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Melissa Rovner

Melissa Rovner Bio

Melissa Rovner is an architect, educator, and historian living and working in Los Angeles. Her research focuses on the racialized, gendered and socioeconomic systems that have underpinned the development of housing. She explores this material as a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Candidate in Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA.

Melissa Rovner Bio
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A black and white photo of a flat, desert valley. A few small buildings are scattered in a cluster near the foreground of the photo and an area is fenced off with wood fencing. Mountains can be seen in the distance.
How Indigenous Labor Was Diverted in the Making of L.A. Aqueduct and Owens Valley
By creating Indian boarding schools, the government converted Indigenous labor and lands into property for capitalist gain.
An aerial photo showing winding roads and homes laid out in an orderly fashion.
L.A.'s 'Black Beverly Hills' Still Threatened by Racist Past
Known as "Black Beverly Hills," View Park by becoming one of the largest, wealthiest and most architecturally distinct Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles. But it owes its significance to a complicated racial history.
A black and white photo depicts a row of cabins are arranged in a line along a steep slope. Each one is affixed with screened porches.
They Built This City: How Labor Exploitation Built L.A.'s Attractions
In the early 1900s, Los Angeles’ temperate climate and natural attractions drew droves of tourists seeking an escape from crowded, industrial cities. But behind the pristine curtain of Mt. Lowe’s tourism industry was a harsh reality of labor exploitation that continues to disproportionately affect Los Angeles’ Latinx population today.
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