Bike Towns

Social Housing for Los Angeles

LCI’s can also be Bike Towns!

Car-free neighborhoods are some of the most beloved places around the world.

The quieter, the more trees and the more local shops… the more people are drawn to these magical places.

The greatest misconception is that people choose this

We live in a car-centric world because we live in a car-centric world.

We feel safe inside a car, we can keep our kids safe in a car, and we don’t feel safe outside the car: our sidewalks are scary, our bike lanes are dangerous and our transit is often unreliable, unsafe or too hard to get to.

How do we build our way out?

Introducing a new way of living…

Small & Affordable

Car-Free

Beautiful Neighborhoods

What is a Bike Town?

Bike Towns are intentional car-free communities built from the ground up on large under-utilized public land. There is available public land on our public right-of-ways, including half built freeways, freeway stubs, freeways we plan to cap, and public and private parking lots (Dodger Stadium) and airports scheduled to close (like Santa Monica Airport.)

Will the housing be affordable?

A Bike Town is built on public land which means housing can reach far deeper levels of affordability. Bike Town housing can be Social Housing, Community Land Trust and/or Attainable Home Ownership. There are existing subsidized loan programs: Low Income Households and Veterans can get a loan that is 1-3% down, a 2.5% interest rate – allowing households to buy more than 20% “more home.” All profits from the development go into creating more subsidies and affordability.
Bike Town housing can be restricted by income and restricted to current residents of LA or the region. Santa Monica Airport as a Bike Town could create 30,000 new homes.

How is a Bike Town different from an LCI?

The vision of an LCI is building 3-5 stories of residential over existing neighborhood serving retail such as along LA’s historic main streets and villages – Westwood Village, Main St in Santa Monica, Culver City. Bike Towns are built from scratch on open parcels of land.

What about parking?

These are car-free homes for people who can’t or do not want to drive. Housing comes with a contract to not own a car. There can be one level of underground parking that accommodates bike parking, and some ADA parking and a limited number of EV car share – this is a community for people who want to live a Bikeable, walking life and rarely get in a car. (There are a lot of us!) There is also bike parking for visitors, and some paid parking for visitors (priced high to cover HOA fees to support affordability for low income residents.) Visitors to Bike Towns are encouraged to take a bus or bike.

Where would a Bike Town go?

Suggestions from community members for locations for Bike Towns include the 227 acre Santa Monica Airport that is closing in 2028, Dodger Stadium parking lot (and bury the parking), the stub of the 710 freeway, sections of the 10 and the 101 that already have plans to be capped, and the unfinished I-90 freeway.

Can this be done?

It’s being done all over the world. Merwede, NL is a new car-free neighborhood being built from scratch in the Dutch city of Utrecht: “Utrecht is building a neighborhood of the future for 12,000 residents between the Merwede Canal and Park Transwijk: Merwede. Merwede will be a green, car-free neighborhood with a broad mix of homes for everyone.”

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