Is South Central Really as bad as i here it is? (Los Angeles: apartment, crime rate)

[urbanr0cker]

This thread is just hilarious. I see that some of the inital posts are several years old but MY GOD. I'm driven to wonder if some of these people have ever actually seen South Central on anything but a Google map or a Thomas Guide.

[Nihilove]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

Oh please. They screen evening movies at McArthur Park now. If something like that's viable, how can things in the neighborhood be anywhere near as they used to?

I never said it was the most dangerous place. What I was referring to was the decay and general seediness- junkies, dealers, hookers, homeless, etc. all being very prevalent. The poster I was responding to was talking about how 'clean' 'California ghettos' seemed...based on some passing glance at google maps.

Westlake came to mind because despite being a vibrant, bustling community, it is also very visibly plagued by poverty.

If you've ever really walked around the area- and not just the park at some event- then you should know what I'm talking about.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by SouthjettyBill

Charles Manson was once nearby and there will be some gang banging. Y'all watch out for the teens and early twenty-types. They like to make mess, and a mess you will find yourself there art thou in. Amen. Praise God.

Not sure what Manson has to do with gangbanging, but it would be a fascinating viewing should there arise a video of a sermon from whatever church is being represented here.

Excellent. Another Post of the Year candidate.

[SouthjettyBill]

Ahh Charles Manson, the most publicized original controller of minds. Were there others before him? Si' ( that's a shot to the cholos out there, "Si" means "Yes" in Spanish). But Charles Manson had long hair and changed the game leading to the disenchanted followers to seek someone to "lead" them. Todays gang members don't even realize that they are just extensions of Charles Manson's girls. There's no difference. Such a sad way to rebel and cope with feeling unwanted.

Now I talk about those Boyz in the Hood because that is what dictates the safety of Los Angeles. LA is very much on with the gangs. Are west coast types only "EL BURRO MAS MACHO" when they are part of a larger group? Same with Chicago or anywhere else where gangs prevail. In Philadelphia we don't have gangs per say, just neighborhood/block drug sets that have no other purpose other than selling white kids heroin. And it's the best heroin in the land.

So if you are in LA watch out for packs. Solo dudes are safe because these gang-prone types only act out when they are with the wolves. Someday, some will gain courage when seperated from the pack, BUT NOT YET !!! Oh please y'all be safe. Please be safe.

[Mr_Highway]

They all girly neighborhoods compared to Mexico City ones, none of you Americans would survive two hours in Los Reyes, La Paz, Tepito, or Pantitlan (where I live lol). I knoe this has nothing to do, but I'm just saying. I like America tho hahaha.

[BeatAngMoh]

If you are white, any ethnic enclave may be dangerous either real or perceived. I think if you go to South Central looking scared or acting arrogant trouble will find you. If you bring no harm nor ill will then trouble won't find you. It ain't all that bad if you are street smart.

[Mr_Highway]

Originally Posted by BeatAngMoh

If you are white, any ethnic enclave may be dangerous either real or perceived. I think if you go to South Central looking scared or acting arrogant trouble will find you. If you bring no harm nor ill will then trouble won't find you. It ain't all that bad if you are street smart.

Exactly, that's a great tip for someone that has that idea when they walk into bad neighborhoods. But you don't always know what kind of people you gonna find, I mean, you can even go to a nice hood and a crazy dude can come out of nowhere and stab you lol, at least that happens over here in Mexico. :L

[O.C. Ogilvy]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

The absolute worst areas of LA are the area to the northwest of the 105/110 interchange, also known as Nickerson Gardens/Imperial Courts.

Those projects are to the northeast of 105/110.

[O.C. Ogilvy]

Originally Posted by Clevelander216

I agree with abdullah. In Cleveland, I have gotten harassed numerous times while passing through because the color of my skin. Racial slurs have been yelled at me and my car was rushed by a group of guys standing on a street corner. I've even been pulled over by cops for being white and was told not to come around those parts of town again.

Parts of Cleveland are sundown towns for white people.

[Chance and Change]

The 1980's was more devastating to LA and many of it once more functioning and maintained status of its areas, 'The influx of Crack, destroyed lives and along with the lives was the means and upkeep of property. Some areas that were already 'despaired by poverty got worst, and then the ramp up of gangs activity in the cocaine wars competitions brought at more intense conflict between gangs and this spread like wildfire bringing havoc and change to a great many communities.
Mostly the drug epidemic which saw many people deteriorate in life condition. This led to bringing down of many communities. In the 1970's the area where Denzel did the scene in the Movie Training Day, was an area that was called the "jungle" a conglomeration of apartments. The culture in the 70's was people trying to make it, working young people, creative young people and young people who viewed it as a place to live. It was the drug epidemic of the 80's when other elements moved in and tried their hand at drug, which brought the gangs as they made money they moved to areas considered chic. The break down expanded, as the culture type changed in the community. it became more of a "no go zone". Repeat this scenario many times over for many areas and you see the downfall of some of these once vibrant communities.

The over hype of Compton in the gang depiction of video and rappers painted an unfair picture of the community and its people.

Inglewood was once a section of predominantly white citizens in the North/ Northwest Inglewood with blacks in parts that extended from Manchester to South of Imperial, West of Western Ave. Mostly comprised of people who worked in the aerospace industry. Then Northrop closed and many people lost their jobs, parents got older and kids who inherited some of this property did not have means to upkeep, prior to that, this area had many kids who did get higher education. When things changed and the generation who did not have the jobs nor the means of upkeep, these areas began to fall.
North of Florence, adjacent to La Cieniga Blvd was apartments, in the 70's mostly white, by the early to mid 80's more blacks, by the late 80-90's it was predominantly black, drugs and gangs moved in and the drug saturation made the areas a great challenge and it simply deteriorated.
Repeat this scenario which ravaged areas all the way up from Hawthorne, Gardena to some sections of West LA.

Some area became dominated by Latino's who were not upwardly mobile, but many working people, but the gang culture infested the community, graffiti increased and areas were deemed undesirable, the more it was mainstream undesirable, the more the Latino's who were not upwardly mobile dominated these areas. but likewise so, some areas became more populated with Latino who were Upwardly Mobile, and they became homeowners and in some areas they remade the city landscape with upgrades, including changing the political establishment to support their interest and concerns.

From the Early to Mid 70's the jobs left from major plants, like Goodyear, Firestone, and the foundry jobs, slaughter house and various business that once lined the Slauson Corridor, down to the Alameda Blvd and South to Imperial Blvd, "devastating to the areas, as these jobs leaving, created many hardships.

Central Blvd corridor,was once a thriving cultural area, but the late 60's saw a change and downfall to the areas.
From Vermont south to Central Ave and North to the streets in the 40's block were working people, but that areas was hit hard with the loss of the jobs that did not require certification and degree, as the once robust small industry, warehousing, textile and many other business left. These communities resulted to be devastated, by the late 70's the gang activity increased tremendously as poverty set it and the expanding ghetto conditions expanded. By the 1980's and certainly by the mid 80's devastation was beyond belief. Deterioration was widespread. Now much of this areas is connected to the expanse of what is consider the plume's expanse of Skid Row conditioning.

Downtown had fallen, then it converted to Asian and various Arab who invested in bringing parts of it back up a notch.
West and North/West areas suffered challenges
The movie industry suffered as "movies were being made in Canada' which devastated communities in LA, around Culver City, and into the San Fernando Lower Vally Areas. people who once desired to move to some of these areas, were there, but could no longer afford it, the land owners aged, some sold property to people who could not and would not maintain it, and slowing a great many once considered the fringe of 'West LA and Palms, Mar Vista and to the more East even areas such a Lemiert Park faced challenges, some sections did have some levels of preservation and uplift, but pockets in these various areas were with a variety of challenges. Area of Jefferson and Mid City changed as well. Moving further East, Westlake, North to Eco Park, going south to Vernon, Huntington Park, Maywood, Bell, Cudahy, Bell, Florence-Graham, South Gate, Pico Rivera, Montebello and Whittier became more high in Latino population and culture change to Latino Communities.

Some areas recovered, such as parts of Venice became more upscale to the south, areas such as Lawndale went from a biker like area to a more expensive homes, parts of Redondo which was a throw back to the biker and hippie like became renovated and priced out some of the elements that did not match with the new upgraded investments. Hermosa went from a lower income youth area to a more pricy upscale culture with renovation and increased pricing. El Segundo which at one time was the arm pit of the beach community, upgraded and investments came to price out some of the culture and replace it with more upscale income earners.
Some cities to the East became predominantly Latino areas, the cultural image changed, and some of these areas gained political stature for the Latino culture who moved into these areas.
Areas along the region near and along the San Fernando Blvd corridor became dominated by Asian people with high income and they priced the area out of range of many other ethnic cultures and it became dominated by the Asian Culture who had expendable income.
going north and to the east of South Pasadena was preserved with high income communities. later many of these area were changed to Asian with high income, again pricing these areas out of reach of many former LA citizens.

The 1980's changed the cultural landscape of Los Angeles - some resulted to bring improvement by the late 90's to some areas, but some by the late 90's fell into the abyss of poverty and expanding ghetto like conditions.
Ronald Reagan cut funding to Community Colleges and State Universities, and follow that up by underfunding mental health care which resulted to dump 1000's of people on the streets with no means to get the mental health care that was needed.
Between the late 1980's into the 1990's Job Losses in Los Angeles were dramatic in the aerospace industry which was a strong job center in the county.


The Story is endless when one looks at community to community across the LA expanse.

Lived there more than 30 yrs and watched these changes, it was hard to fathom how a decade changed so much in so many areas. I could go on to name areas from one end of the county to the next, of the changes which changed the cultural landscape of the Los Angeles area.

Los Angeles is not the city it was in the 1960's and early 1970's - it is unlikely to become that again, but some areas will flourish and some will fall further into deterioration. Aerospace and various industry are gone, there was nothing to replace them in a manner to provide the volume of needed good paying jobs.