History of LA (1995 to present)
Over the last 20 years Los Angeles has changed immensely. From politics to land development the landscape is much different than what it once was in 1995. Traditionally Latinos have not been involved in politics. Luis R. Fraga, John A. Garcia, Rodney E. Hero, et. al argued in their book Latinos in the New Millennium an Almanac of Opinion, Behavior, and Policy Preferences that Latinos traditionally have not voted in high rates in local elections. They state, “there are not high levels of civil engagement among Latinos” (71). They continue by proclaiming that Latino people often do not trust the government and don't always understand it, this has been an issue since Latino people are not always well represented in the government. This has been a trend in LA for many years but recently Latinos have become much more engaged in politics leading to lots of change in the Government and in the city.
The increase in Latinos voting has led to more prominent roles for Latinos in high government positions. According to Raphael J. Sonenshein, Gar Culbert, et. al writers of "Who Votes in Los Angeles City Elections" Latinos have historically had low voter turn outs in LA but in 2005 when Antonio Villaraigosa was elected the Mayor of Los Angeles, Latino voter rates improved immensely. Villaraigosa was the first mayor of Hispanic descent since 1872. This not only displays the accomplishments of one impressive Latino individual, it also goes to show the power of the Latino people and the political power they have if the work together. The Latino community has “significantly increased their impact on local elections over the last 20 years” in Los Angeles (Sonenshein Culbert Mitchell Brown 1).
Another major impact that the Latino people have had in LA over the last twenty years is they have been a driving force in the changing landscape of the city. Mike Davis in his book Magical Urbanism writes about how unlike most US city’s Los Angeles’s Spanish speaking neighborhoods/areas are not limited to one or two specific locations, rather they are spread out all across the city. Davis states that this is due to “the ‘browning’ of the Los Angeles industrial working class” (43). What Davis is saying is that because the working class of LA is becoming more and more Latino, the Latino population is spreading out all across the city. As the Latino workers continue to enter the city and make up a larger percent of the population they will have an impact on new development. Some instances where Latino people had an impact on the changing landscape have been:
- José Rafael Moneo designed the 11 story cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown LA. This is the main center of worship for the archdiocese. This was a major decision to choose a Latino architect to build a structure of such magnitude and importance. The building was somewhat revolutionary as it has virtually no right angles and a plaza that is supposed to remind of cathedrals of the old world.
- La Plaza de Cultura y Artes opened in downtown LA in 2011. This was a major project that the government decided to work on to display Latino culture and art. This plaza represents acceptance of the Latino culture and gives the Latino people a cultural spot where they can gather.
Works cited
Davis, Mike. Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the Us City. London: Verso, 2000. Print.
Fraga, Luis R., John A. Garcia, Rodney E. Hero, Michael Jones-Correa, Valerie Martinez-Ebers, and Gary M. Segura. Latinos in the New Millennium an Almanac of Opinion, Behavior, and Policy Preferences. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2012. Print.
Sonenshein, Raphael J., Gar Culbert, Paul Mitchell, and Robert Brown. "Who Votes in Los Angeles City Elections." (n.d.): n. pag. The Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, July 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
