Move LA

Move LA
Name	Move LA
Type	Nonprofit advocacy organization
Founded	2011
Location	Los Angeles, California, United States
Areas served	Los Angeles County, Southern California
Focus	Transportation policy, transit equity, housing, climate

Move LA is a Los Angeles–based nonprofit advocacy organization focused on transit expansion, housing affordability, and climate resilience in Los Angeles County, California. The group engages in electoral campaigns, ballot measures, policy analysis, and community organizing across the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, interacting with agencies such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metro (Los Angeles County), and regional planning bodies. Its work connects to broader initiatives tied to the California Environmental Quality Act, SB 375, and statewide climate and housing debates involving entities like the California Air Resources Board and the Governor of California.

History

Move LA emerged in 2011 amid debates following the passage of Measure R (Los Angeles County), the 2008 sales tax measure administered by Metro (Los Angeles County), and during planning for Measure M (Los Angeles County) and other local funding mechanisms. Founders and early staff included organizers and policy analysts with backgrounds at groups such as Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Elected Officials for Los Angeles, and community nonprofit networks active around the Expo Line (Los Angeles), Blue Line (Los Angeles Metro), and other projects. The organization positioned itself alongside advocacy coalitions that had worked on campaigns involving the Los Angeles River revitalization, the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan, and various countywide ballot initiatives.

Mission and Advocacy

The stated mission frames equitable transit investment and housing near rail and bus corridors as responses to challenges highlighted by agencies like the Southern California Association of Governments and the California State Senate. Move LA advocates for policies intersecting with urban planning debates at institutions such as the Los Angeles City Council, County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors. Its advocacy connects to federal and state programs overseen by the United States Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs have included campaigns to accelerate construction of projects such as the Regional Connector, the Purple Line Extension, and the Crenshaw/LAX Line. Move LA has promoted transit-oriented development strategies near stations like those on the Gold Line (Los Angeles Metro), Orange Line (Los Angeles Metro), and Green Line (Los Angeles Metro), while supporting housing tools such as inclusionary zoning debates linked to Los Angeles Municipal Code amendments and state laws like SB 827 (proposed). Initiatives also address climate objectives in coordination with programs tied to the California Air Resources Board and municipal sustainability plans adopted under leaders such as former Mayor of Los Angeles officeholders.

Campaigns and Policy Impact

The organization has been active in ballot measure campaigns, electoral endorsements, and policy lobbying related to measures like Measure M (Los Angeles County), local city council races, and county ballot items tied to transit funding and housing. It has sought influence over Metro policy decisions, transit funding allocations, and project prioritization involving the Measure R (Los Angeles County) spending programs and the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. Move LA’s advocacy has intersected with legal and regulatory processes involving the California Environmental Quality Act and planning disputes before bodies such as the Los Angeles Planning Commission.

Organizational Structure and Funding

Move LA operates as a nonprofit entity with a board drawn from civic leaders, transportation professionals, and community organizers who have ties to institutions including the Los Angeles County Business Federation, labor organizations like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and philanthropic funders engaged in urban policy. Funding sources have included contributions from foundations, labor unions, developers, and individual donors; those relationships have placed Move LA in the ecosystem alongside groups such as the Annenberg Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, and local philanthropic intermediaries. The organization’s staffing and consultancy model has involved collaborations with policy shops and law firms that work on matters before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors and municipal agencies.

Partnerships and Community Engagement

Move LA has partnered with neighborhood councils, churches, tenant organizations, and civic coalitions such as Chinatown Central Plaza advocates, the Coalition for Economic Survival, and regional environmental groups like Heal the Bay and the Sierra Club Los Angeles Chapter. Its community engagement efforts have included workshops tied to station area planning alongside agencies like the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and outreach coordinated with academic partners from institutions such as the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics have questioned the organization’s alliances and funding sources, arguing potential conflicts involving developers, labor endorsements, and policy trade-offs that echo debates seen in controversies around Transit-oriented development projects in neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Los Angeles and Echo Park, Los Angeles. Opponents and some community groups have raised concerns similar to those in litigation invoking the California Environmental Quality Act against transit-adjacent housing proposals, and have contested impacts on displacement and gentrification that also involve policy actors like the Los Angeles Housing Department and tenant advocacy groups.

Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Los Angeles