The city has lost more than 300,000 inhabitants in five years, pushed toward the exit by a California dream that has become inaccessible. Between high rents, rising interest rates and a shortage of housing, an ever-larger share of the population is forced to sleep in their car or turn to unconventional shared housing.
The least well-off residents sometimes have to show ingenuity to house themselves. For lack of means, some inhabitants have no choice but the vehicle.
When night falls on Los Angeles, a line forms at the entrance of a city parking lot. Campers, vans and packed cars line up along the sidewalks or in parking lots.
The parking lot then becomes a nocturnal refuge, away from the street and from fines. The line at nightfall is the most visible sign of it.
Buying is also a headache. Interest rates have doubled in ten years and exceed 7%. Of all major American cities, Los Angeles is the one where residents buy the latest, at more than 40 years old on average.
Finding housing has become a real challenge. The city is desperately short of housing. It takes on average the equivalent of 2,000 euros to rent a two-room apartment. For an apartment at $2,500, you need to earn at least $6,000 in salary just to move in.
According to official data, 20,000 people sleep in their vehicle in Los Angeles. The authorities prefer to know they are safe rather than see them sleep in the street, where they often get fines that can make them lose their vehicle. Tom has been living this way for four years, on a disability pension, with his animals. A young father, for his part, has been living in his car for several months."Sometimes I arrive late after work and I go park here,"he confides.