The Gentrification of Los Angeles

Gentrification is the transformation of urban neighborhoods due to an influx of more affluent residents, leading to higher property values and living costs. This process often displaces long-time, lower-income residents. Amanda Boston describes it as "racialized neglect" followed by "racialized reinvestment," where initially neglected areas receive new investment, exacerbating social and economic disparities among original residents. Gentrification has been prominent in LA (Boston, 2020).

Gentrification in Los Angeles is evident in neighborhoods like Echo Park, Boyle Heights, and downtown LA. these neighborhoods have historically been home to diverse working-class communities, after new investments and developments attracted more affluent residents, the neighborhoods saw an increase in rent and living costs. This displaced long-time residents and altered the local culture. Amanda Boston's concept of racialized neglect followed by racialized investment is clear in LA, where previously neglected communities now face reinvestment that benefits newcomers rather than existing residents.

The map above, developed by UCLA’s Urban Displacement Project, analyzes gentrification, along with other factors, in the Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. Utilizing data from the American Community Survey, the database tracks neighborhood changes from 1990 to 2015, being recently updated in 2020 to include impacts from COVID-19. 

By the mid-20th century, Los Angeles experienced significant growth, fueled by the film and aerospace industries. However, discriminatory practices like redlining systematically divided neighborhoods based on race and economic status. These policies led to decades of disinvestment and neglect in Black, Latino, and immigrant communities, setting the stage for gentrification. In the late 20th century, wealthier residents began moving into these neglected areas, drawn by affordable housing and proximity to downtown

This 1939 redlining map of Los Angeles reveals how neighborhoods were systematically divided based on race and economic status. Areas marked in red were deemed “hazardous” for investment, leading to decades of disinvestment and neglect in Black, Latino, and immigrant communities. Meanwhile, wealthier, predominantly white areas received resources and financial support. Amanda Boston’s concept of “racialized neglect” is evident here as these communities were denied investment for years, only for developers to later re-enter and profit through ‘racialized investment” leading to displacement and rising rents.

Recent wildfires of 2025 in Los Angeles have exacerbated the city’s gentrification crisis. The destruction of thousands of homes has displaced many residents including historically marginalized communities. As rebuilding efforts begin, property values and living costs are expected to rise, attracting wealthier newcomers and further displacing long-time residents. It's an ongoing cycle of challenges faced by vulnerable communities in the wake of natural disasters (Alfonseca, 2025).

This before and after satellite image of Sunset Boulevard West shows the destruction caused by the January 2025 wildfires, displacing many residents. While wealthier areas will rebuild, low-income renters face permanent displacement as developers buy fire-damaged properties. This reflects Amanda Boston’s concept of racialized reinvestment, where reinvetment benefits outsiders rather than longtime residents. Similar patterns are seen in Boyle Heights, and other affected areas, where disasters and development push marginalized communities of L.A. city. 

Los Angeles residents and grassroots organizations have actively resisted gentrification through protests, advocacy, and policy efforts. The Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU) has led many protests against rent increases and landlords who kick out tenants. In 2022, LATU held a protest outside of City Hall, calling for stricter rules on rent control and more rights for tenants. Some lawmakers have tried to help by suggesting "inclusionary zoning" laws that would force new buildings to set aside some units for people with low incomes. However, critics say that these steps don't always work to stop people from moving because there are gaps for developers. These support Boston's claim that gentrification is a structural race and class conflict as well as an economic one, with reinvestment favoring wealthier newcomers at the expense of long-term locals.

This image shows a protest organized by the Los Angeles Tenants Union, where community members gathered to oppose gentrification and rising housing cotsts. The large banner reading “Stop Gentrifying Los Angeles” reflects the growing frustration of resident facing displacement due to luxury developments and rising rents. Thus oprotest reflects the efforts to resist the impacts of racialized investment, as described by Amanda Boston, where financial investment benefits newcomers while pushing out long-time residents. 

Downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row is one neighborhood that is especially impacted. Once a haven for the city's homeless population, it is currently the focus of gentrification initiatives. Vulnerable communities have been further displaced by mass evictions brought on by new luxury constructions, increasing rents, and heightened police. Developers and local authorities defend these alterations as "revitalization," but longtime locals contend it is a profit-driven development that ignores existing communities. This story echoes Boston's criticism that racially neglect led to poverty in Skid Row, only to force displacement through reinvestment attempts to serve wealthier outsiders.

Skid Row, a neighborhood located in Downtown LA, has historically been a refuge for the city’s unhoused population but is now at the center of gentrification efforts. As luxury developments and rising rents reshape the area, long-term residents face increasing displacement. This image shows the contrast between new investments and the struggle of existing communities, reflecting Boston’s concept of racialized neglect followed by racialized reinvestment. As seen in previous images, similar patterns are demonstrated in Boyle Heights, Sunset Boulevard West, and across L.A City, where low-income communities fight to remain in their neighborhoods as developers push for profit-driven transformation. 

Amanda Boston’s critique of gentrification as “racialized neglect” followed by “racialized reinvestment” is highly applicable to Los Angeles. For decades, communities of color were denied economic opportunities and investment due to racist policies like redlining. Boyle Heights, Skid Row, and other historically diverse neighborhoods demonstrate how economic growth excludes the people who lived through the hardest years of disinvestment. Gentrification in LA mirrors Boston’s argument that reinvestment often benefits outsiders rather than original residents, reinforcing cycles of displacement, cultural erasure, and wealth inequality.

Following this foundational tenet of city- and nation-building and capitalist accumulation, the conflation of whiteness, progress, and profit remains a dominant frame for understanding elite-driven development of the built environment. It is also a powerful determinant of the unequal distribution of the benefits and burdens of gentrification and other forms of urban restructuring.

1. Boston, A. (2020). Gentrifying the City: From Racialized Neglect to Racialized Reinvestment. Social Science Research Council. Retrieved from  https://items.ssrc.org/layered-metropolis/gentrifying-the-city-from-racialized-neglect-to-racialized-reinvestment/ 
2. Alfonseca, K. (2025). Concerns about gentrification hang over LA community's destruction. ABC News. Retrieved from  https://abcnews.go.com/US/altadenas-diverse-history-risk-la-fires-continue-burn/story?id=117674462