Public Housing and Activism Series II

JORDAN DOWNS

We turned our attention back to Los Angeles as a follow up from the screening of the “70 Acres in Chicago” and the discussion of the destruction of the Cabrini Green development. The UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin and the UCLA Ziman Center’s Howard and Irene Levine Program in Housing and Social Responsibility hosted a discussion centering around Jordan Downs, the Los Angeles public housing development slated for transformation into an “urban village.” This years-long redevelopment effort is one of the largest public works projects in Los Angeles. Many people wonder how the 2,600 current residents will fare, particularly in Los Angeles’ housing crisis. The event situated Jordan Downs in the cultural history and geography of Watts and South Los Angeles, identified current residents’ concerns and highlighted how residents and the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles are working to shape redevelopment.