New Community Plans for South L.A.

Community plan updates for neighborhoods in South L.A. have been approved, but it's still too early to gauge the full breadth of stakeholder response. Elijah Chiland writes, "The two plans, which city officials are reviewing simultaneously, cover more than a dozen different neighborhoods roughly east of Arlington Avenue and south of Pico Boulevard, extending as far west as Alameda Street in places, and as far south as 120th Street. Neighborhoods within those boundaries include Historic South-Central, Vermont Square, Florence, and Watts."

The plans place "a focus on transit-oriented development, revitalization of commercial corridors, and the elimination of public health hazards that can arise when housing is situated within close proximity of industrial sites." 

Despite the fact that many of L.A.'s aging plans are in desperate need of updates, some community activists are concerned that the plans do too little to discourage displacement of existing residents if that commercial revitalization succeeds.