University Village

The University Village
3129 Hoover St.
Los Angeles, CA 90007

The University Village. Photo by Andrew Lee, Cami Devoney, and Daniel Villa.

This site is currently a focus of USC’s ongoing “Master Plan” to provide “a visionary framework for the physical development of the campus and the prosperity of its surrounding community in the coming years” (“Master Planning for the University Park Campus”). USC’s plans for improvement in fact, fall within the definition of gentrification, the process in which a middle-class segment expands into an urban setting “for a consumption-oriented lifestyle” (“Gentrification”).

Although USC claims it has a great interest in “working closely with its neighbors in respectful partnership” ("Master Planning for the University Park Campus") and that the retail development that will take place after the probable destruction of Superior Grocers and University Village will serve “both the campus and the broader community” (“University Park Campus Master Plan”) the website explaining the USC Master Plan does not detail how it will account for the difference in retail needs between USC and the general community.

In addition, many neighborhood residents do not feel involved in the development process. As of 2009, the community surrounding USC was majority “Hispanic or Latino” at 50% (which is a slight increase from 2000, when the population was roughly 45% “Hispanic or Latino”) (Te, Gary, Edith Lopez, Sheila Nem, and Doug Smith). United Neighbors in Defense Against Displacement (UNIDAD) is a campaign that lobbies for “future development of South LA that includes and benefits all members of the community” (“Platform”). UNIDAD’s publicly available video footage presents the opinion of various community members who feel the University is making changes at the expense of local residents rather than in collaboration.

In fact, many of the interviewees express the notion that, since such a well-respected university is behind this impending neighborhood remodeling, if approached from the correct angle, the plan could provide invaluable resources to local residents. However, the problem remains that even though there is a “community that wants to truly be a participating part of the entire package,” USC has not taken many of the community members’ opinions into consideration (“Community Voices”).

Superior Market at the University Village will be demolished in the renovation. Photo by Andrew Lee, Cami Devoney and Daniel Villa.

According to the article by Gilda Haas about South Central Los Angeles, not only do the increasing cost of living and the University development force the local residents out of their homes, “the pervasive common sense by the new person on the street is that it's those poor people and their homes that have got to go” (Haas). This is a sentiment that is disturbingly reminiscent of the national immigration debate and those in support of deportation of Mexican immigrants and one that will persist if the community’s voices are not heeded before the Master Plan proceeds.

Directions: University Village is the shopping center adjacent to the north end of USC’s University Park campus

Works Cited

"Community Voices." UNIDAD. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://unidadla.org/community>.

"Gentrification." Current Sociology 43.1 (1995): 173-82. Sage Journals. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.

Haas, Gilda. "Inequality, Gentrification, & the Right to the City." Peacework 2009: 4-5. ProQuest Religion; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 22 Apr. 2012 .

"Master Planning for the University Park Campus." University of Southern California. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usc.edu/community/upcmasterplan/>.

"Platform." UNIDAD. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://unidadla.org/platform>.

Te, Gary, Edith Lopez, Sheila Nem, and Doug Smith. "USC and The Surrounding Neighborhood: Transit Oriented Development, Affordable Housing and Fair Housing." (2011). Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://164.67.121.27/files/UP/USC_Final%20Report.pdf>.

"University Park Campus Master Plan." University of Southern California. 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usc.edu/community/upcmasterplan/draft_master_plan/potential/>.

Submitted by Cami Devoney, Andrew Lee and Daniel Villa