Los Angeles has seen better days. Traffic is terrible, homelessness remains near record highs, and housing costs are among the worst in the country. Several years ago, these factors contributed to an alarming first: L.A.'s population started shrinking. This is no pandemic hangover. With a few exceptions, the local economy has come roaring back. Many of its major industries proved resistant to remote work'you still can't film a movie over Zoom'and perfect year-round weather continually drew digital nomads. The quick rebound has had the paradoxical effect of kicking L.A.'s pre-pandemic problems into overdrive, by clogging freeways, eating up limited housing supply, and forcing out residents who couldn't afford to stay. The city's traffic and housing crises date back a century, when Los Angeles first became dependent on the automobile and exclusionary zoning. Ever since, municipalities across the country'from Las Vegas to Miami, and nearly every suburb in between'have followed L.A.'s...
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