UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge

In 2023, Florida enacted a controversial law prohibiting foreigners from purchasing real estate, ostensibly for national-security reasons. However, this legislation disproportionately targets individuals from Asian countries and risks creating a chilling effect on all Asians. Similar laws passed by other states echo this trend, unfortunately mirroring historical patterns of discrimination. The efforts, however, are not the first efforts targeting Asians.

California and other states enacted alien land laws during the first half of the twentieth century. Rooted in deep-seated anti-Asian sentiments and hostilities, particularly directed at Japanese Americans, these laws combined a toxic blend of racism and xenophobia, further marginalizing Asians socially, politically, and economically. While instigated by the anti-Japanese movement, California’s law broadly applied to all aliens ineligible for citizenship -- a category exclusively encompassing Asians.

A direct consequence of California’s law was an extremely low homeownership rate among Asians, far below that of other major racial and ethnic groups from 1910 to 1940. Ownership increased as some Asians found ways to circumvent the unfair law and as the number of U.S.-born Asians grew; nonetheless the rated remained significantly lower than that of non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Even after controlling for income, nativity and other factors, Asians were still several times less likely to own homes compared to NHW in 1940.

While overt anti-Asian sentiment may be less intense today, Asian Americans continue to face discriminatory treatment, as evidenced by the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This animus often stems from the perception of Asians as perpetual foreigners, exacerbated by rising global tensions with Asian nations. While the current wave of alien land laws may not explicitly target Asians, they have the potential to harm Asian Americans by restricting property ownership rights and fueling anti-Asian rhetoric.

The City of Los Angeles has committed to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035. In 2021, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), determined the technical feasibility and necessary investments to transition to 100% renewable energy. To ensure that the benefits of 100% renewable energy are equitably distributed, LADWP launched the LA 100 Equity Strategies Study in partnership withNREL and UCLA.

An integral part of that equity effort has been to better understand and document the challenges facing small ethnic-owned businesses (EOBs), which are a vital part of Los Angeles’ business sector and form the backbone of our economy, generating jobs and wealth. To better understand the challenges facing EOBs and to assist LADWP in developing equitable policies, programs, and practices, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK) and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) embarked on a one-year community-informed research project to learn more about the hurdles facing small EOBs and entrepreneurs in the Los Angeles region regarding the effects of the pandemic, environmental sustainability, energy burden, the anticipated effects ofclimate change, and potential challenges to adapt to the transition to 100% renewable energy. The study included two major components: a survey of over 500 EOBs and qualitative insights provided by stakeholders, LADWP staff, and pilot workshops.

This project uses mixed methods to examine the systemic causes and consequences of the construction of Stockton, California’s Crosstown Freeway and of urban redevelopment for Asian Americans communities. Stockton underwent spatial restructuring in the decades after the Second World War, and state and local government contributed and responded to these changes by implementing connected freeway and urban renewal programs. Historical and contemporaneous xenophobia and racism placed Chinatown, Japantown, and Little Manila in their path, with these enclaves deemed blighted and subject to “slum clearance.” The choice of freeway route was racially biased. The neighborhood surrounding an unchosen route was predominantly white, whereas that of the chosen route was predominantly home to people of color. Freeway construction during the 1960s and 1970s directly displaced hundreds of people and housing units downtown— mainly people of color, particularly Asians. The communities most harmed were the Asian American enclaves, where the housing stock declined by about three quarters between 1960 and 1970. The losses were not only physical, as the freeway and redevelopment eviscerated once vibrant ethnic commercial hubs. Because of long-standing economic and political marginalization, Asian Americans were relatively powerless to prevent the destruction; nonetheless, they fought to build affordable housing for their people, protect and in some cases relocate cultural institutions, and support surviving ethnic businesses. In the long run, Stockton failed to revitalize its downtown, while destroying its cultural diversity. The findings can help reform and improve professional practice within the transportation arena to ensure racial fairness and equity.

This research project examines the role of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) “redlining” maps in shaping today’s spatial structure along race and economic class lines, compared with the development of places not categorized by HOLC. It is well documented that redlining, the practice of designating marginalized neighborhoods as being risky for mortgage lending, is associated with today’s geography of inequality, but many locations were not ranked by HOLC. Because many parts of contemporary Los Angeles were unranked, this region provides a useful case study of the differences and similarities between the HOLC-graded and - ungraded spaces. The research draws on multiple data sources to compare outcomes along several dimensions. The analysis finds support for the redlining-legacy hypothesis. The comparison of graded and ungraded areas finds noticeable differences in land use and in homeownership, but similarities in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic segregation. The finding that geographic disparities and hierarchical stratification exist in both the graded and ungraded areas indicates that there are fundamental societal factors and dynamics beside redlining that geographically stratify the urban landscape.

California's freeways have come under increasing scrutiny for their disproportionately adverse impacts on lowincome populations and populations of color. This study uses empirical research to not only understand but also quantify and describe in detail the historical impacts of freeways on communities of color in four California cities and areas: Pasadena, Pacoima, Sacramento, and San José. In these neighborhoods, freeways displaced many residents, significantly harmed those that remained, and left communities divided and depleted. The four cases differ in notable ways, but they share a disproportionate impact of freeway construction on communities of color. In Pasadena and Pacoima, decision-makers chose routes that displaced a greater share of households of color than proposed alternatives.

Demolition and displacement were the most visible and immediate effects of the freeways, but toxic pollution, noise, economic decline, and stigmatization remained long after. In suburban areas, white, affluent interests often succeeded in pushing freeways to more powerless neighborhoods. Massive roadway construction complemented other destructive governmental actions such as urban renewal and redlining. Freeways and suburbanization were key components in the creation of a spatial mismatch between jobs and housing for people of color, with few transportation options to overcome it. Understanding the history of racism in freeway development can inform restorative justice in these areas.

This study examines the spatial distribution of tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) units to understand whether geographic patterns and trends are consistent with climate change and equity goals. The analysis compares the location of HCV units in 2012 and net changes from 2012 to 2019 with a number of transportation, environmental, and racial and economic equity metrics. While the change in units from 2012 to 2019 shows promising trends for reducing vehicle miles traveled and increasing walkability and transit accessibility, there is a cost: higher exposure to pollution and a higher rate of vehicle collisions. HCV units are further concentrated in disproportionately low income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, with worsened access to economic opportunity. The findings reveal an inherent structural dilemma in whether the HCV program is able to simultaneously achieve climate and equity goals.

This study examines the spatial distribution of Low-income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units to understand whether geographic patterns and trends are consistent with climate change and equity goals. The analysis compares the location of LIHTC units in 2012 and net changes from 2012 to 2019 with a number of transportation, environmental, and racial and economic equity metrics. Unit locations are, at best, somewhat more sustainable than the state overall, with slightly lower-skewing vehicle miles traveled and better walkability, though low transit accessibility. What environmental gains there were, though, come at the cost of higher exposure to pollution. LIHTC units are also concentrated in disproportionately low-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, with worse access to economic opportunity. The findings reveal an inherent structural dilemma in whether the LIHTC program is able to simultaneously achieve climate and equity goals.