Center for Community Engagement

Housing injustice is prevalent in Los Angeles. To determine how housing injustice differs in distinct areas of Los Angeles, six zip codes were studied: 90210/Beverly Hills, 90033/Boyle Heights, 90017/Westlake, 90036/Mid-Wilshire, 90028/Hollywood, and 90013/Skid Row. Various aspects of housing were compared between each area, and three public data sources and an interview with a representative from Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) were employed. Eviction Data from 2.2023 to 12.2023 from LA City Controller’s Eviction Data showed eviction type, cause of eviction, eviction notice type, and rent owed (LA City Controller, 2023). Los Angeles Housing Department’s ULA ERAP Workbook included data from rental assistance applicants, such as monthly rent, back rent owed, demographics, and area median income (ULA ERAP, 2024). Neighborhood Data for Social Change Platform’s Neighborhood Data for Social Change illustrated percentages of renters and of owners, housing stability, overcrowding, rent burden, and median household income (USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, 2024). Housing injustices were found to differ in the distinct areas of Los Angeles that were studied; each revealed some inequalities, but the lower-income areas, such as Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, Westlake, Skid Row, and Boyle Heights, differed from each other and had more injustices than the higher-income area, Beverly Hills, showing that injustices impact lower-income areas disproportionately. As community-engaged research, these results allow LAFLA’s Housing Justice Hotline volunteers to employ this knowledge as a further resource and a deeper understanding of injustices that callers may experience in the areas studied.