On Gentrification in Los Angeles

The government subsidized Jordan Downs Housing Projects in the Watts district of Los Angeles consist of 700 units that are home to some of the poorest residents in the entire state of California. Recently a measure was unanimously passed by the LA City Council that calls for the demolition and redevelopment of the projects, leaving a gravely uncertain future for the nearly 2400 low income residents that currently occupy Jordan Downs. The poor condition and high crime rate have caused nearly unanimous support from the residents for some form of government intervention in the area, though the extremity of the proposed redevelopment has community members uneasy about their future. In an article titled America’s Worst Housing Project is Being Gentrified by Mike Pearl via internet-based fringe media outlet Vice the author argues that gentrification’s benefits only extend to those who can afford the rent hikes that inevitably accompany redevelopment. As Pearl sees it, “history teaches us that when your dilapidated housing project gets revitalized, you do not get to stay unless you stop being very poor”. The City of Los Angeles currently maintains a required ratio of one subsidized housing unit for each that is rented at market value, however the prominent real estate blog Curbed LA questions this statement, asserting that “This isn't the first effort to tear down and fancify a crumbling housing project, but it is the first time such a large project has been undertaken without kicking all of the current residents out first”. With understandable skepticism many residents of Jordan Downs believe that the gentrification may drive the low income inhabitants out of the area with no alternative options for housing. This was the case in Chicago’s Cabrini Green district, in which 80% of low income residents were driven out by more affluent residents willing to pay high prices for the land. Jordan Downs native Juanita Sims, a four decade long resident of the projects, commented