Los Angeles is infamous for its sprawling urban landscape that has prioritized low-density housing, often at the behest of the state’s powerful real estate industry. Despite the known risks of building in fire zones, developers continued to do so with the approval and encouragement of government regulators. But in the wake of the devastating fires in L.A., some are questioning the wisdom of urban sprawl, particularly in California.

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks how California’s housing policies contributed to the devastation  of L.A.’s recent wildfires, and how the city can rebuild in an era when climate disaster is becoming ever more common. 

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