Los Angeles, the city of beaches and dreams, is the place where many people like to go to start off fresh. Streets are filled with thrift stores, coffee shops, and neighborhood markets are what many call home. This city is not only home to numerous Michelin star restaurants, but to many celebrities as well. It’s not rare to find them shopping in high-end stores that many people could only dream of one day owning products from. Music artists and actors use the popularity of Los Angeles as an advantage, often holding events and pop-ups to rally support for upcoming projects. However, LA natives aren’t as excited to see these popular social events. The words Los Angeles and gentrification go hand and hand.
Since the early 1900s, California in general has seen some of the largest popularity booms in America. It has been the birthplace of many aspects of the cultural capital. LA has influenced a large part of the corners of pop culture as a whole, it wouldn’t be like how it is today without this city. With the upbringing of Hollywood and film, people from all over the world traveled here to make their big break.
Los Angeles is no longer how it was a century ago, but it still holds many of the same values. Because of the large amount of migration, LA is home to many different cultures, even claiming their own small towns (Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Little Armenia, etc..) which display different foods, traditions, and art pieces that symbolize what culture it represents.
As an LA native, I feel extremely grateful for my wide access to different places that I might not get to visit in my lifetime. When I’m craving ramen, authentic mochi, or tacos with too much guacamole, I know exactly what streets to go to.
No matter how much of a culture melting pot Los Angeles is, gentrification is a cosmic issue. It seems that more and more people are coming in, and less and less cultures are coming from it. The Red Canary Magazine explains, “At risk, according to opponents of gentrification, is a so-called whitewashing of the neighborhood’s cultural roots, as well as its historic roots in supplying an entryway into homeownership and the middle class for immigrants.” Cities with a majority population of Hispanics, like Boyle Heights, East LA, and more have had major increase spikes in homes. Many of those moving in, not knowing anything about where exactly they are living. They aren’t aware of the stories that the people who live down the street from them have gone through, and only see the ‘aesthetic’ landscapes that make up their new home.
On the other side of the city, South Central Los Angeles has seen it’s fair share of gentrification. In fact, that part of the city went through a name change in the early 2000s. Going from South Central Los Angeles to just South Los Angeles, the citizens felt as if the name was taken away from their home. The changing of the name was used to change the perception of the city that was only seen as a violent place, but it also seemed like it was taking away from the people. City officials believed that the “new perspective” of the city would encourage more movers.
Just changing the name won’t erase from the history that’s taken place there. Instead of changing the name for its reputation, the city deserves actual help like programs for children and food banks.
This exposure of new people to the city has brought a widespread of new stores, restaurants, and cafes, all maintaining the same look and taking away from the beauty of LA.
People in Los Angeles have found multiple ways to combat this growing issue. An example is the South LA Cafe that has been taking the word ‘community’ to a different level. The owners, Joe and Ceila Ward-Wallace, started the cafe to create a safe space with healthy, affordable food for their neighbors in a city that seems to be getting the short end of the stick. Their website reads, “We’re on a mission to fight racial, social, economic, and food inequity through coffee, community, and connection.” Although there is the wide spread of newcomers moving into the city, South LA Cafe fights for those who take pride in the legacy of South Central LA.
Nevertheless, there isn’t a complete negative about this growing issue. The migration of movers to Los Angeles has brought more job opportunities and continues to enrich our cultural diversity. However, it’s erasing the originality of this beautiful city.
All things considered, the root cause of this seems to be the excessive amount of people moving to LA and not respecting the history, legacy, and culture of the city. As someone who lives here, walking out of my home and seeing the different murals, styles, and especially the people makes me feel prideful for this community, but tense about the ‘whitewashed’ future of Los Angeles.
Written by Victoria Gonzalez, Editor-in-Chief