Gentrification in the Los Angeles County city of Inglewood has been proceeding at a breakneck pace in recent years-a trend that preceded the construction of SoFi but has long been driven by the construction and renovation of large entertainment venues.Īs the SoFi deal was being rubber-stamped in 2015, Alexis Aceves was watching the fabric of her community unravel from afar. The $5 billion colossus has also inspired tenants to take a defiant stand against the encroaching crush of displacement. Workers have died during the stadium’s construction, and now the structure is threatening to displace poor people and heighten policing in the area.
The struggle against the construction of the SoFi Stadium-the most expensive in the world-became a struggle for the soul of Los Angeles itself: what it wants to be, who it is for, and who it wants to include. In city after city, stadium construction has accelerated these trends. Their struggle mirrors inequities that are playing out across the country: After decades of housing discrimination that has pushed Black and Latinx people into certain neighborhoods, many are now being pushed from their homes because of gentrification and rapid redevelopment. In Los Angeles, residents of historically Black and Latinx neighborhoods are being pushed out of their homes as the construction of a new stadium, and the waves of development it has spurred, are driving up rent prices.
This commentary is part of The Appeal’s collection of opinion and analysis. This piece is a commentary, part of The Appeal’s collection of opinion and analysis.
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