In the past few years, dramatic changes have been made to South Los Angeles that will amplify the risk of another wave of gentrification hitting the area that surrounds the University of Southern California.

Perhaps the most disheartening part of this reality is the role the university itself is playing in creating this gentrification risk, especially because USC’s administration typically stresses its dedication to serving the community adjacent to campus and has consistently proved that commitment through various philanthropic efforts.

Recently, however, the University’s “Master Plan” began to seriously interfere with the wellbeing of the community, thereby putting the positive effects of those philanthropic efforts in jeopardy.

Los Angeles has a long history with gentrification—a phenomenon that occurs when wealthier people acquire and develop property in lower income communities, eventually forcing the residents of those communities to move out of the area because of real estate appreciation.

When property values continue to go up, it inevitably becomes impossible for residents to keep up with soaring prices and they are eventually displaced from their homes and have no choice but to relocate themselves to a more affordable neighborhood.

The recent completion of the entertainment mecca known as L.A. LIVE, the construction of several expensive new apartment complexes in the area, and namely, the University of Southern California’s “Master Plan,” will undoubtedly have long term effects on the real estate value of South Central L.A., leading to the displacement of low income families who currently reside in the area.

The next construction project on the “Master Plan’s” agenda is the complete reconstruction of the University Village, which is currently a small collection of offices, shops and small businesses located directly across the street from the University Park campus on the corner of Jefferson and Hoover.

This, more so than any project to date, has the potential to inflict serious economic harm on the permanent residents of the University Park neighborhood. Those who have pushed for this development appear to have very little regard for the severity of those consequences.

The new complex will be extensive and elaborate, including many retail spaces, a six-screen movie theater, a 2,000-car garage, and dorm units comprised of roughly 1,800 beds. The same architecture firm that worked on The Grove is currently designing it.

In July 2010, the Los Angeles Times published an article describing the construction plans for the University Village as a “transformational project,” the most ambitious one of this generation in South LA.

However, the article does not mention the city’s historical struggle with gentrification, or that the new University Village project could be “transformational” in that it may reignite the gentrification struggle and thereby sacrifice positive relations between the University and the local community.

On the surface, the drastic improvements to the buildings in the neighborhood surrounding the University seem to be purely beneficial and without consequence—they are meant to slowly reverse USC’s reputation for being located in the so-called “ghetto,” a slander that has supposedly deterred many potential applicants and their parents from the university.

The USC Master Plan seeks to combat this reputation by developing the area so it eventually becomes comparable to more attractive college neighborhoods with shopping centers resembling those in Westwood Village.

Simultaneously, however, the university must keep its neighbor’s best interest in mind. A quote from USC’s Master Plan website explains, “Working closely with its neighbors in respectful partnership, USC is helping create better schools, safer streets and a greener, more beautiful environment.” The website also states that much of this is achieved through the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, which was established in 1995.

Unfortunately, there seems to be an inconsistency between the university’s good will towards the neighborhood community through philanthropy programs such as the Joint Educational Project and Troy Camp, and the school’s master plan to develop and thereby “beautify” the area in which the beneficiaries of those programs reside.

The issue is not that the University’s construction plans are decidedly malevolent towards local residents. What is disconcerting is that the interest of the administration and current students—including the desire for a new University Village—continues to take precedence over the wellbeing of the South Los Angeles community.

In fact, it is safe to assume that most USC students and their families are not even aware of the repercussions the construction of the brand new shopping center will have on the families that call the South Central area their permanent home.

For those who realize and appreciate the potential severity of these consequences, however, the university’s decision to construct such an elaborate shopping center is disappointing, to say the least.

It is frustrating to see a prominent research university like USC, which encourages its students to enact positive change in the world, jeopardize the homes and livelihoods of a community with which it is supposed to be working in a “respectful partnership.”

Although the plans for the new University Village are now more or less set in stone, the first step to solving the conflict between the University’s construction agenda and the long term wellbeing of the community is to make people aware that a problem exists.

Hopefully the university will soon be able to achieve a compromise with the community that will allow for the continuing development of the area surrounding campus, but will also strive to prevent negative effects such as gentrification from becoming harsh realities for South Los Angeles once again.

 

Reach Contributor Whitney Tolar here.