South L.A. Community Plans Tackle Gentrification

Updated community plans for South and Southeast Los Angeles accommodate more than 15,000 new housing units for about 43,000 people, KPCC reports. New development is particularly focused along transit corridors, which are seeing renewed development interest alongside planned rail investment by L.A. Metro.

Mindful of rising home prices in the southern part of the city, the new plans incorporate "about 80 percent" of a set of anti-displacement proposals methodically prepared over the last decade by a neighborhood coalition. They include incentives for affordable housing, public space, and needed commercial developments like grocery stores and banks, while limiting residential exposure to industrial pollution.

But what didn't make the cut from the People's Plan—led by United Neighbors Against Displacement—has some residents still worried about how they will weather the gentrification anticipated ahead. Measures proposed by UNIDAD, but missing from the city's plans, included annual caps on demolition and condo conversions, as well as incentives to discount retail space for local businesses.