LA Housing Partnership Commits to Building Stronger Communities

Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association consisting of community organizations, fire service professionals, architects, engineers and industry experts committed to enacting safer and more sustainable building standards, is pleased to welcome the Los Angeles Housing Partnership as a new member of the coalition. The community organization joins a growing list of advocates who are working to ensure that the most vulnerable residents in cities such as Los Angeles have access to safe and secure housing.

In addition to the LA Housing Partnership, the coalition includes a number of California organizations, including Asian Americans in Commercial Real Estate (AACRE), California Black Chamber of Commerce, and Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, Churches in Action, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), Temple Kol Tikvah, The Los Angeles Civil Rights Association, Los Angeles Shmira Civil Safety Patrol, Los Angeles Urban League, and the Southern California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“Ensuring Los Angeles residents have access to a decent supply of affordable and resilient housing is one of the top priorities for our community,” said David Grunwald, executive director for the Los Angeles Housing Partnership. “Build with Strength’s campaign to update the building codes by limiting the use of combustible materials in structures will result in the greater well-being of everyone.”

At a time where mid-rise housing developments have been increasingly the site of large, spectacular fires, Build with Strength has stepped up efforts to mitigate the dangers of fire for communities across the country. In reviewing current building and fire safety codes, the coalition is working to identify areas in need of improvement, particularly in updating building codes by including the use of non-combustible materials to minimize the risk of fires.

As the nation’s urban population centers become more crowded, the demand for housing is continuing to grow. In order to safeguard these communities, Build with Strength is working to ensure the safety of new buildings, particularly those intended for communities at risk such as low- and moderate-income residents.

“The LA Housing Partnership’s addition to a growing coalition stresses the importance and impact of durable housing,” said Kevin Lawlor, a spokesperson for Build with Strength. “As we move into 2018, we look forward to working with the Los Angeles City Council and other key stakeholders in order to secure a stronger LA.”

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