Changing Population Patterns in Los Angeles James Allen and Eugene Turner California State University Northridge LA Co contains a highly diverse population and is a major destination of many new immigrant groups 20% of the nation’s foreign born now live here Now that first releases of 2000 census data have occurred we can see what kinds of changes in the ethnic populations have occurred. The following maps were prepared from the PL94-171 redistricting files and they attempt to deal with a new reality of the 2000 census. In this census respondents could indicate one or more race categories. This is a departure from the old single-race responses in earlier censuses and complicates comparison of this census with earlier censuses. Only 4.9% of LA Co persons indicated 2 or more races. However, we fractionally assigned those persons to get a better estimate of the larger ethnic populations. For those groups that are already here we expect that the settlement patterns will be essentially the same as 1990

Another reality of this census is that there appear to be a number of tracts whose populations are in error. LA City among others believes there is an undercount and has considered legal action. However, there appears to be no indication yet that the Census Bureau will correct their figures. These errors seem more common in tracts containing institutions such as prisons Prisons: Mira Loma Det. Facility (lancaster) Peter Pitchess Honor Rancho Long Beach Naval Hospital 3 million Not Hispanic and White alone, 31% of county pop. Dominant in upper income areas West SF Valley Coastal communities – Redondo Beach East Long Beach – very different from W. Long Beach La Habra Heights Pasadena

East LA San Gabriel Valley – City of Industry Pomona

West of Central Ave. Concentrations shifting west Ladera Heights Compton

Others with much lower income have settled in Long Beach, Koreatown, and Chinatown Prominent in Monterey Park – Chinese, Japanese Rowland Heights – Filipino, Asian Ind., Korean Gardena - Japanese Note UCLA – various groups Chinatown Koreatown – Koreans Filipinos nw of Long Beach 44%of tract Cambodians

Ethnic Pluralities Note NH White – green Hispanic – yellow/brown Asian – pink Blacks – blue Lighter shades indicate lower proportion

Ethnic Diversity Note Diversity indicates more equality in the proportions of 4 groups Number varies between 0 and 1 – High diversity Some of most diverse cities in US are found in older suburban communities like Gardena Cerritos Walnut

Summary of 2000 Distributions 1. Ethnic settlement patterns are distinct and strong. 2. Settlement patterns are explained by earlier patterns, housing price variations, and income/wealth of groups. 3. Secondary factors include housing discrimination, attitudes toward other groups, and amenities.

Residential Segregation 1990 to 2000 D - Score

Residential Segregation 1990 to 2000 D - Score

Summary of Change 1. Suburbanization - All groups increased in areas of new housing near the urban fringe. 2. Black segregation continued to weaken, esp. as Latinos moved into former Black enclaves and Blacks moved to suburbs. 3. White decrease was widespread, with Whites replaced by Latinos, Asians, and Blacks.

Summary of Change (cont.) 4. Latino increase was widespread, esp. in areas of low- and moderate-cost housing. 5. Segregation between Whites and Hispanics and between Whites and Asians increased due to the settlement of immigrants near earlier arrivals. 6. Some older Asian enclaves declined. Asian increases were greatest in older and newer suburbs, with some replacement of Hispanics in San Gabriel Valley.

Final Comments Neighborhoods differ greatly in their ethnic composition and patterns of change. It is impossible to understand Los Angeles without looking at it geographically.