South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a 16-square-mile (41 km2) rectangle with two prongs at the south end.” In 2003, the Los Angeles City Council renamed this area "South Los Angeles".[1][2][3][4][5]
South Los Angeles
The name South Los Angeles can also refer to a larger 51-square-mile (130 km2) region that includes areas within the city limits of Los Angeles as well as five unincorporated areas in the southern portion of Los Angeles County.[6]
Geography[edit]
City of Los Angeles[edit]
The City of Los Angeles delineates the South Los Angeles Community Plan area as an area of 15.5 square miles (40 km2).[7] Adjacent communities include West Adams, Baldwin Hills, and Leimert Park to the west, and Southeast Los Angeles (the 26-neighborhood area east of the Harbor Freeway) on the east.[8]
Los Angeles Times Mapping Project[edit]
According to the Los Angeles Times Mapping Project, the South Los Angeles region comprises 51 square miles (130 km2), consisting of 25 neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles as well as three unincorporated neighborhoods in the County of Los Angeles.[6]
Google Maps[edit]
Google Maps delineates a similar area to the Los Angeles Times Mapping Project with notable differences on the western border. On the northwest, it omits a section of Los Angeles west of La Brea Avenue. On the southwest, it includes a section of the City of Inglewood north of Century Boulevard.[4][a]
Districts and neighborhoods[edit]
According to the Mapping L.A. survey of the Los Angeles Times, the South Los Angeles region consists of the following neighborhoods:[9]
Demographics[edit]
By the end of the 1980s, South Los Angeles had an increasing number of Hispanics and Latinos, mostly in the northeastern section of the region.[31]
According to scholars, "Between 1970 and 1990 the South LA area went from 80% African American and 9% Latino to 50.3% African American and 44% Latino."[32]
Many African Americans from South Los Angeles have moved to Palmdale and Lancaster in the Antelope Valley.[33] South Los Angeles has received immigrants from Mexico and Central America.[34]
According to the city's "2014 South Los Angeles Community Plan Area Demographic Profile",[7] South Los Angeles had a population of 271,040 residents with the following racial and ethnic balance: Race: Asian - 4.9%, White - 21.4%, African-American - 28.7%, Other Race - 39.4%. Ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino Origin by Race): Not Hispanic or Latino - 39%, Hispanic or Latino - 61%. According to the census, for the category of "race", respondents self-identified as one of the following: White, African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Some Other Race, or Two or More Races. For the category of "ethnicity", they self-identified as either "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino".
According to the 2000 United States census, Mexican and Unspecified African were the most common ancestries. Mexico and El Salvador are the most common foreign places of birth.[35]
Government and infrastructure[edit]
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the South Health Center in Watts, Los Angeles, serving South Los Angeles.[39]
