In the last of his five-part series, columnist Steve Lopez examines the jarring juxtaposition of rapidly-gentrifying luxury lofts that overlook prostitutes, drug dealers and homeless on LA's skid row.
"Evelyn, Eduardo and Thomas live within two blocks of each other, caught in the middle of this head-on collision between economic growth and social disintegration. One is on the street, one in recovery, one in a grandly appointed loft overlooking the place he calls Dante's Inferno.
...The renaissance he's talking about has brought an influx of people like Reid, thousands of them. In his building, they're paying up to $6,000 a month, which buys them neighbors who sleep on the pavement in rags.
Yuppie lofters like him aren't the problem, he insists after wrestling with his own doubts about their impact. They're part of the solution, so long as a revitalized downtown includes adequate housing and services, and safer streets for merchants and residents of all income levels."
FULL STORY: Urban Renaissance Meets the Middle Ages
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