Hector Tobar argues that despite the well-documented ills of gentrification, under the right circumstances it can eat into long decades of racial segregation. Eastern Los Angeles may be a prime test case.
In addition to displacing poorer people, gentrification has been accused of hallowing out cultural enclaves. Hector Tobar has a slightly different take: "In Highland Park, as in other Latino barrios of Los Angeles, gentrification has produced an undeniable but little appreciated side effect: the end of decades of de facto racial segregation. It's possible to imagine a future in which 'the hood' passes into memory."
Tobar acknowledges that white gentrifiers have been known to price out people of color. However, he argues, "For all the fortitude and pride you’ll find in Latino barrios, no one wants to live in a racially segregated community or attend a racially segregated school. The impact of segregation on the self-image of the segregated has been amply documented [...]."
The nature of modern gentrification, and modern cities, might sometimes allow integration to trump displacement. From the article: "But the demographics of greater Los Angeles have shifted so much — Latinos are a plurality in both the city and the county — that it's impossible for gentrification to erase Latino culture in Highland Park. The new non-Latino minority will live, for the foreseeable future, in a majority-Latino community."
FULL STORY: Viva Gentrification!
Why L.A.'s Boyle Heights Matters to Anti-Gentrification Activists
The historically Latino working class neighborhood is a frequent touchstone in debates over gentrification in Los Angeles. That history goes back decades and colors residents' perceptions.
Lessons for YIMBYs From Boyle Heights
In the wake of a very pro-development March election, Los Angeles seems ready to embrace change. But not everywhere. In low-income Boyle Heights, residents have been more militant than most against encroaching gentrification.
Another L.A. Gentrification Story
New art galleries are moving into a neighborhood recently dubbed ‘Melrose Hill,’ prompting both derision and concern on the part of local residents.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
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‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
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The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
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Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
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San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research