Bringing more vibrancy to LA’s Black and Brown communities starts at the street level

Black and Brown neighborhoods in South LA — like Inglewood, Crenshaw, and Leimert Park — have always faced economic challenges. But they’ve also always had enormous potential for growth. That’s the focus of architect Michael Anderson’s new book, “Urban Magic: Vibrant Black and Brown Communities Are Possible.”

“For more than 60 years, we’ve been focusing on trying to change Black communities into prosperous modern places, and it hasn’t happened,” he says.

One solution is to give subsidies to first-time Black and Brown homeowners, he suggests. “You’re making an investment that brings back a younger generation of Black and Brown people who will replenish the community’s culture based on their lifestyles. And that’s what creates the vibrancies.”