Ancillary 10
Gentrification is an urban community changed by wealthy people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, and eventually displacing individuals from their homes. Many of these individuals live in neighborhoods that are near college campuses such as the University of Southern California. In August of 2017, the University of Southern California remodeled the USC Village near Hoover street. The previous Village held jobs for many of the South LA residents but many ended jobless due to the closing and remodeling of the area. The University of Southern California has caused growth in gentrification towards low-income Latinx/Hispanic and black individuals in South Los Angeles. Many of the community members that live within this area have been displaced from their homes. Although many of the students attending USC don’t know what is happening within the South LA community, it is time for those who are gentrified or who know about these issues to educate them in the best way possible.
One of the reasons why these members of the community are being displaced is due to the creation of housing options for USC students within a 1-mile radius. Many housing companies such as Tripalink have life-changing impacts for those housing in the community surrounding USC. Real estate has become a high success in Los Angeles and they are taking advantage of the low-income individuals and buying their homes from them. They destroy these homes and create apartment buildings for students in the USC area. The apartments range from 2,000 a month for a single bedroom and not only is it expensive but this also creates a decrease in affordable housing for those seeking homes near the Los Angeles area. All these companies care about is money and their main attraction is International college students who have parents that can afford these kinds of prices. As a local individual, who has lived in South Los Angeles for almost all my life and now a USC student I want to raise awareness about this issue that not only impacted me individually but impacts hundreds of other families in the neighborhood.
This isn’t just a Los Angeles issue, it is a global issue that is affected by a tight rental market. Many unions such as SAJE and LA tenants have tried to help the community during these developments but they are not long-term solutions. “Since 1996 SAJE has been a force for economic justice in our community focusing on tenant rights, healthy housing, and equitable development”(SAJE). They have not been successful because individuals who are contributing to the cause of this are not aware of it and these unions don’t have enough resources to help every family affected by this issue. To solve this issue we need to figure out a way that these unions can use their resources and receive more to create a long-term solution.
