Growing up in Los Angeles, I watched how the sidewalk across the street from my house slowly filled up with tents. Over time, I started to see the people inside the tents as neighbors — but is this normal? All of LA has grown so disturbingly comfortable with people sleeping on the street.
Instead of focusing on my “neighbors” and the larger homelessness crisis, Mayor Karen Bass is pursuing a $2.6 billion project to expand the Los Angeles Convention Center to “revitalize the Downtown area… and show LA is ready to compete and win on the global stage.”
How about this? Instead, Mayor Bass’s massive budget for the Convention Center expansion must be reallocated to address the city’s housing and homelessness crises.
Just a few blocks from the convention center lies Skid Row. One summer, I drove my sister to her internship in the heart of this neighborhood. I drove past people walking in the middle of the road, yelling at cars, and piles of trash. But this scenery wasn’t shocking — because scenes like this have become common across the city. Tens of thousands of people are on the streets. I have walked on tent-filled streets that reek of urine and feces. This is not only unpleasant, but inhumane and threatens everyone’s health and safety — Los Angeles has a humanitarian crisis.
Tourists won’t visit the Convention Center if they feel unsafe. A local tour business owner said he’s received cancellations from travel agencies because guests do not feel that LA is safe. It’s hard to blame them. I, too, wouldn’t want to travel to LA to witness these social problems.
Expanding the convention center may promote economic growth, but it can displace downtown residents. In Inglewood, SoFi Stadium sparked excitement for the economic boom it would bring to the city —more jobs, more tourists. But since its construction, the cost of living has skyrocketed. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has risen, with longtime residents unable to afford their homes, displacing residents and deepening the housing crisis.
If Mayor Bass truly wants to revitalize LA, the money needs to be invested where it is needed the most, like the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. LAHSA has successfully reduced street homelessness, yet its budget this year has been cut. Now, LAHSA can no longer enroll new families in interim housing or rental subsidy programs; not because the programs failed, but because the Mayor who built her campaign around homelessness is deprioritizing them. Restoring LAHSA’s budget cut is a better use of our tax money to reopen housing programs, hire more outreach workers, and keep people off the streets.
Expanding shelters and permanent housing can decrease homelessness. Shelters turn people away daily due to overcrowding. With this funding, the city could add thousands of beds, convert vacant buildings into housing, and create affordable rental units for low-income individuals. Each bed added is one fewer person on the streets. Each unit built means another family can stay together. When people have a safe space to rely on, they gain stability, allowing them to rebuild their futures.
To ensure stability, the city must also invest in mental health and substance abuse services. Many people on the streets live with untreated mental illness or substance-use disorders that keep them on the streets. Reallocating even a fraction of the convention center budget could provide thousands of people with access to therapy, recovery programs, and supportive housing to regain control of their lives. Without treatment, any housing solution will only be temporary.
I want to keep living in this great city after I graduate, but not a tent city. Mayor Bass was not elected to spend taxpayer money on an expansion that will rob funds from civil services we rely on—police, firefighters, infrastructure, and transportation. She promised to confront the biggest crisis impacting LA’s identity and improve the quality of life. Remember what you built your campaign on, Mayor Bass — and remember why Angelenos voted for you.
About the Author
Jennifer Casiano is a Political Science student at Stanford University from Los Angeles with an interest in social justice.