Little Tokyo Urban Renewal 1972, Urban Renewal Researcher from Japan 1968, Gentrification Notes

I’ve been going through the hoard and stumbled on a couple unrelated things that, today, seem related. Gentrification has swept across downtown LA, and it recalls, for some people older than I, Urban Renewal. Urban Renewal was criticized and mocked as really “Negro Removal”. These photos show a couple articles and a letter that all indicate that Urban Renewal was controversial while it was happening, because they didn’t listen to the community. The Little Tokyo articles indicate that community input had helped create the LT urban renewal project, but the project was stalled or going to be stopped.

To add some context, read this overview of development in Little Tokyo, from KCET Departures. It covers the history, different agencies, the LTRA, LTPRO, and how the area developed.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/departures/three-waves-of-little-tokyo-redevelopment

Wow! Right? International capital ready to evict the community, the City pushing into the area to expand, local residents displaced, activists fighting redevelopment, and centrists trying to negotiate the situation to get something for the community. There’s even ARTWASHING. It’s a lot like today, but this happened over 40 years ago!

It sounds a lot like what’s happening in Koreatown, Chinatown, and Boyle Heights. What about Inglewood?

Here are the articles I found: