In Spring 2018, community members gathered to share their experiences around the rapidly increasing costs of living in South L.A. Residents not only voiced the obstacles they faced in meeting their basic needs, but also expressed a clear vision for the future. These meetings took place in the form of 17 focus groups conversations with residents representing the area stretching from Crenshaw Avenue to Alameda Street and from the I-10 Freeway to Florence Avenue. Participants were given a survey at the beginning of each session, followed by conversations that lasted roughly 60 minutes.

This work was made possible through generous partnerships with community organizations. These partners include CDTech, Community Coalition, SCOPE, SAJE, Esperanza Community Housing, and T.R.U.S.T. South LA. These organizations have been on the ground for years working to ensure that Los Angeles is a place where every person can live and thrive. Together, we can make sure that the promise of home, health, and peace becomes a reality for all.

South L.A. is a diverse and complex place with a wide breadth of experiences. This work only captures a portion of resident perspectives and focuses on renters. The conversations engaged many different groups of people including families, children, young adults, foster parents, and grandparents. It’s important to note that this record does not include community members that have been displaced or those that currently own homes. Renters are fighting for their place in L.A. and it is crucial that their voices are heard. We hope this site can be used to inform policy that helps protect residents and provides greater stability to communities that need it most.

In no way should the exact location of the quotes shared on the maps be interpreted as specific or real life locations. To protect the identity of participants, quotes have been randomized spatially and only represent a rough approximation of the neighborhoods in which focus group residents lived. We ensure anonymity through adding noise to 10% of the sample by choosing a point randomly from the study area for those selected.

We believe in the importance of intersectionality. The experiences shared in the focus groups show the particular burdens and dreams held by women and immigrants. Based on our conversations, though, these groups are especially vulnerable to landlord abuse and other negative impacts of the affordability crisis. In order to further protect their identities, immigration status and gender has not been linked to any of the quotes provided. We hope that the perspective and experiences of these communities are still present and interpretable with the context given in the quotes. We also highlight these voices in detail for the full report found in the Research & Campaigns section.