A panel discussion hosted by Abundant Housing LA, Urban Environmentalists Los Angeles, and YIMBY Los Angeles

Part of LA Climate Week
Thursday, April 9, 2026 | 6:00 pm
Mithun | 758 New High Street, Chinatown
Free with RSVP:
RSVP on Partiful

About this Event
Los Angeles faces twin crises — a housing shortage and a climate emergency — and the solutions are more intertwined than our policy conversations typically reflect.

This panel brings them together, starting with who’s in the room. Co-hosted by Abundant Housing LA and YIMBY Los Angeles, two of the region’s leading pro-housing advocacy organizations, and Urban Environmentalists Los Angeles, whose mission sits at the intersection of climate and land use, this event is itself a demonstration of the alliance we’re trying to build. Where we build housing, how densely, and how close to transit are among the most consequential decisions our region makes for its carbon future. Compact, infill development reduces vehicle miles traveled, limits the urban sprawl that devours habitat at the region’s edges, and concentrates investment in communities that already have infrastructure and opportunity.

UC Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network calls infill housing “probably the single most impactful measure that cities could take to reduce their emissions.”

Yet it remains underleveraged, in part because the climate and housing movements haven’t always seen each other as allies.

Our panelists will discuss how land use in Los Angeles impacts our ability to address climate change. They will explore what the evidence shows, what policy tools local governments actually have, and how advocates across Los Angeles can build a more unified agenda: equitable, ambitious, and already within reach.

Panelists
Nancy Barba – Portfolio Director at Frontier Energy, Nancy leads some of California’s largest building decarbonization programs, supporting local governments and utilities with energy efficiency, strategic funding, and clean energy transitions. A first-generation Latina from South Central LA, she is also a former Culver City Planning Commissioner and founder of Culver City for More Homes, where she organized for more housing and renters’ rights.
Loraine Lundquist, Ph.D. – An astrophysicist-turned-sustainability educator, Loraine holds a Ph.D. in Physics from UC Berkeley. She serves as Board Consultant on clean energy and air quality to LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell at the South Coast AQMD, as a City of LA Rent Adjustment Commissioner, and as Board Chair of LA Forward. She became a community activist through the Aliso Canyon disaster and has long championed housing and climate solutions in the San Fernando Valley.
Stephanie Pincetl, Ph.D. – Founding Director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities and Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Dr. Pincetl is one of California’s foremost scholars on land use, energy policy, urban metabolism, and environmental justice. Her book Transforming California is the definitive history of land use politics in the state, and she was a lead author on the urban section of the National Climate Assessment. She is the 2025 recipient of UCLA’s Public Impact Research Award.

Moderator

Chris Rhie – Founder and Principal of Rhie Planning LLC and Co-Founder of Urban Environmentalists Los Angeles, Chris is an urban sustainability consultant with 17+ years of experience in climate action planning and environmental justice. His work includes city- and regional-level climate plans in Los Angeles, New York City, Tucson, and Metro Detroit. A past president of the Westside Urban Forum, he holds master’s degrees from MIT in city planning and real estate development.

About LA Climate Week
LA Climate Week connects climate-related events, projects, and conversations happening throughout the year across Los Angeles for a shared week of learning and collaboration, highlighting how climate action shows up in everyday life. The Los Angeles region is deeply affected by climate change and uniquely positioned to lead, with frontline communities, cultural influence, and practical solutions already in motion. LA Climate Week is designed for everyone — neighbors, students, creators, educators, organizers, businesses, and public leaders — whether they’re deeply involved in climate work or just beginning to engage. The result is stronger relationships, shared understanding, and joy as more people begin to shape a more hopeful climate future.