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UCLA Community Scholars at LA City Hall
Posted on September 23, 2009
Led by Linda Delp, Director of UCLA's Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH), the 2009 Community Scholars class (UP 219 Green Collar Jobs, Green Buildings and Social Justice: Pathway to a Sustainable City) focused on a recent Los Angeles City ordinance to retrofit more than 1,000 LA City buildings and to create job opportunities in underinvested areas of the city. The Green Building Retrofit & Workforce Development Ordinance is the result of a years-long campaign spearheaded by the Los Angeles Apollo Alliance/SCOPE. Successful implementation will highlight Los Angeles as a leader in innovative policies to address the environmental and economic crises and to spur action to improve worker health and community economic development.
UCLA Community Scholars is a multidisciplinary program that brings together graduate students, community leaders, and labor leaders to shape community development policy in Los Angeles.
This year’s class culminated in two separate events. The historic site of LA City Hall was an appropriate setting for the June 11th presentation of Roadmap to Retrofits, a working report on the implementation of the new ordinance. Recommendations ranged from the specific and technical aspects of green building retrofits to the social justice aspects of investing in underserved communities and, ultimately, to the broader goal of building a movement for good, green, safe jobs and a more sustainable Los Angeles.
On August 5th more than 100 people attended a conference held at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center. Discussion at the “Working in Unity, Greening our Communities” conference centered on the goals of the ordinance in the context of the current sociopolitical and economic environment, and challenges and opportunities involved in moving the ordinance forward, including creating safe and healthy green jobs. In addition to a presentation by the Community Scholars class, speakers included community leaders, activists, environmentalists, academics, and policy-makers.
For a copy of the final report contact: sholcomb@irle.ucla.edu
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