Those investing in the largely Latino enclave of Boyle Heights prefer to use the term "gentefication" - a play on the Spanish word for people - rather than the pejorative gentrification, to describe their efforts to improve the L.A. neighborhood.
"The transition [of Boyle Heights into an area popular with more well-to-do and younger Mexican-Americans] has provided a jolt of energy and a transfusion of money, but it has also created friction with working-class residents here," observes Jennifer Medina. "And tensions over just whom this neighborhood belongs to are a clear sign that Latinos have come of age in Los Angeles, where they are expected to become the majority this year."
“'We’re not trying to get out of the barrio, we’re trying to bring the barrio up,' said Marco Amador, who runs an Internet radio station out of a storefront he helped open in Boyle Heights last fall."
“It’s really easy to say no to things, but the harder question is how do we change things and empower people at the same time,” attorney Alfred Fraijo said. “If we’re closed to outsiders, we’re going to be stuck in the past. If we can figure out how to say yes to development and history at the same time, we can really be a model for this city that hasn’t had one yet.”
FULL STORY: Los Angeles Neighborhood Tries to Change, but Avoid the Pitfalls

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate
The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency
The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law
Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions