Venice Beach Activist Illustrates Housing Crisis with Exhibit Combining Art and Data

"Where Has All The (affordable) Housing Gone?" Exhibit Sheds Light on Drastic Loss of Rent-Controlled Units in Venice Beach area Amid Worsening Los Angeles Homelessness Crisis

Judy Branfman, a Venice Beach activist, developed the art-meets-data exhibit 'Where Has All The (Affordable) Housing Gone?' to reveal the drastic loss of rent-controlled units in the area, particularly as many dwellings are being sold and relisted at much higher costs.
The project began as a photo series and expanded to community meetings where Venice residents could share their personal experiences of being evicted and pushed into homelessness.
The exhibit offers a visual representation of almost 1,500 rent-controlled units that have disappeared in Venice Beach over two decades, attributing part of the problem to the 1985 Ellis Act which allowed landlords to evict tenants for redevelopment and set their own rental prices.
An estimated 80% of low-income renters in Los Angeles cannot afford their living costs, with 3,500 housing units at high or very high risk of losing their affordability terms, signaling a worsening housing crisis in the city.
Branfman and other housing activists believe change could arise from a measure on the 2024 ballot that aims to expand local control by overturning a law that prohibits rent control on certain types of housing.