Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Community Redevelopment in Los Angeles: Institu

Institutional Performance and the Reasons for Success and Failure

Any analysis of redevelopment in the city of Los Angeles must be sensitive not only to institutional performance of the Community Redevelopment Agency but also to the broader social context in which that agency operates. Robert Putnam (1993), in his most recent work, has argued persuasively that when evaluating a particular institutions performance, it is important to view its functioning as a dependent as well as an independent variable. Thus this study will conjecture that the practical performance of the CRA is partially shaped by the social context within which it operates

This social context in Los Angeles, in both its soci-economic and sociocultural dimensions, has undergone dramatic change in the last ten years.Radical demographic shifts, trends toward greater income and wage inequality and declining political participation have increasingly buffeted the city.

Since the 1980 census there has been a significant decline in the non-Hispanic white population in the city, a lesser decline in the Afro-American population and a dramatic increase in the Hispanic and Asian-American populations. Among the Anglo population there has been an continuing movement from more urban neighborhoods into the suburbs. The decrease in the Afro-American population during the 1980's suggests that a similar pattern is occurring among middle-class black

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te jobs and raise money by issuing bonds. But, according to critics, many of these things were done at the expense of needy neighborhoods to the north, south, east and west of City Hall (L.A. Times, January 22, 1993) Consequently since April of 1992 the future direction, structure and even existence of the CRA has been called into question. Since the civl unrest the CRA itself has adopted the rehtoric of empowerment seeing itself as one of an array of resources at the communities disposal. (L.A. Times, December 20,1992). However, some residents and local politicians have suggested that the CRA be broken down into three or four smaller entities including a separate redevelopment agency for South Central L.A. A smaller agenecy would supposedly be able to work more closely with residents and busineses in a way that would respond directly to grass-roots needs (Los Angeles Times, Dec. 20, 1992). A special state Senate Committe has called for the replacement of the CRA with a statewide Economic Development Financing Authority to issue bonds and facilitate development activities in the city's impoverished communities (L.A. Times, December 9,1992). And a national panel of urban experts has suggested that the CRA become part of a
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Approximate Word count = 2255
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)