South Central Gentrification (Vista, Santa Monica, Culver City: crime, jumbo loan, safest area)

[vop]

I have noticed a lot of gentrification in areas once deemed undesirable by middle to upper middle class, the USC area is a good example as well as the Mar Vista area, also there's even a chance Boyle Heights might be becoming gentrified to more upper middle class, does anyone really think these areas could become more desirable and if so does that mean it will start to consume adjacent communities with the lower class residents either being pushed out in to the burbs or in to south east LA?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by vop

I have noticed a lot of gentrification in areas once deemed undesirable by middle to upper middle class, the USC area is a good example as well as the Mar Vista area, also there's even a chance Boyle Heights might be becoming gentrified to more upper middle class, does anyone really think these areas could become more desirable and if so does that mean it will start to consume adjacent communities with the lower class residents either being pushed out in to the burbs or in to south east LA?

When was Mar Vista ever "deemed undesirable by middle to upper middle class"? Other than the schools situation but that's true in LAUSD areas as a whole. That's like saying that Brentwood was "deemed undesirable by middle to upper middle class" because of similar issues with LAUSD schools. It's not Santa Monica which is right next door, nor is it even Culver City which is also next door, but it's traditionally been pretty middle class. The reason it got more expensive was due to the RE bubble forcing SM, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills snobs who used to look down upon the more historically middle class parts of the westside to move into those areas, which have driven up values. MV right now is one of the few westside areas actually holding its value - the westside got hit with declining prices later than other parts of L.A., but prices in many parts of the westside are plummeting (Pacific Palisades property values are falling the fastest, although admittedly still high). This is because of the difficulty of getting jumbo loans nowadays in addition to the crap economy.

I don't see South Central being gentrified - for one thing, the end of the RE bubble has meant the end of the expansion of gentrification and worries about degentrification in some areas that gentrification hit later on. Also, memories of 1992 still linger on.

[Mike121]

One thing that is true is that crime is way down from the 1990s. Some neighborhoods are reasonably safe. Some of what is considered gentrification is really just locals that have made their lives better. Basically the amount of flight from the region is lower.

[bhcompy]

Little off topic.. I heard them call South Central "South Central" on KNX the other day. I haven't heard that term for a decade. Everyone in LA calls it "South LA" these days as if it's somehow a different area than it was before.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Little off topic.. I heard them call South Central "South Central" on KNX the other day. I haven't heard that term for a decade. Everyone in LA calls it "South LA" these days as if it's somehow a different area than it was before.

People who live in South Central don't call it "South LA".

The L.A. Times uses the term "South Central" to refer to a specific area within the region it refers to as "South LA" which is commonly known as "South Central" to both residents and nonresidents. I suspect the use of the term "South LA" to describe the larger area in everyday speech may be a transplant thing (albeit one with official recognition, unlike the misuse of the term "eastside").

[vop]

Originally Posted by majoun

When was Mar Vista ever "deemed undesirable by middle to upper middle class"? Other than the schools situation but that's true in LAUSD areas as a whole. That's like saying that Brentwood was "deemed undesirable by middle to upper middle class" because of similar issues with LAUSD schools. It's not Santa Monica which is right next door, nor is it even Culver City which is also next door, but it's traditionally been pretty middle class. The reason it got more expensive was due to the RE bubble forcing SM, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills snobs who used to look down upon the more historically middle class parts of the westside to move into those areas, which have driven up values. MV right now is one of the few westside areas actually holding its value - the westside got hit with declining prices later than other parts of L.A., but prices in many parts of the westside are plummeting (Pacific Palisades property values are falling the fastest, although admittedly still high). This is because of the difficulty of getting jumbo loans nowadays in addition to the crap economy.

I don't see South Central being gentrified - for one thing, the end of the RE bubble has meant the end of the expansion of gentrification and worries about degentrification in some areas that gentrification hit later on. Also, memories of 1992 still linger on.

It is obvious to me you don't know the Mar Vista area that well, for a long time it was and in a sense still is an eyesore in the area, during much of the 90's and early 2000's the area was being terrorized by the culver city boys gang who's "headquarters" are in the Mar Vista housing projects, it's a predominantly hispanic working class community but it is slowly becoming an expensive desirable area through gentrification and of course putting most of the gang leaders behind bars this past decade

[vop]

Originally Posted by majoun

People who live in South Central don't call it "South LA".

The L.A. Times uses the term "South Central" to refer to a specific area within the region it refers to as "South LA" which is commonly known as "South Central" to both residents and nonresidents. I suspect the use of the term "South LA" to describe the larger area in everyday speech may be a transplant thing (albeit one with official recognition, unlike the misuse of the term "eastside").

South LA is too broad of an area, to me it's taking away from the area's identity, I will refer to it as South Central.

[CelticViking]

Yea South L.A could be from watts up to the 20s street numbers...Tis a broad term.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by vop

It is obvious to me you don't know the Mar Vista area that well, for a long time it was and in a sense still is an eyesore in the area, during much of the 90's and early 2000's the area was being terrorized by the culver city boys gang who's "headquarters" are in the Mar Vista housing projects, it's a predominantly hispanic working class community but it is slowly becoming an expensive desirable area through gentrification and of course putting most of the gang leaders behind bars this past decade

I grew up in Mar Vista which has traditionally been middle class. Went to Walgrove, Mark Twain, and Webster. I know more about the area than you do. It is not an "eyesore" nor has it ever been any more than Brentwood is an "eyesore". It used to be looked down upon by the snobs of the westside like every other westside area south of Pico was looked down upon by the snobs. It is not an exciting area and in comparison to Culver City next door has a higher level of crime, but then Pacific Palisades and Brentwood have higher levels of crime than Culver City does and neither are exciting.

The area by the Mar Vista Gardens projects used to be considered southwest Mar Vista but is now referred to as Del Rey. And yes, that area traditionally is a working class area populated mostly by Latinos and Asians with a few non-Latino whites. I know very well about the projects and CxC (they never caused any trouble for me and I never considered them scary like V13 or any Crips or Bloods). Other than the area in the immediate vicinity of the projects or the Ballona Creek bike trail right by the projects (which became a no-go area right after the bike trail opened) I never felt unsafe in that area. I am aware that CxC's numbers have declined and that Del Rey is now one of the safest areas of L.A. although along with Palms it is still the cheapest westside area.

Comparing Mar Vista or even Del Rey to South Central is blatantly absurd. However in the late '80s and '90s, Palms, not far away, was right on the brink of becoming a bad neighborhood and had considerably more crime than it does today. Palms at that time definitely had very visible gang activity and some of it rather scary - scarier than what existed in Del Rey let alone MV. Today Palms is much safer. You might be confusing Mar Vista with Palms. The "eyesore" part suggests you're talking about Palms which has been ugly and depressing for many years.

[vop]

Originally Posted by majoun

I grew up in Mar Vista which has traditionally been middle class. Went to Walgrove, Mark Twain, and Webster. I know more about the area than you do. It is not an "eyesore" nor has it ever been any more than Brentwood is an "eyesore". It used to be looked down upon by the snobs of the westside like every other westside area south of Pico was looked down upon by the snobs. It is not an exciting area and in comparison to Culver City next door has a higher level of crime, but then Pacific Palisades and Brentwood have higher levels of crime than Culver City does and neither are exciting.

The area by the Mar Vista Gardens projects used to be considered southwest Mar Vista but is now referred to as Del Rey. And yes, that area traditionally is a working class area populated mostly by Latinos and Asians with a few non-Latino whites. I know very well about the projects and CxC (they never caused any trouble for me and I never considered them scary like V13 or any Crips or Bloods). Other than the area in the immediate vicinity of the projects or the Ballona Creek bike trail right by the projects (which became a no-go area right after the bike trail opened) I never felt unsafe in that area. I am aware that CxC's numbers have declined and that Del Rey is now one of the safest areas of L.A. although along with Palms it is still the cheapest westside area.

Comparing Mar Vista or even Del Rey to South Central is blatantly absurd. However in the late '80s and '90s, Palms, not far away, was right on the brink of becoming a bad neighborhood and had considerably more crime than it does today. Palms at that time definitely had very visible gang activity and some of it rather scary - scarier than what existed in Del Rey let alone MV. Today Palms is much safer. You might be confusing Mar Vista with Palms. The "eyesore" part suggests you're talking about Palms which has been ugly and depressing for many years.

I was never trying to compare Mar Vista to South Central, and that's not what my objection of my post was either, all I'm saying is that Mar Vista has gone through some gentrification and it wasn't the Mr. Rodgers neighborhood that you are describing to everyone back in the 90's.