The City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) is collaborating with FUSE on a transformative initiative to strengthen how the City manages, regulates, and sustains one of the nation’s largest public right-of-way systems—more than 23,000 lane miles of streets, 660,000 street trees, and 800 miles of alleys. This effort focuses on the policies, permits, enforcement systems, and funding mechanisms that determine how infrastructure is built, used, and delivered across the City of Los Angeles.
Working closely with the Investigation and Enforcement Division, StreetsLA leadership, the Board of Public Works, City Council, and external stakeholders, the project modernizes more than 20,000 annual permits governing construction activity, street occupancy, overload routes, special events, street vending, and other uses of City streets and infrastructure. In parallel, FUSE Executive Fellow Mokyou Hyun will evaluate and propose implementable strategies to modernize the Department of Public Works’ enforcement operations, ensuring the public right-of-way is used safely, legally, and equitably in every neighborhood. This includes improving oversight of unpermitted construction, illegal dumping, ADA access, and other violations that impact public safety and livability. Through updated codes, better data systems, and enhanced field operations, the City can better serve residents while promoting fair and consistent compliance.
The undercurrent of the work is advancing long-term financial sustainability. The project reforms cost-recovery policies so users who impact public infrastructure bear an appropriate share of costs, while also identifying new revenue opportunities that reduce dependence on the General Fund. The result is a more resilient, self-sustaining operating model that supports cleaner streets, safer neighborhoods, and more reliable infrastructure investment for all Angelenos.
