When it comes to public transit, Los Angeles is at a crossroads.
In recent years, L.A. County has made a concerted effort to expand and improve its transit system, which is primarily made up of buses and a handful of light rail lines. Thanks in large part to Measure R, which L.A. County residents voted to pass in 2008, the county will allocate approximately $40 billion over a 30-year period to fund transit projects in Los Angeles.
According to its website, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) will divide the funds from Measure R into seven transportation categories, which include new rail and bus rapid transit projects, Metrolink projects and Metro Rail system improvement projects.
In theory, the county’s efforts to improve its public transit should be universally celebrated. After all, the Expo Line, which runs from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica, has been widely acclaimed, with urban planner and transit expert Christof Spieler telling Vox that it has “exceeded ridership expectation.”
“It turns out there are a lot of people who want to make that trip, and that rail line is a very convenient way to do it,” Spieler said. The Expo Line benefits a wide range of people, from those who want to take the occasional trip to Santa Monica’s beach to students and workers who use it to commute daily.
Similarly, Metro is currently constructing another light rail line that will run from LAX to Exposition and Crenshaw Boulevards, where riders can transfer to the Expo Line if necessary. This would enable travel from Downtown Los Angeles to LAX with only two lines, all while avoiding L.A.’s infamous traffic.
But transit is more than just a matter of how people move; it’s also an equity issue. Without careful planning, these efforts run the risk of exacerbating the pre-existing problem of gentrification.
A report published by the Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA) said the “unprecedented expansion of the public transportation system will impact our city dramatically, not only by increasing access to transit but by attracting new development.” This is known as transit-oriented development (TOD).
ACT-LA is a broad-based coalition of organizations that advocates for causes related to affordable housing, public health and environmental justice. According to its mission statement, ACT-LA advocates for “just, equitable, sustainable transit systems and neighborhoods for all people in Los Angeles.”
Essentially, ACT-LA believes that improving L.A.’s public transit system is a good thing, so long as it benefits all Angelenos, especially those who rely on it the most.
According to the report published by ACT-LA, research shows that low-income riders are transit’s core riders.
“Rising rents and low wages are forcing working people further and further outside the city,” explains ACT-LA in an introductory video. This in turn means that many workers increasingly rely on public transit to commute to and from work.
Transit development, however, often leads to rising housing costs, which are already at an all-time high in Los Angeles.
A 2013 report published by USC’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity explains that while TOD helps to reduce the number of people who drive cars by locating housing and jobs closer to bus stops and train stations, it also often leads to an “increase in real estate values which displaces low-income residents and small business owners.”
In other words, it drives up housing costs in the areas surrounding transit corridors and hurts the people who rely on public transit the most.
Take, for example, the LAX/Crenshaw line currently under construction, which will travel through historically Black neighborhoods in South L.A., including Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills. In April 2020, local developer CIM Group announced it would purchase the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza for approximately $100 million, citing the LAX/Crenshaw line as one of the main draws of the location.
CIM co-founder Shaul Kuba told the Los Angeles Times that “there are very few large sites in the city that have a subway stop right in front. I think it’s a tremendous opportunity.”
However, after facing significant community backlash, particularly over the group’s decision not to transform the space into housing, affordable or otherwise, CIM dropped its plans to purchase the mall.
But this adversarial relationship between transit and gentrification isn’t unique to Los Angeles. UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project analyzes gentrification in cities around the globe, including New York, Portland, Austin, London and Buenos Aires. The project highlights the tension that arises between the drive to create better and more sustainable transit and the rising housing costs that come with transit development.
According to the project, “communities have been increasingly concerned about how new transit investment and related infill development will affect the lives of existing residents, particularly low-income communities and communities of color.”
Like the Urban Displacement Project, ACT-LA stresses the necessity for tenant protection policies that ensure affordable housing will remain near transit corridors.
In order to advocate for these policies, ACT-LA brings together community leaders and organizers, offering support and coordination. Additionally, ACT-LA pushes out research and information to educate the public and sway opinion.
In a video explaining equity community planning in L.A., senior coalition and communications manager for ACT-LA, Mariana Huerta Jones, stressed the importance of community self-determination. “The Alliance for Community Transit is committed to a community planning process that is inclusive, diverse, and where all community members have a voice in decision-making,” she said. “Equitable community development requires strong community leadership to shape good community plans.
Historically, city planning and development excluded people of color and working-class people. ACT-LA wants to make sure that impacted communities are significantly involved in the planning process and that legislation is passed to protect affordable housing near transit corridors.
Jones said, “Working-class Angelenos need to be involved in making the communities that we want.”
ACT-LA partners with other organizations to promote transit equity in Los Angeles. A complete list of ACT-LA’s coalition members can be found on its website.
Photo credit: Walter Cicchetti / Adobe Stock
