EP.19 / Frances Anderton and David Kersh on Awesome and Affordable: Great Housing Now
In this episode, I sit down with Frances Anderton and David Kersh for a discussion about affordable housing and their new initiative, Awesome and Affordable. Many Los Angeles residents have misconceptions, or even prejudices, towards affordable housing and there is a broad misunderstanding about the process to create affordable housing in this city. Their initiative aims to untangle some of these issues.
Frances covers Los Angeles design and architecture in print, broadcast media, and via public events. Her book Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles (Angel City Press) won the 2022 Gold award for best Regional Nonfiction from Foreword Reviews. Previously she was the host of long-standing KCRW show DNA: Design and Architecture and is an expert in design, architecture, and urban housing. David is the former Executive Director of the Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation Committee.
Together, and in partnership with Friends of Residential Treasures LA (FORT: LA), they co-authored an innovative online resource called "Awesome and Affordable: Great Housing Now." This project is a yearlong, new media project aimed at advancing understanding and appreciation for affordable housing: how it’s funded, produced and designed. There’s a lot that is confusing about affordable housing, starting with the meaning of “affordable.” This project aims to answer all this, and offer hope and tools for all those who feel like housing in LA is an insolvable mess, and that the dream that brought so many people here has simply evaporated.
In this episode we highlight the misconceptions surrounding affordable housing and the importance of educating the public on the complexities of housing legislation and urban planning. We touch on common talking points, discuss the current administration's approach, look at solutions from other places such as Vienna's affordable housing system, talk about David and Frances' perspective on the recent ED1 legislation, and much much more.
About Frances Anderton
Frances Anderton covers Los Angeles design and architecture in print, broadcast media, and via public events. Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles (Angel City Press) won the 2022 Gold award for best Regional Nonfiction from Foreword Reviews.
Previously, she was creator and host of “DnA: Design and Architecture,” a weekly radio show broadcast on public radio station KCRW. For many years, she produced KCRW’s acclaimed current affairs shows “To The Point” and “Which Way, LA?” Anderton has co-produced short films for the nonprofit housing developer Community Corporation of Santa Monica and Venice Community Housing. She is an adjunct teacher at USC, and she serves on the boards of Community Corp. and Palm Springs Modernism Week.
Her honors include the Esther McCoy Award from the Architectural Guild of USC School of Architecture for her work educating the public about architecture and urbanism.
About David Kersh
David Kersh is the former Executive Director of the Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation Committee, a non profit organization comprising the Carpenters Union and construction contractors. For close to 25 years, he worked on policy and legislative initiatives throughout the Southwest, and mobilized support in the planning and political process for the region’s most important public and private projects. Over the years, he has collaborated closely with business, housing, labor, and community groups in the passage of ballot measures funding public works, transportation, and affordable housing projects, and has been a frequent panelist at civic forums and industry events.
A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, he also completed the Escuela de Letras literary studies and creative writing program in Madrid, Spain
Topics Covered
David’s career background in drafting policy and how that informs his work in affordable housing
How Frances became a leading voice for design and architecture in LA
The common misconceptions about affordable housing’s impact on neighborhood character and density in LA
Why they created Awesome and Affordable
The Housing Terminology Playbook included within Awesome and Affordable
The challenges of implementing government housing systems such the ones prevalent in Europe.
David and Frances’ perspective on ED 1 and the latest legislative initiatives
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