A protest last week through downtown Los Angeles was meant to raise awareness of local activists' concerns that Los Angeles County Metro is displacing working class people and small businesses as it develops land adjacent to its stations.
Activists such as Isela Gracian, of East LA Community Corporation, argue that Metro is promoting "corporate-driven projects" adjacent to its rail stations in lower-income communities of South and East Los Angeles, reports Corey Moore.
"Gracian and others contend that the LA County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority has focused on promoting major retail chain
development on those parcels," writes Moore. "They say the agency has not done enough
to protect blacks and Latinos from displacement when – as they put it -
Metro 'corporatizes' the land it owns."
"Metro spokesman Marc Littman said that's not true."
"We've done to date, including what's under construction now, 1,222
affordable housing units. And so all these are green projects, we've
worked very closely with the community, they've generated a lot of
jobs," Littman said.
"Littman added that while the agency has removed some affordable
housing, Metro's replaced those units throughout LA County and will
continue to do that."
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