The city, which will host eight matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2028, has made homelessness a central policy priority under Mayor Karen Bass, directing hundreds of millions of dollars toward temporary accommodation initiatives, including hotel placements and prefabricated “tiny home” communities.

The strategy has produced measurable results. According to the latest homeless census released last year, the number of people living on Los Angeles streets fell 17.5% over a two-year period, marking the most sustained decline since local authorities began systematically tracking homelessness roughly two decades ago.

Residents who have moved into the city’s tiny-home program say the units provide a significant improvement over living on the streets or in vehicles, despite their limited size and shared occupancy arrangements. Michael Gilpin, 44, who previously slept in his car, said the accommodation offered greater safety and stability than street living.

Even with those gains, Los Angeles County continues to face a substantial homelessness burden. Official figures show approximately 72,000 unhoused people across the county, including about 47,000 sleeping outdoors.

Service providers say available shelter capacity remains far below demand. Armando Covarrubias, an outreach worker with Hope The Mission in the San Fernando Valley, said the number of homeless individuals in his area exceeds available beds by several multiples. Following the clearance of an encampment near a railway corridor last month, he said housing could not be secured for all displaced residents, and new encampments quickly reappeared.

Many homeless residents continue to face lengthy waits for assistance. Maggie, a woman in her 40s who has lived on the streets for a decade and declined to provide her full name, said she had been waiting three months for housing support while remaining on a placement list.

Questions have also emerged regarding the long-term effectiveness of temporary housing initiatives. Data from the mayor’s flagship shelter program showed that by the end of 2025 approximately 5,800 people had been placed into some form of accommodation, but about 40% later returned to homelessness.

Housing experts and advocates point to California’s broader affordability crisis as a key driver of homelessness. Limited construction of affordable housing and constrained overall housing supply have contributed to elevated property prices and rents, increasing financial pressures on lower-income households.

Michael Reyes, a 59-year-old maintenance worker, said a workplace injury reduced his income to a level that could no longer cover living costs in Los Angeles, where a studio apartment averages about $1,800 per month. After spending a year living in his vehicle, Reyes moved into a tiny-home community but expressed skepticism that current efforts would continue at the same pace once international sporting events conclude.

The homelessness challenge remains one of the most visible social and economic issues facing Los Angeles as city officials seek to balance preparations for global events with demands for durable housing solutions.

Zoë Garbett has begun her term as mayor of the London Borough of Hackney following a significant electoral breakthrough for the Green Party of England and Wales in local elections earlier this month.Garbett’s victory ended decades of Labour political control in the east London borough and formed part of a broader advance by the Green Party across England.

Nationally, the party secured more than 500 council seats, gained control of five councils and won two mayoralties during the local elections.The result in Hackney drew particular political attention because of the borough’s longstanding association with the Labour Party.

In addition to Garbett winning the directly elected mayoralty, the Green Party expanded its representation on the council from four councillors to 40. Labour’s representation fell from 50 seats in 2022 to nine.“Before the election, I was saying it’s going to be really different this time, there is going to be a different landscape in London,” Garbett said.

“But I genuinely did not think it would be to this scale.”The political shift in Hackney reflects wider changes in voter alignment in parts of urban England, where housing costs, public services, environmental policy and dissatisfaction with established political parties have become increasingly influential local issues.Hackney is one of London’s most socially and economically diverse boroughs.

According to Hackney Council data, around half of residents are from Black and other global majority communities. The borough also contains significant disparities in income and living conditions, with affluent neighbourhoods existing alongside areas of long-term deprivation.Government data from the English Indices of Deprivation has identified Hackney as one of the country’s most severely affected areas for child deprivation.

Life expectancy in the borough also remains below the national average despite sustained regeneration and investment in parts of east London over the past two decades.Garbett now oversees a council administration responsible for services including housing, transport, public health, adult social care and environmental management.

Hackney Council operates with an annual budget of approximately £2 billion.Housing policy is expected to become one of the defining issues of Garbett’s administration. The borough has experienced sustained gentrification over recent years, driven by rising property prices, private investment and population growth across east London.

Those changes have contributed to pressure on social housing availability and concerns over displacement among long-term residents and community organisations.Garbett said her administration intends to prioritise the expansion of what she described as “genuinely affordable homes” alongside investment in council housing maintenance and safety improvements.

She also announced plans for a programme called “Who Owns Hackney”, which she said would focus on identifying empty properties that could potentially be repurposed for public or community use.“There is no extra money from government but we’ve got all these assets in empty properties and we could be doing much more,” Garbett said.

Her comments reflect wider financial constraints facing local authorities across England. Councils have faced prolonged budgetary pressure following years of reduced central government funding combined with rising demand for social care, housing support and local infrastructure spending.

The mayor said concerns about displacement and loss of community space were particularly relevant for Black residents and Black-owned businesses in Hackney, where redevelopment and rising commercial rents have altered the borough’s social and economic composition.“Black spaces for black communities and black-led business have been kind of pushed out of Hackney,” Garbett said.

“So it is a question of how can we use the council’s assets to push back against some of that and open up these spaces for people to use again.”The Green Party’s electoral growth has prompted debate within British politics about whether the party’s platform has broadened beyond its traditional environmental focus into housing, public services and economic inequality.

Garbett rejected suggestions that climate policy had become secondary within the party’s agenda.She said climate policy remained central to the borough’s proposed governance framework and described climate justice as a guiding principle linking multiple policy areas, including housing resilience, public health, urban planning and transport.

“Everything I do has got climate and climate justice at its centre,” Garbett said. “It’s one of our core principles that runs through our manifesto, from trying to buy back council homes and make housing safer and more resilient, to rewilding in parks, from public health to transport.”Her administration is expected to face immediate scrutiny over how environmental priorities are balanced against financial limitations and rising service demands.

Like many London boroughs, Hackney continues to manage pressures linked to temporary accommodation costs, adult social care funding and infrastructure maintenance.The political implications of the Hackney result extend beyond local government. The Green Party’s gains in London and other urban centres have raised questions about future competition between progressive parties for voters dissatisfied with Labour while also opposed to right-wing political movements.

Garbett acknowledged concerns among residents regarding national political developments, particularly around immigration policy and the growth of right-wing parties in parts of Britain.

“I speak to residents all the time in Hackney who are terrified about the changes to immigration for them or their family members and communities if Reform get in,” she said, referring to Reform UK.She said the Green Party’s local performance created a responsibility to demonstrate effective governance and provide an alternative political model capable of retaining progressive support.

“We’ve got a responsibility to deliver and to make sure that people are looking to the Green party as an alternative rather than to Reform or further rightwing parties,” Garbett said.

The change in leadership at Hackney Town Hall marks one of the most significant local political realignments in London in recent years and places the borough at the centre of wider debates over urban governance, environmental policy and shifting electoral loyalties in Britain.

A seasonal migration is reshaping patterns of habitation across parts of the United States, as rising housing costs and limited affordable rental supply drive a growing number of people to adopt vehicle-based living on federally managed public lands.

Each autumn, thousands of individuals travel south-west across North America toward the desert regions of Arizona and California, converging on areas such as Quartzsite, a small town in the Sonoran Desert. While traditionally associated with retirees seeking warmer climates, the demographic profile of these travellers has broadened to include low-income workers, families, and individuals priced out of conventional housing markets.

Quartzsite, with a permanent population of 2,413 according to the 2020 census, experiences a sharp seasonal influx during winter months. The surrounding desert, much of it administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), becomes a temporary settlement zone for vehicle residents. The BLM oversees approximately 245 million acres of public land, primarily in the western United States and Alaska, and permits regulated habitation in designated areas.

Among these are Long-Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs), established in 1983 to accommodate extended stays. The largest, La Posa, spans approximately 11,400 acres near Quartzsite. For a fee of $180, individuals can camp legally from mid-September to mid-April. The permit includes access to basic services such as waste disposal, toilets, and dump stations.BLM regulations also allow for dispersed camping without charge for up to 14 days at a time, after which campers must relocate.

This system has enabled a hybrid pattern of mobility and semi-permanent settlement across desert regions.The affordability of these arrangements contrasts sharply with the broader U.S. housing market. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the country faces a shortage of more than seven million affordable rental units for low-income households. The organization estimates that a worker would need to earn over $30 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental, significantly above federal minimum wage levels.

Federal data underscores the scale of housing instability. The Department of Housing and Urban Development reported approximately 274,000 unsheltered individuals in 2024, a record high. This category includes people residing in vehicles, a segment that has grown alongside rising rents and housing shortages.

Researchers and advocacy groups have identified vehicle residency as an adaptive response to structural housing constraints. Graham Pruss, executive director of the National Vehicle Residency Coalition, described this population as an “economic refugee class,” displaced by housing market conditions rather than traditional drivers such as conflict or natural disasters.

He noted that regulatory frameworks often distinguish between similar living arrangements based on location rather than function. “If you park an RV on private land and pay rent, it is considered a mobile home park,” he said. “Move the same vehicle onto a public street, and it is classified as homelessness.”

On the ground, the desert settlements exhibit a range of socioeconomic conditions. High-end motorhomes are often parked alongside older vehicles and improvised living spaces. Informal service economies operate within these communities, including mechanical repairs, small-scale retail, and shared resources such as water and mail services.Some residents rely on seasonal employment or fixed incomes.

Theresa Webster, a retiree, spends summers volunteering as a campground host in Oregon in exchange for a legal parking space. During winter, she relocates to the desert, living in a 1977 Dodge van purchased for $3,000. Her movements reflect a broader pattern of seasonal adaptation among retirees managing limited financial resources.Others combine mobility with intermittent work.

Derek Hansler, a chef who travels between New Hampshire and Arizona, undertakes temporary jobs and volunteer work while maintaining a vehicle-based lifestyle. He estimates his annual expenses at approximately $10,000, significantly below average U.S. living costs.Healthcare and personal circumstances also influence the shift toward mobile living.

Stephanie Scruggs, diagnosed with a serious brain cancer, adopted a nomadic lifestyle following treatment. Along with her partner, she now resides in a converted bus, reflecting a trend in which individuals reassess long-term housing commitments in response to life events and financial pressures.

Despite its economic drivers, the system depends heavily on public land access and regulatory tolerance. BLM-managed areas provide one of the few legal avenues for extended habitation outside conventional housing markets. Mary Feuer, a long-term resident of public lands, described these spaces as essential support systems for individuals with limited financial resources.

Seasonal settlements such as La Posa operate with minimal formal infrastructure. A small number of park rangers, volunteer hosts, and support staff oversee large populations spread across extensive areas. Temporary community structures emerge during peak months, including organized groups, informal gatherings, and shared facilities.

The phenomenon reflects broader shifts in U.S. housing dynamics, where affordability constraints are altering traditional living arrangements. Vehicle residency, once considered marginal, is increasingly visible as a pragmatic response to systemic shortages in affordable housing supply.As winter ends, the temporary communities dissolve.

Residents disperse northward or toward other regions, maintaining a cyclical pattern that aligns with seasonal climate changes and economic opportunities. Vehicles depart in succession, leaving behind largely unoccupied desert landscapes until the migration resumes the following year.

Treasury Secretary urges faster rate cuts to strengthen consumer confidence and stabilize housing growth.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has struck an optimistic yet realistic tone on the nation’s economy, highlighting that while certain sectors such as housing are under pressure from high interest rates, the broader U.S. economy remains resilient and well-positioned for recovery.

Speaking on Sunday, Bessent emphasized that the Federal Reserve has the opportunity to accelerate rate cuts to help balance growth and affordability, especially in the housing market.

Bessent noted that the United States continues to show economic strength in several key areas, from employment to consumer spending, but that the housing sector faces temporary challenges

. “We are in good shape, but there are sectors of the economy that are in recession,” he said in an interview, adding that high mortgage rates have made it difficult for first-time homebuyers and low-income families to access affordable housing.

“The Fed has caused a lot of distributional problems with their policies,” he said.

The Treasury Secretary pointed out that despite these pressures, the overall financial system remains healthy. He described the current period as a “transition phase” — one where steady policy actions could steer the economy back toward balanced growth.

Pending home sales in September were flat, according to the National Association of Realtors, suggesting stabilization after months of adjustment in the housing market.

Experts note that rising borrowing costs have cooled real estate demand, but with inflation showing signs of moderation and unemployment rates stable, conditions are ripe for a rebound if interest rates ease.

Bessent reinforced this view, saying that lower rates could unlock new opportunities in housing construction and lending, spurring economic activity across related sectors such as materials, furnishings, and local services.

The Treasury chief’s comments followed a week of debate within the Federal Reserve over how quickly to move on rate adjustments. Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently hinted that additional rate cuts at the December meeting were “not a foregone conclusion,” a cautious stance that has drawn criticism from both administration officials and market analysts.

Bessent, along with Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, argued that keeping rates high for too long risks slowing the economy unnecessarily.

Miran, who previously chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers, warned in a recent interview that prolonged tight monetary policy could trigger avoidable slowdowns.

“If you keep policy this tight for a long period of time, you run the risk that monetary policy itself is inducing a recession,” he said, calling instead for a 50-basis-point cut to stimulate momentum and maintain investor confidence.

Bessent echoed that sentiment, highlighting the government’s efforts to reduce fiscal pressure. He pointed to the Trump administration’s successful moves to lower the deficit-to-GDP ratio from 6.4% to 5.9%, an achievement that contributes to easing inflationary pressures. “If we are contracting spending, then inflation should be dropping.

If inflation is dropping, then the Fed should be cutting rates,” he said, suggesting that fiscal responsibility and monetary flexibility can work hand in hand.

Market analysts believe that faster rate cuts could rejuvenate the housing sector, making mortgages more affordable and boosting home sales, particularly among younger and first-time buyers.

The ripple effects could support construction jobs, increase consumer confidence, and stimulate growth in local economies.

Despite recent challenges, the overall tone from Bessent and other policymakers remains positive. The U.S. economy continues to show adaptability amid changing global conditions, supported by strong private investment, technological innovation, and a robust labor market.

With potential policy adjustments on the horizon, analysts say the nation is well-positioned for renewed growth and a stronger housing market heading into 2026.