Downtown Los Angeles | Community Database

"downtown" is that area lying within the freeway ring formed by the harbor (I-110), the hollywood (I-101), and the santa monica (I-10) and golden state (I-5) freeways. freeway planners placed this massive ring around the historic core of the metropolis. broadway and 7th was the "center" of the metropolis until the 1950s. after the completion of the freeways by the 1960s, this entire ring became the "center" of modern downtown. at present the staples center and convention center areas are the center, and most new development will spand along figueroa... from highland park to usc. there are several essential elements necessary to create a gentrification situation, according to nacho gonzalez, a university of illinois at chicago professor who is working on a study on gentrification in west town, a chicago neighborhood. one element is a "gentrification industry," - realtors, developers, mortgage lenders, and construction companies eager to capitalize in the area. the second is a neighborhood with an attractive location and housing stock, preferably a disinvested area with run-down but attractive architecture ripe for rehabbing. the third necessity is a population of low-income people inhabiting the area with little political or economic power to fight for their territory. closing the ring are people with disposable income looking to move into the area, usually young, childless professionals seeking location and action. [ more ]

low-income artists often unintentionally form the bridge from the original low-income community to the yuppies. "artists like certain kinds of buildings, big spaces and lofts with stimulating architecture," says gonzalez. "they bring in galleries, cafes, rock clubs and a certain night life, which attracts the gentrifiers." gonzalez says that at a certain point he thinks the loft and studio market will become saturated—"How many yuppies can there be?" he also thinks the displacement that occurs with gentrification isn’t a wholly unnatural process. with the deindustrialization of inner cities, many working-class people actually have jobs farther out in the suburbs and for that reason would leave their central neighborhoods anyway.

young people moving into cities look for cheap housing and are willing or even eager to live in a gritty area with substandard housing stock and high crime. they crave the ethnic diversity and stimulation of a "real" neighborhood, and soon they have started and attracted galleries, clubs, cafes and thrift shops and have formed a vibrant night life and cultural scene. because they are largely from higher income backgrounds, are educated and mostly white, these pioneers make the area less threatening to the average higher-income yuppie.

change is constant in modern city life. so what do we mean by "gentrification?" how does it happen? who wins and who loses? what comes next? gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture. the term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders. but the effects of gentrification are complex and contradictory, and its real impact varies.

many aspects of the gentrification process are desirable. who wouldn't want to see reduced crime, new investment in buildings and infrastructure, and increased economic activity in their neighborhoods? unfortunately, the benefits of these changes are often enjoyed disproportionately by the new arrivals, while the established residents find themselves economically and socially marginalized.

gentrification has been the cause of painful conflict in many american cities, often along racial and economic fault lines. neighborhood change is often viewed as a miscarriage of social justice, in which wealthy, usually white, newcomers are congratulated for "improving" a neighborhood whose poor, minority residents are displaced by skyrocketing rents and economic change.

gentrification tends to occur in districts with particular qualities that make them desirable and ripe for change. the convenience, diversity, and vitality of urban neighborhoods are major draws, as is the availability of cheap housing, especially if the buildings are distinctive and appealing. old houses or industrial buildings often attract people looking for "fixer-uppers" as investment opportunities. gentrification works by accretion — gathering momentum like a snowball. few people are willing to move into an unfamiliar neighborhood across class and racial lines. once a few familiar faces are present, more people are willing to make the move. word travels that an attractive neighborhood has been "discovered" and the pace of change accelerates rapidly!

the social, economic, and physical impacts of gentrification often result in serious political conflict, exacerbated by differences in race, class, and culture. earlier residents may feel embattled, ignored, and excluded from their own communities. new arrivals are often mystified by accusations that their efforts to improve local conditions are perceived as hostile or even racist. "it’s gentrification, but you could also almost call it apartheid by both race and class."

while developers and real estate experts predict the downtown residential market will eventually mature to become a mix of rental and for-sale properties, if you want to live in what is being called the "new" downtown, at least for now, you're going to have to rent... why? tax incentives for creating rental housing out of historic buildings, government subsidies for developing affordable rental housing and a skittishness by investors to bankroll a for-sale project in an unproven residential downtown, especially one that flat-lined during the recession of the 1990s." there are only two projects in historic downtown los angeles that are selling units instead of renting them. one is the toy lofts project at 3rd and santa fe in a former toy warehouse. the other is on south flower. according to a developer, condos or lofts for sale are a quicker way to make money. the sales price of the new project near staples center will sell from the high $200,000 range to $500,000. "and home ownership is something that absolutely should be in the mix of downtown housing."