New initiative to design innovative starter homes on vacant land launches

UCLA’s cityLAB, the City of Los Angeles and LA4LA have launched “Small Lots, Big Impacts,” an innovative initiative seeking proposals and design plans for quicker, innovative and cost-effective housing on city-owned small lots tailored for first-time homeowners.

Historically, small lots across Los Angeles have been viewed as impractical for housing. “Small Lots, Big Impacts” challenges architects, designers and builders to creatively reimagine these spaces. Competition winners will advance to a second phase this summer, collaborating with development teams to bring their designs to life as prototypes.

“We need to see what’s possible for L.A.’s near future,” said Dana Cuff, director of cityLAB at UCLA. “By bringing together the best architects, developers and builders, we can invent a new generation of ‘SoCal starter homes’ — compact, sharing land once occupied by a single house (and) giving dignity and joy to their residents while respecting Mother Nature.”

The initiative directly addresses Los Angeles’ urgent need for affordable housing. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez emphasized utilizing underused land to create resilient homes accessible to working Angelenos. Tom De Simone, CEO of Genesis L.A., noted how the initiative can streamline housing developments by supporting smaller developers and reducing regulatory barriers.

The competition invites submissions through May 4 from architects and builders eager to contribute solutions to the city’s housing crisis. More information and competition details can be found at smalllots.citylab.ucla.edu. Registrations of intent to submit are due April 7. The jury will select both student and professional applicant winners. Monetary prizes will be awarded to first ($1,500), second ($1000) and third ($500) place winners from the student submissions. The jury may also choose to award student submission citations that do not entail a monetary prize. Professional winners will not receive monetary compensation. However, they will have the opportunity to join or form up to 20 development teams in the second phase and will have access to expert consultants to assist with crafting a competitive proposal.

“Small Lots, Big Impacts” represents a strategic collaboration among L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’s office, L.A.’s Housing Department, the City Council, LA4LA and UCLA’s cityLAB, united in pursuing equitable and sustainable urban development.

Cuff is one of several UCLA faculty and researchers who are part of an independent citywide commission tasked with developing policy recommendations to guide a safe and resilient recovery for Los Angeles in the wake of the 2025 wildfires. UCLA’s advisors —  led by Megan Mullin, faculty director of the Luskin Center for Innovation, in consultation with Julia Stein, deputy director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, and in partnership with Alex Hall, director of the Sustainable L.A. Grand Challenge — will marshal its expertise to bring objective, research-informed insights and innovative options to a commission of more than a dozen respected civic leaders, chaired by Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator CEO Matt Peterson, to inform their policy recommendations for L.A.’s future.

Read the full release here.