat Housing Shortage
WELCOMEPROJECTS’s The Breadbox ADU. Image Courtesy of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety WELCOMEPROJECTS’s The Breadbox ADU. Image Courtesy of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety

It’s a rather unfortunate platitude that good design and government programs don’t mix. More than unfortunate, it’s also untrue, as a new initiative from the City of Los Angeles demonstrates.

The newly launched Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Standard Plan Program offers homeowners 20 eye-catching, pre-approved designs for the increasingly popular typology, which many see as a viable alternative to costlier mid-rise apartment buildings. Administered by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) in United States and featuring designs from firms including SO – IL and LA-Más, the program is a bid to fast-track permits for these humble, backyard homes—better known as ADUs—as well as making them “more accessible, more affordable, and more beautiful,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti in a press statement.

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