USC State of the Neighborhood Report
The city of Los Angeles is home to more than 3.8 million residents and spans approximately 468 square miles. Community condition sacross the city of Los Angeles vary widely, with some communities having a wealth of resources and others few. A significant body of research has documented that features of communities play a central role in shaping life opportunities.
The major purpose of this report is to elucidate specific community conditions that shape life opportunities of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the University of Southern California’s (USC) University Park Campus (UPC) and Health Sciences Campus (HSC). An assessment was conducted comparing data for the communities within the UPC and HSC study areas to the city of Los Angeles, highlighting the largest disparities facing the communities neighboring USC. The report provides baseline data that can be used to guide efforts to create positive change within these local neighborhoods. As such, the report is meant to serve as a starting point that we hope will encourage the faculty, students and community stakeholders to look more deeply into community conditions through further research and engage key players in the development of strategies to uplift the life conditions of residents.
The University of Southern California’s State of the Neighborhood Project partners with Advancement Project California to present The State of the Neighborhood Report, 2015. The report was prepared by a team led by Hortensia Amaro and comprised of Melissa Gaeke (previously Executive Director, Academic Partnerships at USC), the Project’s Community Advisory Board and Faculty Task Force, and Advancement Project staff: Maidel Luevano, Caroline Rivas, Chris Ringewald, Janice Miller, Erin Coleman, Leila Forouzan, JuHyun Yoo, Juana Rosa Cavero, Silvia Paz, Jacqueline Coto, Lori Thompson Holmes, Gilberto Espinoza, John Kim, and Jonathan Nomachi.