Recent Streetsblog LA posts about gentrification

A jogger finishes his last lap around Evergreen Cemetery while police and reporters alike speculate on his potential criminality. [Screengrab of ABC7 footage]

Boyle Heights Jogger Detained, Cited During Hunt for Suspect that Drove into Metro Tunnel

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 27, 2018 | 19 Comments

Officers held the East L.A. native for 45 minutes, threatened him with jail time, then cited him for an outstanding issue he thought he'd resolved years ago

Mariachi musician Luis Valdivia (white suit, center) waits to address the crowd regarding an $800 rent increase he was hit with at a rally at Mariachi Plaza in April, 2017. He stands next to Arturo Ramírez, president of the Organización de Mariachis Unidos de Los Ángeles. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Boyle Heights Tenants, Mariachis Celebrate Victory over Exorbitant Rent Hikes

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 16, 2018 | 16 Comments

A nine-month rent strike comes to a close when tenants successfully negotiate new terms with owner B.J. Turner

The transformation of Crenshaw at Exposition - the gateway to a historic black neighborhood - apparently also includes the rapture of the entire black population... save one undoubtedly confused person in cargo shorts. Source: Metro

When Your Renderings Suggest the Black Population Has Been Abducted by Aliens, It May Be the Least of Your Problems

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 14, 2017 | 51 Comments

The transformation of Crenshaw at Exposition - the gateway to a historic black neighborhood - apparently also includes the abduction of the entire black population by aliens... save one undoubtedly confused person who appears to be in cargo shorts.

Redlining, the practice of denying loans to communities of color in the 1930s, was one of many ways segregation was embedded in the DNA of cities and continues to shape their growth and development today. Source: Mapping Inequality - the University of Richmond's Digital Scholarship Lab

The Color of Law & Residential Segregation: A “Walking Toward Justice” Webinar

By Sahra Sulaiman | Sep 28, 2017 | 4 Comments

A conversation about how to have uncomfortable conversations, moderated by Charles T. Brown and featuring Tamika Butler, Sahra Sulaiman, Sonia Jimenez, and author Richard Rothstein.

The plans for the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza include 961 residential units (in green and orange), a hotel (purple), new retail (blue and under the green residences), an office tower (pink), and 7 acres of open space and walking paths. Numbers on the buildings indicate heights. Rendering source: RAW International

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Offers Window into History of Redevelopment, Legacy of White Flight

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jul 28, 2017 | 7 Comments

The new complex would be a far cry from the open-air mall first built there in 1947. But it’s not the first major intervention the site has seen, either. Nor is it the first time the city is looking to the mall as having the potential to give the area an economic boost.

Beauty, grace, power, and spirituality led the way in celebration of the ancestors in Leimert Park Village. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Ancestors v. Polka Dots: Some Thoughts on Approaches to “Place-Making”

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jun 27, 2017 | No Comments

In many historically marginalized urban neighborhoods, decades of disenfranchisement and the repressive policing that accompanied it created great insecurity in the public space and, over time, eroded bonds of social trust between neighbors. With the public space essentially rendered off limits for too many, community had to be nurtured in private spaces.

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