Gentrification Los Angeles
Michael Chang | Jukebox
Introduction:
Using the metro, I explored various parts of Los Angeles to document the effects of
gentrification, particularly focusing on comparing the past with the present. Design in terms of gentrification encompasses many different things, and often is less traditional in the sense of two dimensional design, but more in line with how design or aesthetics reflects a certain culture. Los Angeles is a full of contrasting buildings and disjointed cultures, providing an interesting, diverse environment for one to study gentrification.
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Navigator 1. Expo Line [Expo/Crenshaw-Pico]
4-15
2. Purple Line [Pershing Square and 7th St/Metro]
16-29
3. Red Line [Hollywood/Vine and Hollywood/Western]
32-39
4. Gold Line [Little Tokyo/Arts District and Chinatown]
42-57
5. Perspective
58-61
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The Expo Line
T
he Expo line has three stops dedicated to USC’s students’ convenience,
increasing the school’s presence (figuratively and physically) in the community. USC affects the gentrification around the Expo line because of the increase in off campus building projects including the University Village and various apartment complexes. These
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off campus living situations for students create an interesting mixture of both new and old in the neighborhoods surrounding the Expo Line. Also, the theme of contrast is evident between locals and the vast array of college students that not only hail from the United States but also internationally.
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n area that is showing the
genesis of gentrification is near the Expo/Crenshaw station, where part of the new Santa Monica light rail is currently being constructed. The metro seems to be a physical divider of the two sides that make up the area.
The word ‘quiet’ would be an
understatement in describing the situation of many of these local businesses that line the other side of Crenshaw, facing the megachurch that stood silently, watching down. Though there were few overt lease signs posted in front of these buildings, shut doors and the souless, silent atmosphere conveyed a feeling of desolation.
Many local businesses focus less
on branding in terms of the surface level appearances to attract customers, but are more direct with what their business does, as seen with the name on the properties. Local, smaller businesses have different aims and also less capital to use on branding and marketing, depending on the community to support them.
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T
he otherside of the
dividing line. A stripmall filled with energy and business, despite the construction that runs rampant through the area. Gentrification of this kind utilizes a layout that carves out a plot of land filled with businesses that work in unison with each other to provide the shopper with the ability to shop at diverse locations within a few feet.
The free parking lot, something
rare in Los Angeles, is a layout that the strip mall employs to help ease the process for the shopper to reach a location and not to have to worry about finding parking.
These businesses are meant to
improve the convenience for shoppers and also raise the quality of an area with more brand name, trustworthy stores. But, depending on perspective, the results of these new businesses coming in will hurt other local businesses.
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B
iking down between the Expo/Western and Expo/Crenshaw station, I was
able to view a more quiet, suburban part of Los Angeles, an example of the many dischords and strange boundaries in Los Angeles; where one area can radically change in culture and style within a few blocks. USC’s influence on the community along the Expo line waned as I biked further down, with more purely residential streets, rather than the houses that became bought up by companies (or the school) and turned into student housing. There were numerous buildings that lined the roads, like gateways into each street, empty with lease signs hung up on them, as seen on the building to the right. An empty, unsettling quiet clung to the neighborhoods, with only the sounds of speeding cars and the brightly colored subways passing by to fill in whatever silence it could.
It’s difficult to really observe and find the effects of gentrification outside of the
broken down facades and lease signs because of the missing context of what was there before these buildings emptied out. Without a thorough investigation of the building itself, the lives affected and the cultural changes involved as a result of building of the expo line unknown unless one excavates the history of the area further. Another sign I saw was a historic zone called Jefferson Park that encompassed most of this area I biked through, yet there was nothing within the range of my eyesight that seemed historical.
Expo/Western
Expo/Vermont
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Gates separate people and places.
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Students shouldn’t interact outside these gates. Everything you need is inside.
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The Purple Line 16
D
owntown Los Angeles for many people, especially outsiders, is not a place
where one would wander around aimlessly and enjoy their day, but throughout the recent years, an influx of new culturally stylistic businesses, especially restaurants, have heightened the area’s friendliness and appeal for the walker. An observation I made while exploring Downtown more closely than before, especially using the frameworks of my distance to the metro station in mind, is that the closer one gravitates towards a station, the socio-economic situation “increases” for the businesses, while the designs become cleaner and more modern.
Gentrification in downtown comes in many forms, and often the delineation
aesthetically is almost non-existent between old and new because of the many historical/cultural landmarks that the people want to preserve. To elaborate on this point, gentrification is not just the flattening out and destroying of an area’s current culture and/or history, although much of the time that is an inadvertant result, but also the appropriation and blending in of new businesses with styles of the old. The dirty, textural, almost chaotic feel of the area is something that developers attempt to be replicate in some places, with Spring and Broadway having historical landmarks but with t higher end businesses such as Urban Outfitters coming in, inserting themselves amongst the traditional stores for tourists to shop at.
Walking through downtown, there are some of the most stark contrasts in terms of
design condensed into a few cross streets. I enjoyed the ability to immerse my being into this chaotic setting that provides these almost at random encounters, both with sounds and sights that can be both offputting and attractive all in the same moment. This diversity from block to block is what makes downtown Los Angeles almost infinitely explorable, with the new, rising businesses on Spring street to the jewerly district on Hill, and the historic areas on Broadway.
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Glass. Reflective. Smooth. Precise. Sharp.
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White. Geometric. 20
Unified. Sleek. Clean
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Gentrification
[jen-truh-fi-key-shuh n]:
1: The process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of
middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.
7th St./Metro Pershing Sq
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N
ew Shopping Centers with name
brands and a concave layout that provides what every potential consumer needs in one area is one trend that goes in gentrified layout design, similar to the strip mall on Crenshaw, but now with even higher end brands.
These name brands such as Target, Zara,
H&M, and the addition of a gourmet food court attracts not only tourists but also tries to break down the perception of downtown of being unfriendly for strolling pedestrians. Another purpose is to give businessmen and business women to find a new place for their lunch break.
Another perspective of these new centers
are that it alienates long time residents who not only may not be able to afford these stores but also inserts a new culture without proper integration,
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A
secondary type of gentrification design I noticed, the appropriation of
the existing style and feel of the area with new businesses was prevalent on the streets with more cultural history which is actively trying to be preserved. In what seems to be a vintage looking theater, an urban outfitters has been opened inside, making it an odd combination of both old and new on Broadway street.
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Vintage. Appropriation. Bright. Neon.
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Architectural Facades
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[A.K.A Transition Spread]
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The Red Line 32
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T
wo streets running parallel to each other. One with the Pantages theater and the Hollywood culture, the stars and billboards scattered across everywhere.
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The other street is in the progress of gentrification, with new lofts and high rises being built up for incoming residents to enjoy the culture of Hollywood in new living situations, an interesting contrast street to street.
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Hollywood/Western
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he metro hotel off of Hollywood/Western is the visualization of how metro stops are anchors for developers to gentrify because the metro is purposely placed the hotel about a block off from the station exit, and is in much better shape than many of the buildings in the surrounding area. With a modern take on the apartment complex, using a tile like texture that mirrors the tiles inside of the Hollywood/Western station, and the yellow reflecting the color scheme that the subway system uses, its connection to the metro makes it an extension of the anchor point that is the station. Other parts around the station have also began the gentrification process, with a new shopping center/living situation being built across the street. Many of these newly built complexes also use the first floor not only as a lobby but also a place for businesses to open, for the convinience of its tenants. With the influx of celebrities and other high profile characters, there is a need for nicer businesses, at least in their appearances, to cater towards this demographic.
Hollywood/Vine
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[ A.K.A Transition Spread ]
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The Gold Line 42
Little Tokyo/Art’s District
Chinatown
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Textural. Gestural. Saturated. Bold. Vibrant.
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W
ith an unique culture infusing one of Los Angeles’s most popular ethnic communites (Little Tokyo) and the creativity of the art’s district, this stop on the metro provides both unique businesses and sights for people to immerse themselves in. Gentrification in Little Tokyo/Art’s District is more invasive than in downtown because there is less appropriation and more development that as a result knocks down what makes the art’s district unique, the graffiti and wall murals. As a result, gentrification displaces both the public works of art and also the artists that created the culture that cannot afford to live in these new complexes. This result erodes the purity of the culture that drew developers to the area, an irony that has contributed to the controversy surrounding gentrification. As I walked through the art’s district, it was rich with and interesting feeling because of the colors and vibrancy, which flowered in an industrial-like setting. The flat, unadorned walls of rectangular buildings acting as large mural canvas for artists. Many businesses outside of apartment developments going into the area use the the murals to help build their own brand, softening the impact of their entry into the community, though their prices would state otherwise about their integration into the current community.
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S
ignage is noticeably different between ungentrified and gentrified areas; with the ungentrified areas having bold serif type faces with contrasting colors (i.e. orange/blue, white/black). These signs are often not harmonious and filled with stickers and other distracting pieces of information.
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S
avoy’s sign has a typeface as a sleek, modern sans serif, with the thinner lines and a smooth curvature paired with the straight edge quality of the A, V, and Y. It tries to convey an appropriated exoticism with its name and also the use of a harmonized orange and green.
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Definition 2: 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. 51
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ittle Tokyo is a community with ties to Japanese culture. The use of the word Hikari for the name of the new apartments is a way to try and integrate the new buildings into a community in a fresh way. The pagoda-like exterior with the balconies and rooftop also are in reference to japanese architecture. The heart of Little Tokyo has been going under subtle changes, and although not as notcieably different, the more traditional appropriated style from Japan is being replaced with the higher rise modern style buildings with clean, organized facades.
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C
hinatown was an interesting mixture of many different cultures when I arrived. The weather beated down on the back of my naked neck, the sun harshly shining down and baking my body. Gentrification’s roots were evident immediately upon my arrival, with a large crane rising out of what could be called an excavation site with developer and construction signs decorating the facade of the chain linked fences. In Chinatown, as I arrived to an older shopping center with appropriated “asian” architecture, there was a hip-hop swap meet with tents filling the otherwise empty space with boxes of records and hip-hop influenced fashion brands. This direct juxtaposition of two different cultures was an interesting sight. Older chinese men and women took advantage of the influx of people, selling their items alongside with the younger generations in their hip-hop gear. The question that I thought to myself was whether this was cultural gentrification, the diluting of chinese culture in Chinatown. Perhaps by the strict definition of gentrification, the influx of new businesses into an area, this swap meet would meet the criteria for gentrification, but for me not necessarily in the negative connotation that the word is often associated with. The visual cue that confirmed this view I had was the fact the teenage asian boys breakdancing with everyone else in a main pavillion area. This swap meet wasn’t displacing chinese culture, it was simply representing the evolution of culture, and what the youth is currently interested in. To that end, I believe this swap meet is actually a great thing for Chinatown, which I used to view as relatively quiet and uneventful place before walking through,and immersing myself into a mixture of energies, both from the loud bass of music and the store owners beckoning me inside their trinket and souvenir shops.
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he clashes between a traditional part of culture, a tightly, almost claustrophobic feeling of navigating through an open air market that’s woven together like a grid, with stark colors and flashing signs, fighting for attention. Ridiculous deals on less than quality products, knock offs of brand names, and anything that is cheap both in cost and quality. The tightly woven markets are a part of an older culture, and across the cross street, the large cranes and construction units are hacking away into the ground, probably ready to erect a large high rise building out of the nothingness, the desolate sand intensifying the sunlight.
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Claustrophobic, Cheap, Rich, Disharmony
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Perspective
M
any groups of people have risen up and tried resisting gentrification. Within these resisting movements, interesting designs around trying to fight gentrifiers have arisen through both two dimensional and three dimensional modes. Because of the many nuances and perspectives surrounding the issue, the designs that have been created reflect those complexities. Some designs are racially charged in their content in relation to socio-economics, something that has clung to the Los Angeles community (though very large and expansive), while others focus more on non ethnic cultures (art’s district). After my wanderings through the metro system, I’ve noticed the differences between what I call positive and negative techniques in dealing with the inadvertant flaws and problems of gentrification. Negative techniques often are shown through attacks on certain groups of people, and involve more aggressive content pinpointed against gentrification holistically. Positive techniques focus on the promotion of local businesses and culture that already exist, rather than attacking the new waves of businesses coming through, trying to preserve culture without necessarily denouncing what is new. The history behind the racial tensions infused in the gentrification issue dates back to segregation and the practice of Redlining, in which necessary services for neighborhoods were actively neglected by landlords and developers, often because of the minorities populating the areas. Maps were physically labeled with red and green areas, warning banks and other institutions about investing in such areas, leading to a disparity in the living standards between red and green areas. Tying into this was the Section 8 laws that provided cheap, affordable housing to poorer people, but as a result, indirectly segregated communities, forcing them to live in places the government designated for “affordable housing.” Though not directly oppressing and segregating people, Section 8 inadvertantly did just that, even if the intents of it were pure.
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photo by Downtowneastnews
photo by: Michael Loadenthal
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Leimert Phone Company
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eimert Phone Company is a group that recently started to try and combat the effects of gentrification on local businesses with various methods. They started with the restoration of old pay phones, and through using these newly restored pay phones, one could find local businesses, artists, and restaurants to eat at. Through the promotion of local businesses, Leimert Phone Company is trying to advocate for these local businesses that are unique to the area. On October 2014, Leimert Phone company is taking part in Indiecade, an event promoting indie based video games. They’re providing an interactive game for partcipants in order to delve deeper into the culture of Culver City. The Leimert phones that try to promote local businesses in one area and a game that promotes the businesses in another are part of a larger scale effort to fight gentrification in the sense of unique, local businesses that are losing money as a result of higher rent, and brand name competition. Their efforts aren’t trying to incite sweeping reform uniformly across Los Angeles, but instead are concentrating on promoting areas one at a time, in an incremental fashion, which could be more successful because each neighborhood has different problems with gentrification, even if the differences are minute. Gentrification is a problem because what results from it are where the real controversies lies, such as that developers cannot be directly pinned for displacing residents that cannot afford their new properties. I believe that much of the problem lies with a lack of understanding between the situations of various groups, especially because of the disjointed natures of Los Angeles’s culture, resulting in stereotypes and assumptions about an area without a true understanding the people who make up those areas. The metro is a double edged sword that connects these hubs in Los Angeles, giving a chance for people to explore other areas, while also allowing developers to go in and gentrify.
Photo by: Stephanie Monte
-Michael Chang 61
Gentrification | Los Angeles Jukebox Michael Chang
The future is not always progress. The past is not always decay. Gentrification [jen-truh-fi-key-shuh n]: The result of the struggle for progress, preservation and human misundesrtanding.