Op-Ed: Transit-Oriented Development Must Protect Tenants

The merits of transit-oriented development, from increased density to higher transit use, are undermined by its displacement of low-income tenants throughout Los Angeles, argues Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal in a recent op-ed. The social and environmental benefits associated with TOD cannot be fully realized without protections for current tenants, she writes.

Detailing the impacts of Metro investment in neighborhoods like Echo Park, Koreatown, and Hollywood, Rosenthal links the region's persistent decline in transit ridership to the displacement of low-income communities of color—a connection also observed by Metro CEO Phil Washington, who has described gentrification as bad for the agency's bottom line. But as Metro and Los Angeles continue implementing "economic revitalization" strategies throughout L.A., Rosenthal urges a shift to a "common-sense planning policy" that "links the well-being of low-income Angelenos of color to a greener future": embracing rent control, public housing, and the human right to housing, alongside transit buildout and dense development.