Redevelopment Agency Policies: A slippery slope between gentrification & community development

CASE STUDY of CENTRAL LONG BEACH PROJECT REDEVELOPMENT AREA

BACKGROUND:Study Area

Do Redevelopment Agency Policies facilitate the gentrification process?

If so, what can community members and stakeholders do to mitigate the negative effects of ‘gentrification through redevelopment’?

POLICY QUESTION

LONG BEACH City Boundary

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, ESRI, UCLA MapshareCreated by Maidel Luevano

AREA M

EDIAN

BLACK

OTHER

RACE

HISPANIC LA

TINO

ASIAN

WHITE$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$54,

828

$40,

581

$42,

816

$44,

076

$63,

801

$70,

939

$50,

040

$37,

672

$38,

948

$40,

708 $51,

052 $6

5,94

1

Median Income by Race

L.A. CountyLong Beach

LONG BEACH Facts and Figures

• 2nd largest city in Los Angeles County

• Population – 461,522

• Total households – 163,088

• Median Income – $50,040

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, City of Long Beach Website

ANALYSIS:Demographics

LONG BEACH Demographics

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, ESRICreated by Maidel Luevano

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, ESRI, UCLA Mapshare

LONG BEACH Race & Ethnicity Distribution

Created by Maidel Luevano

LONG BEACH Lowest Income Buffer

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, ESRI, UCLA MapshareCreated by Maidel Luevano

LONG BEACH Lowest Income Concentration

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, ESRI, UCLA MapshareCreated by Maidel Luevano

LONG BEACH “Highest Need Areas” Hot Spot Analysis

Sources: 2005 – 2009 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, ESRI, UCLA MapshareCreated by Maidel Luevano

BACKGROUND:Long Beach Redevelopment Agency

[LB RDA]

LB RDA Central Project Area Timeline 1992-Present

April 1992

Los Angels Riots

Structural damage to Central Long Beach area buildings totaled more

than $19 million

September 1993

Central Long Beach Project Redevelopment Area formally

adopted

March 2001

Redevelopment Agency Board and City Council reapprove the

adoption of the project area

December 2009

Annual Report published highlighting major

redevelopment projects

LB RDA Central Project Area Blight SurveyBuilt Environment

•Deterioration and Dilapidation to structures in 20% of all blocks within the Project Area

•Defective Design and character of physical construction: illegal garage conversions, “bootlegged” additions, additions that reflect poor craftsmanship utilizing scrap material, with little regard to integration to original design

• 50% of building stock built pre-1950

•Shifting Use indicating that private enterprise is either unwilling or unable to invest sufficient capital to construct or rehabilitate properties to meet modern space or market requirements

•Incompatible Uses

•Vacancies

•Ownership Patterns: Many commercially zoned areas in the Project Area are made up of narrow or shallow lots, requiring the assembly of two or more lots to accommodate expansion or new development. Such lots are often under individual ownership, making private assembly difficult and time consuming. Higher density or updated development is unlikely without a major land assembly effort.

Social•Rapid Population Growth: managing increasing demand for public services and proper delivery of those services

• Population is much younger on the whole than the City average, leading to problems with gangs, drugs and related criminal activity. Educational levels are also lower than City averages, indicating a trend toward a growing disparity between the educated and the under-educated

•Lower Median Income in the Project Area is a significant blighting influence: residents have little disposable income to maintain or improve properties, it is common for more than one household to share a dwelling so it is affordable, low Project Area incomes makes business attraction challenging and new business survival tenuous

•Inadequate Amount of Public Space

• High Crime Rates: the perception of the Project Area as a dangerous place to live and work discourages in-migration of relatively affluent residents, new business owners and investors, and often makes favorable financing difficult to obtain

Economic• Impaired Investments:

• negative taxable retail sales tax trends• low commercial building permit activity• high business turnover• low stability• high commercial vacancy rates• large number of vacant and underutilized

lots• wholesale relocation of the new sales

business out of the Project Area

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency 2004-2009 Five Year Implementation Plan

Central Long Beach Redevelopment Project Area

LB RDA Central Project Area Boundary & Expenses Overview

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency 2009 Annual Report

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency 2009 Annual ReportCreated by Maidel Luevano

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment AgencyCreated by Maidel Luevano

Central Long Beach Redevelopment Project Area

LB RDA Central Project Area Major Development Projects

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency 2009 Annual Report

ANALYSIS:Service Areas

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency

Central Long Beach Redevelopment Project Area

LB RDA Central Project Area Proposed Service Areas

Created by Maidel Luevano

LB RDA Central Project Area Service Area Collaboration Opportunities

Source: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency

Central Long Beach Redevelopment Project Area

Created by Maidel Luevano

1 mile

0.6 mile

RECOMMENDATIONS:Moving Beyond the Traditional

Redevelopment Process

LB RDA Central Project Area Service Area Recommendations

1. Demand a more transparent, collaborative approach to the “blight removal” process between existing residents, stakeholders, RDA, investors and developers

2. Demand the RDA to take risks in utilizing redevelopment funding to support nontraditional, grassroots efforts for addressing the needs of the service areas. Rethinking how traditional redevelopment funding streams like those listed below can be towards these grassroots efforts:• Community Development Block Grants• Neighborhood Improvement Strategy Areas program• Neighborhood Stabilization Programs• Commercial Corridor Improvement Programs• Neighborhood Home Improvement Rebate Programs• Affordable Housing Programs• Business Improvement Districts• Enterprise Zones

LB RDA Central Project Area Innovative Redevelopment Examples from Throughout Los Angeles and Beyond

Examples of Existing Projects/Collaborations

1. Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust

2. The Trust for Public Land

3. Strategic Actions for a Just Economy

4. Right to the City Alliance

Examples of Potential Projects/Collaborations

1. Community Land Banks as a means to:• preserve long-term affordable housing

using CDBG money• assist local economic development

efforts by supporting small to medium sized businesses (i.e. lowering the barriers to entry)

• present an alternative model to neighborhood redevelopment

2. Community led adaptive reuse projects of existing liquor stores into healthy food corner stores

3. Earmarking RDA funds to support immediate and long-term community organizing efforts focusing on increasing neighborhood participation in the redevelopment process

APPENDIX

MODEL SCREEN SHOT

META DATA

SKILLS USED SLIDE NUMBER

1. Modeling2. Metadata3. Analysis4. Measurement5. Original Data6. Charts, Graphs, Images7. Hot Spot Analysis8. Inset map9. Point or line graduated symbol10. Boundary sub-sets selections11. Buffering12. Geocoding

1. 7, 242. 253. 18, 194. 195. 9, 156. 5, 13, 14, 15, 167. 118. 4, 8, 9, 159. 8, 910. 4, 911. 9, 1812. 16, 19