The Extermination of Affordable Housing in Low-Income Communities
Koreatown is a 2.7-square-mile neighborhood located in the heart of Los Angeles between downtown, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and South Los Angeles. Like in many other areas of Los Angeles, gentrification in Koreatown has displaced low-income minority families, increased rent, and eliminated affordable housing along with many other issues.
I have been a resident of Koreatown all my life, and I have been affected by gentrification. When my parents first moved into Koreatown in 2001, they paid $500 for a one-bedroom apartment. Over the years the price has increased, to $700 in 2012, and currently to $1,057. This is one of the many effects of growing up in a low-income, gentrified neighborhood in Los Angeles like Koreatown.
Gentrification is the process of renovating a lower-income, urban area into a more high-end, wealthier area, which causes things like rent increases. As a result, this causes the displacement of low-income residents living in these neighborhoods, which of whom cannot afford the higher costs of living. According to the Los Angeles- Gentrification and Displacement map, this has always been an underlying issue in the city as, “Los Angeles County exhibited the highest rates of gentrification, with 10% of tracts classified as At Risk of Gentrification, Early/Ongoing Gentrification, or Advanced Gentrification.” The map categorized Koreatown as “early/ongoing gentrification,” along with other low-income neighborhoods surrounding the area.
According to Los Angeles Times’ MappingLA, the majority of people in Koreatown are Latinos (53.5%), Asians (32.2%), and others (black and white). Koreatown’s median household income is about $30,558. Approximately 93% of Koreatown residents rent their homes, with an average household size of three individuals. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the 2021 median family income for Los Angeles County is $80,000 and the lowest being $31,950. This makes Koreatown residents below the poverty line of Los Angeles County and makes them low income.
Koreatown residents are primarily low-income families that make below the poverty line. Consequently, it has become an easy target for gentrification, as many landlords have had to sell their buildings to investors, which leads these investors to kicking out the residents in order to build new apartment complexes and renting them at a much higher price. The only people who can afford these higher rates are people with a higher income. Affordable housing for low-income residents is becoming a scarcity by making rent prices go up. The people whose homes were taken away are now forced to move elsewhere because housing in Koreatown is too expensive, according to a survey gathered by me answering “what is gentrification to you”
Koreatown residents have experienced the many effects of growing gentrification in the community. Here are some of their stories.
Angel Castaneda, 20
I grew up in Koreatown my whole life, and it’s sad and hard to see the bad changes that Koreatown is undergoing. I have a family of four with a single hard-working parent, my mom, that has been supporting us by herself for 10 years. Unfortunately, my family and I have been affected by gentrification several times and it has caused many housing scares throughout the years. My building has been sold three times now, and in the process of the first time, we were told that the building was going to be demolished and we were offered money to move out of my building. We were offered $20,000 and it gradually went up to 35,000 on their last attempt of getting us out. Out of the 20 units on my building only six of them ended up refusing the offer, and the building was never demolished but they renovated it and rented it out at a much higher price. Currently, my building is in the process of being demolished and it’s an obstacle in our lives right now. We are unsure if we can afford housing in Koreatown, but if my building gets demolished, all the years and memories of my childhood are going down with it as well.
Melanie Lopez, 19
Melanie Lopez has lived in Koreatown her entire life. When her family first moved to the neighborhood in the year 2000, they paid $500 for a single apartment, including electricity and water. Their rent remained at that price for almost a decade. But now her family pays $1,000, with separate bills for electricity and water
Lopez grew up in a low-income household with her mom as the head of the house. Lopez’s mother has never had a consistent job, she said, because of the unfair wages she was getting paid and the lack of days she would work. Having a $500 increase in rent over the years has caused them a financial burden and resulted in them being some months behind on their rent.
“It’s nice seeing new buildings and cleaner streets, but it would be preferable that it wasn’t at the expense of our community. It’d be great if the money being invested into Koreatown would actually be used for its long-time residents instead of trying to forcefully push them out,” said Lopez. “It’s frustrating and quite triggering to see a brand new modern building with its glass windows and simplistic architecture knowing that there once stood a small family-owned business with its vivid colors from the artwork.”
Maria Valera, 19
Maria Valera is a Koreatown native who has lived in the neighborhood her whole life. Valera has a family of nine and lives in a one-bedroom apartment. She said that growing up in such a big household with limited space and money has always been a constant struggle for her parents. Valera’s parents have been living in their one-bedroom apartment for over 13 years, and when they first moved in their rent was $750. Over the years her rent has increased to $1,100. Recently, Valera’s family is struggling to pay their rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Valera’s family relied on her parent’s street vending but because of COVID-19 related issues, they are now depending on one source of income to support a family of nine and pay for rent, utilities, food, and other living expenses.
“I believe that gentrification is indeed happening in Koreatown because many old businesses have been replaced by huge and improved buildings… [that] attract wealthier people. It takes away from the meaningful cultural value from the community… it makes the area less diversified… and it drives lifelong residents away,” Valera said.
Ana Lourdes Martinez, 57
Ana Lourdes Martinez owns a four-unit apartment complex in Koreatown. She bought her home in 2010 for $360,000. She lives in one apartment and rents out the other three. Martinez’s granddaughter, Karen Martinez, said her grandmother doesn’t aim to profit, just survive. With the income that Martinez gets from each of her three tenants, she’s able to pay off her mortgage each month and have some extra money on the side. Martinez knows the struggle of working-class individuals and it’s the reason why she hasn’t raised the rent for her tenants, pays for the water bill and waste management, and has declined several offers to sell her property, the highest being $850,000. Martinez is one of very few owners that are preserving affordable housing and in a way fighting against gentrification in Koreatown.
“It is simple. The reason why I have not sold my home is because of my morals. I could have easily sold my home and retired back in my country, and enjoyed the money like many of these people do when they sell out but I don’t. I care for my tenants because they have been living with me for 11 years now, and I respect them as much as they respect me. Rent in Los Angeles is horrible, and I know the only places they could afford are in dangerous areas. As a human being, I can’t do that to them, and this is the reason why I don’t raise the rent or sell” said Martinez.
