NSBN Projects - Mid-City Los Angeles

"The vision is to maximize the space available at the site and minimize the loss of housing units and displacement of families from the construction of a school. With the help of NSBN and A Community of Friends, we have made a good shot a mixing in housing and services and complementing the very strict construction schedule of the school district."

Ed Reyes
Councilmember, City of Los Angeles

Community Profile

Jurisdiction

City of Los Angeles City Council District 1 - Ed Reyes

City of Los Angeles Mayor - Antonio Villaraigosa

LA County Children's Planning Council Service Planning Area 4

Los Angeles County Supervisorial District 1 - Gloria Molina

State Assembly District 46 - Fabian Nuñez

State Senate District 22 - Gilbert Cedillo

Congressional District 34 - Lucille Roybal-Allard

Area Statistics

Ethnicity/Race: Latinos represent 89% of the project area population. Blacks 5% and Asians 3%.

Income/Poverty: Nearly half of all households make less than $15,000 a year with 47% persons in poverty.

Education/Language Spoken: 55% of all adults have less than a 9th grade education. A majority (87%) of residents speak a non-English language at home.ⁱ

Many Families With Children Ages 0-5ⁱⁱ
The project area has a greater proportion of families with children ages 0-5 than the city and county.

23% -- 575 of 2,555 – of families in the project area census tracts have children ages 0-5.
13% -- 542 of 4081 – of families in the project area zip code have children ages 0-5.
13% -- 106,138 of 798,719 – of families in the City of Los Angeles have children ages 0-5.
14% -- 290,442 of 2,136,977 – of families in Los Angeles County have children ages 0-5.
County cities with the highest rates of families with children ages 0-5 were Hawthorne (17.71%) and Burbank (15.94%).
County cities with the lowest rates of families with children ages 0-5 were Cerritos (6.5%) and Beverly Hills (6.72%).

Far Below Average 3rd Grade Reading Scoresⁱⁱⁱ
The percentage of 3rd graders with reading scores at or above the national average was 14% below the county average in 2002.

9% of 3rd graders in the project area zip code scored at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading.
20 % of 3rd graders in SPA 4 scored at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading.
41 % of 3rd graders in Los Angeles County scored at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading.
The districts with the highest percentage of 3rd graders scoring at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading were La Canada (91%) and Manhattan Beach (93%)
The districts with the lowest percentage of 3rd graders scoring at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading were Lennox (16%) and Compton (22%).

High Incidence of Low-birth Weight Babies^iv
The rate of babies with low birth weights was 14% higher in the project area than countywide in 1999.

76.1 babies per 1,000 live births in the project zip code were born with low birth weights.
66.5 babies per 1,000 live births in Los Angeles County were born with low birth weights.

Low Incidence of Newborn Disability and Disease
The infant death rate was over 42% lower in the project zip code than countywide in 2001.^v

The infant death rate in the project zip code was 2.1 per 1,000 live births.
The infant death rate in Los Angeles County was 5.0 per 1,000 live births

One of the project area census tracts are listed by the County as high-risk area for child lead poisoning.^vi

High Incidence of Family Violence^vii
Los Angeles had a 50% higher rate of domestic violence calls than the county at large in 2001.

In the City of Los Angeles there were 941 domestic violence calls per 100,000 residents—and 675 of those calls involved weapons.
In Los Angeles County there were 626 domestic violence calls per 100,000 residents—and 449 of those calls involved weapons.
County cities with the highest rate of domestic violence calls were Whittier (1,483 per 100,000) and Avalon (1,375 per 100,000).
County cities with the lowest rate of domestic violence calls were Hidden Hills (0 per 100,000) and San Marino (8 per 100,000).

The City of Los Angeles had a violent crime rate that was 8% higher the county at large in 2001.^viii

In the City of Los Angeles there were 1,414 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents.
In Los Angeles County there were 943 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents.
County cities with the highest violent crime rates were Irwindale (2,144 per 100,000) and Compton (2,091 per 100,000).

County cities with the lowest violent crime rates were San Marino (31 per 100,000) and Palos Verdes Estates (52 per 100,000).

Sources

i. Census 2000. Maps and Data for Project CTs: 209101, 209102, and 209200.

ii. Census 2000, Summary File 1. Number of Families with Children Ages 0-5 divided by Total Number of Families.

iii. SAT 9 Reading Scores.

iv. California Department of Health Services. Low birth weight defined as weight below 2,500 grams.

v. California Department of Health Services. Infant death defined as death in the first year of life.

vi. Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

vii. California Department of Justice.

viii. California Department of Justice. Violent crimes defined as including homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.