Infrastructure for Housing Access - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 2: Infrastructure for Housing Access

Barrier Statement

New developments must provide for access to schools, parks, utilities, and transportation infrastructure, which can exacerbate tensions between green space conservation and density and require lengthy approval processes creating costs and delays.

Filterable Database

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Transit and housing misalignment: Housing development often moves forward without corresponding transit investment, leaving new residents car-dependent and undermining climate and equity goals. Regional transportation funding and planning are not aligned with where new housing is being sited, resulting in persistent transit mismatches in growing areas.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

New development requirements often produce small, semi-private courtyards or token “amenity spaces” (e.g., paved plazas with minimal landscaping) that do not function as true public open space. At the same time, infill housing and ADU construction remove private yards—the only green space many residents have—exacerbating heat island impacts and reducing overall urban canopy and park access, especially in dense and underserved neighborhoods.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Housing decisions are often made separately from parks, transit, and open space planning at both the state and local levels, making integrated infrastructure planning difficult. This results in missed opportunities—such as in Glendale, where significant new housing was approved without adequate connections to Metro or rail transit.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

Disconnect from livable environments: Housing planning often treats parks, trees, and healthy public spaces as “extras” rather than integrated needs. Residents note lack of nearby parks and open space, even in rapidly growing areas

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

Insufficient family amenities: Many new developments target young professionals with studios or one-bedrooms, lacking daycares, schools, and parks. Families are pushed out to other areas, limiting long-term neighborhood stability

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Integrate housing growth with climate-aligned transportation planning:
Coordinate regional transit investments with planned housing intensification—ensuring new development is paired with high-quality transit access, capturing mode-shift and climate benefits.

Existing Examples of Progress:

City of Glendale tied upzoning and density increases to Metro and rail upgrades rather than allowing housing to outpace transit.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Local Solution

Integrate housing with parks, transit, and public services: Plan infill around parks, mobility, and civic infrastructure needs—mapping gaps before upzoning and investing in community services alongside new housing to build trust and reduce opposition.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Local Solution

Prioritize densification where transit and green amenities already exist (revive “small-footprint” concentration akin to the 3% strategy concept to limit sprawl and preserve regional open space).

Existing Examples of Progress:

SCAG’s “Compass Blueprint” (historic regional pilot): Framed as a 3% strategy: only 3% of the land base needed to densify to meet housing needs regionally. It was praised as one of SCAG’s few plans to gain broad regional buy-in, thanks to its clarity and marketing (“easy to understand, sexy framing”). Eventually it fell out of use but remembered as a rare regional consensus-builder.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Streamline housing and infrastructure systems together: Strengthen state streamlining for ADUs, infill, and transit-area housing while also accelerating permitting and interconnection for the energy and utility upgrades these projects require.

Existing Examples of Progress:

The Go-Biz TED Task Force (Tracking Energy Development) was cited as a state-level best practice for identifying infrastructure bottlenecks and coordinating permitting solutions for large-scale energy and housing-related projects

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Inland Deserts

State Solution

Fund family-amenity gaps near growth nodes (daycare, parks, schools) to make density livable for families.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

State Solution

Support local environmental “in-lieu” mechanisms (tree planting, pocket parks) where parcels can’t deliver on-site green—with protections so costs aren’t passed to renters.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

Solution Spotlight

SCAG’s “Compass Blueprint” (historic regional pilot)

What: Framed as a 3% strategy: only 3% of the land base needed to densify to meet housing needs regionally. It waspraised as one of SCAG’s few plans to gain broad regional buy-in, thanks to its clarity and marketing (“easy to understand, sexy framing”). Eventually it fell out of use but remembered as a rare regional consensus-builder.

Why it matters: Early, widely understood regional framing that aligned jurisdictions around focusing growth in complete, connected places. (Not current, but frequently cited as an effective model.

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Additional Resources

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