Figueroa Corridor Coalition Figueroa Corridor Jobs
Displacement Free Zone Healthy Homes
Banking Rights Share the Wealth
ART & ACTION: We Shall Not Be Moved Project, Poster, and Book

 

 



A Strategy for Equity and Racial Justice for Residents of Downtown Los Angeles

The Share the Wealth campaign addresses the collision course that redevelopment and gentrification have set in motion in downtown Los Angeles. Building on the relationships between community organizers, low-wage workers, homeless people, and racial justice advocates who have joined forces to combat the criminalization of poverty in L.A.'s Central City, our campaign fights for the rights of African-American and Latino poor people to prevent displacement; to protect the civil rights of homless people and tenants; to promote affordable housing and living wage jobs; and to establish new policies that secure their right to benefit from public investment in their community.

PEOPLE'S HEARING

In 2002, overflow crowds filled the 500-seat Los Angeles Theater Center at the People's Hearing on Redevelopment where the Share the Weatlh plaform was presented to public officials.

REDEVELOPMENT

In 2003, a lawsuit was filed by Legal Aid Foundation and the Public Interest Law Project helped stop the Central City redevelopment plan -- a plan that imposed too much hardship and delivered too little benefit to low-income people who live downtown.

28-DAY SHUFFLE

Many downtown residential hotels force tenants to move every 28 days in order to circumvent rent control and tenants rights laws. We call this practice the 28-day shuffle and we are dedicated to ensuring that downtown tenants have the same rights as other tenants in the City. In 2003, we stopped the 28-day shuffle in two major downtown hotels through an unfair business practice lawsuit and by filing over 200 complaints with the Los Angeles Housing Department. Since then, other residential hotels downtown have been put on notice to stop this practice through a letter from the City Attorney's office.

 

Our goals include:

  • Establish a No Net Loss policy in key neighborhoods to preserve affordable housing.
  • Change the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance to ensure equal rights for residential hotel tenants.
  • Support the adoption of an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance in Los Angeles to ensure the future development of balanced, mixed- income neighborhoods.
  • Produce a new downtown redevelopment plan that focuses on jobs and housing for current downtown residents and respects their rights and needs.
  • Educate and activate hundreds of downtown residents through our campaign for fair redevelopment.






Share the Wealth Brochure : the campaign for fair redevelopment in LA's City Center.
Share the Wealth Policy Paper: Detailed analysis of Coalition's policy platform for policies for fair redevelopment.
  

Platform and Strategies


The Share the Wealth platform for fair redevelopment in downtown Los Angeles is endorsed by over 50 organizations and 2,000 local residents. Our shared basic platform is:

  • Stop Displacement
  • Build and Preserve Affordable Housing
  • Link Local Residents to New Jobs
  • Develop Wealth and Assets for Residents
  • Create Parks and Open Space

Share the Wealth four-pronged strategy:

  • Legal Strategies: Protect the rights of homeless people and tenants; promote equitable redevelopment; use settlement language as a precursor to policy.
  • Community Legal Education: Build a broad, informed consitutency of residents around their civil and tenants rights.
  • Community Organizing: Build a broad, informed constituency around progressive redevelopment policy.
  • Grassroots Policy: Win policy that promotes good job and housing opportunities for low-income downtown residents and prevents displacement.





Partners