The Arts District in Los Angeles has been a site of gentrification for the last two decades. But it has also been a site of resistance.
The Arts District has been one of the most noticeably transformed areas in L.A., as luxury apartments, artisan coffee shops, and pristine art galleries continue to be developed. At what cost though?
As the "desirability" of the Arts District goes up, existing community memebers who can no longer afford the skyrocketing rents are driven out. Through visualizing demographic and housing data such race, poverty, and Section 8-funded housing units, I aim to show how the community makeup of the Arts District has changed, particularly in relation to its surrounding communities. In addition, 360 images of sites of community action begin to show the areas where community members have been negatively impacted by gentrification and where their resistance is taking place.
The demographic data for this map is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, the housing data is sourced from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the map boundaries are sourced from the LA County GIS Data Portal, and the building data is sourced from built:LA, Curbed LA, Google Maps, Architectural Record, and the websites of the buildings and businesses.
For a more comprehensive understanding on gentrification, please check out this wonderful resource guide developed by the L.A.-based collective, School of Echoes!