LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[alki]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

Still very Central American and Oaxacan, and poor. It still has significant quality of life issues (moreso than other, poor, ungentrified Latino neighborhoods) and suffers from a lack of investment or enforcement of basic city codes. However, among my friends, and on online urbanity/real estate circles, awareness of the nabe is on the rise, and many are realizing just how much the nabe has to offer. A central location (sandwiched between Koreatown, Silverlake/Echo Park, and DTLA), two subline lines, most dense neighborhood after Koreatown, and a robust, relatively intact stock of 1910s-1930s architecture. It is only a matter of time until a slick, trendy coffee shop or restaurant opens there; something that will serve as a catalyst and attract outsiders to the nabe. If a few cool new places opened up, and the city got off its ass and starting enforcing housing and street vending regulations, there would be no stopping the area.

I suspect you are right. It would piss me off that landlords would load up tenants in those buildings while only doing minimal maintenance...........and the city would turn its back and do very little enforcement.

And despite the negatives....including crime, the neighborhood remains vital. The 'why it remains vital' is something city planners should look at very closely. There is something about the neighborhood and the park that is very appealing IMO.