Oct 08 2007
From Safer Cities to Safer People: Gentrification and Skid Row
GUESTS: Becky Dennison and Pete White, Co-Directors of the LA Community Action Network
Downtown LA’s Skid Row, some 50 blocks that have been a center for kitchens, shelters and other services has seen some massive demographics changes in the past year. Skid Row and its residents had been largely ignored for decades until developers saw a market for high-priced artist’s lofts and high-rise condos. As gentrification sweeps through the area, so does the so-called “Safer Cities Initiative”. The plan, implemented on Skid Row last September, has led to the displacement of thousands of mostly Black homeless people. Those who remain face constant fear and harassment at the hands of police – more than 100 new cops have been added to patrol the area in cars, on foot, on bike and mounted on horses. City officials like Mayor Villaraigosa tout Safer Cities as a move towards increasing public safety and decreasing crime, but they turn their heads to the displacement and harassment that’s plagued Skid Row. Meanwhile, a grassroots effort to build leadership within the Skid Row community called the LA Community Action Network has taken root.
For more information, visit www.cangress.org/ or call 213-228-0024.
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