Empowering South Los Angeles Tenants To Advance Climate Policies That Protect Their Rights Author: Cynthia Miki Strathmann

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.01728 This article tells the story of vulnerable tenants in South Los Angeles, California, and their work with a community-based organization to advance policies that address climate change while also protecting tenant rights. Climate change is having a disproportionately negative impact on low-income renters in South Los Angeles, where housing is often crowded, unaffordable, and poorly maintained, and extreme heat events can make indoor living unbearable. Cooling mandates and improvements such as building decarbonization can help. Because landlords have used remodeling and renovations as an excuse for harassment or eviction, tenants have been wary of these policies’ unintended consequences. But with ongoing education and partnership with a community organization, tenants are now supporting and successfully advocating for policies that address the root causes of climate change and create healthier homes while providing protections that preserve tenants’ access to safe and affordable housing.