U really call Compton a ghetto? (Los Angeles: crime rate, how much, houses)

[stolpioni]

I was visiting LA a couple of months back..
All my life I've been hearing about "the worst ghetto in the US" called Compton in south central LA. I went there to check it out. I drived through alot of streets including the whole Compton Avenue and I just gotta ask if Compton has looked like this all the time or it has just gotten alot better over the last few years?

I mean, we have tons of hoods in SWEDEN (EU) that is far worse than Compton and the whole South Central, and many of them we don't even call ghettos.

[Charles]

Doesn't sound like it:

"Compton is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
Compton is rapidly emerging as a large industrial center for transit and distribution, business services, high technology, and financial services.
The City is developing a wide range of economic opportunities that will help to make Compton a prime destination for residents and businesses."

from

Hub City | About Compton (http://www.comptoncity.org/index.php/About-Compton/hub-city.html - broken link)

[jc76]

I know, we drove through there about a year ago and I did not understand all the hype. If CA residents consider Compton a "ghetto" they have obviously not witnessed the true oppression of ghettos in St. Louis, Gary, Detroit, Chicago, Houston etc.
Being a midwesterner and being used to Chicago and Detroits thugs and stories of murder I found even the worst areas of Los Angeles nowhere near the filth of the midwest's vagrant areas. Not to mention ours are also plagued by horrible weather conditions and homeless people actually being found frozen to death.

[Charles]

Got to love Google Maps street view. I just picked a couple random locations in Compton, both residential and a main boulevard. Doesn't look too bad.

compton, ca - Google Maps

compton, ca - Google Maps

[Jonah1979]

California ghettos look okay during the day. It's at night that they earn their reputation.

I understand what you are saying though...when I first moved here from the south the ghettos here didn't look bad at all. Back home, you knew you were in the the hood...some houses looked like mud buildings.

[ZenMaster2008]

Palm trees really help make an area feel less Ghetto

[TheRealAngelion]

It's all relative. By LA or Southern California standards, Compton would be the ghetto mostly due to the high crime rate and history of gang violence. However, based on aesthetics alone what's considered ghetto here might look more like a working/middle class neighborhood in comparison to the ghettos in Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, and NYC, etc. Ghettos in East Coast and Midwest cities typically don't include single family homes with nicely manicured front lawns.

Appreciate your perspective. You wouldn't believe the number of silly Americans on this forum who claim LA looks third world. They have no idea what they are talking about because they haven't traveled out of the country in most cases and don't realize that even Europe has slums far worse than anything one would see in Southern California.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by stolpioni

I was visiting LA a couple of months back..
All my life I've been hearing about "the worst ghetto in the US" called Compton in south central LA. I went there to check it out. I drived through alot of streets including the whole Compton Avenue and I just gotta ask if Compton has looked like this all the time or it has just gotten alot better over the last few years?

I mean, we have tons of hoods in SWEDEN (EU) that is far worse than Compton and the whole South Central, and many of them we don't even call ghettos.

Yes, it is a ghetto and no, it certainly isn't the worst in America, not by any stretch..It has improved but still isn't a safe place for people to be just wandering around in especially at night. The crime rate is high, there are projects in the area and the residence are primarily working or should we say, non working class. Again, it isn't as bad as Detroit, Chic and some of the ghettos in the along the east coast. Yes, Palm trees do wonders.

Nita

[jc76]

Originally Posted by ZenMaster2008

Palm trees really help make an area feel less Ghetto

I can't describe how much your post just had me laughing!!! So true, so so true lol

[jc76]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

It's all relative. By LA or Southern California standards, Compton would be the ghetto mostly due to the high crime rate and history of gang violence. However, based on aesthetics alone what's considered ghetto here might look more like a working/middle class neighborhood in comparison to the ghettos in Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, and NYC, etc. Ghettos in East Coast and Midwest cities typically don't include single family homes with nicely manicured front lawns.

Appreciate your perspective. You wouldn't believe the number of silly Americans on this forum who claim LA looks third world. They have no idea what they are talking about because they haven't traveled out of the country in most cases and don't realize that even Europe has slums far worse than anything one would see in Southern California.

Exactly!

nmnita- Did your not see in the L.A. times this week that Los Angeles is at a 50 year crime low????