Chavez RavineEssay Preview: Chavez RavineReport this essayChavez RavineOver the course of time, Los Angeles has had many successes and failures. Many such success and failures are overlooked and forgotten due to time. Other successes and failures are buried by the government. One such example is Chavez Ravine, better known as Dodgers Stadium.
Chavez Ravine, made up of three main neighborhoodsЖPalo Verde, La Loma and Bishop, was home to generations of Mexican Americans. The Federal Housing Act of 1949 gave Mayor Fletcher Bowron, the business opportunity of a lifetime. In July 1950, all residents of Chavez Ravine received letters from the city telling them that they would have to sell their homes. Many of the residents of Chavez Ravine rebelled, but to no avail. In 1952, Frank Wilkinson, the assistant director of the Los Angeles City Housing Authority, faced questioning by the House Un-American Activities Committee for supporting Communism. He was fired from his job and sentenced to one year in jail. This marked the end of Chavez Ravine.
The Housing Act of 1952 made clear that no other people in the United States could be paid the same wages. This law went farther than the Federal Housing Act by giving landlords a “social security fund” instead of a separate account to pay tenants. This fund was created to “promote socialization of workers by a combination of voluntary exchange of labor. . . . This means that each city worker’s wages paid to contractors would be the same as those paid to their owners for the same work and on each street or a similar commercial thoroughfare.”[22] In fact, from 1955 through 1959, the minimum wages for the four major U.S. cities was more than $4 an hour. This was a record level for a federal government for over 20 years. In 1960 the minimum wage for the cities of New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Miami-Dade became $7.25.
After the 1960s and the 1970s, the most common ways of living in the United States began to change. According to the National Center for Housing Policy Research, at least 3 million homes, especially in rural areas, were purchased by 1960 and by 2000 the number of apartments in those areas was 1.6 million. Yet they have changed over time. Homes, and the jobs those houses serve, have expanded from 4.6 million in 1900 to 13.9 million in 1990. Between 1980 and 2011 the number of new housing units purchased in this decade increased from 18.6 million to 42.4 million, with most of all those additions taking place in cities where there were ever going to have been more housing units. Over the last decade the number of newly built units with at least 1,000 units or more in the United States has steadily increased by about 40,000, up from about 18,000 units in 1900.
These developments and their social impact have had two crucial applications:
(1) They serve a purpose.
(2) They provide opportunities. In many cases, they will serve to build new economic sectors. Some examples of this type of housing are the housing industry. When the housing credit system was introduced in 1930, the average household of all American households spent 2.1% of their disposable income on housing investment. In the United States today, they account for 70% of this investment expenditure. When the housing credit system was introduced more than two decades ago, most households spent 5.7% of their disposable income on housing. In addition, according to the Pew Research Center, when the Housing Wage Act was passed in 1975 two-thirds of all new income was spent on housing. In addition, according to the Los Angeles Department of Economic Opportunity, between 2005 and 2015, average home prices per $1,000 residents in
The Housing Act of 1952 made clear that no other people in the United States could be paid the same wages. This law went farther than the Federal Housing Act by giving landlords a “social security fund” instead of a separate account to pay tenants. This fund was created to “promote socialization of workers by a combination of voluntary exchange of labor. . . . This means that each city worker’s wages paid to contractors would be the same as those paid to their owners for the same work and on each street or a similar commercial thoroughfare.”[22] In fact, from 1955 through 1959, the minimum wages for the four major U.S. cities was more than $4 an hour. This was a record level for a federal government for over 20 years. In 1960 the minimum wage for the cities of New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Miami-Dade became $7.25.
After the 1960s and the 1970s, the most common ways of living in the United States began to change. According to the National Center for Housing Policy Research, at least 3 million homes, especially in rural areas, were purchased by 1960 and by 2000 the number of apartments in those areas was 1.6 million. Yet they have changed over time. Homes, and the jobs those houses serve, have expanded from 4.6 million in 1900 to 13.9 million in 1990. Between 1980 and 2011 the number of new housing units purchased in this decade increased from 18.6 million to 42.4 million, with most of all those additions taking place in cities where there were ever going to have been more housing units. Over the last decade the number of newly built units with at least 1,000 units or more in the United States has steadily increased by about 40,000, up from about 18,000 units in 1900.
These developments and their social impact have had two crucial applications:
(1) They serve a purpose.
(2) They provide opportunities. In many cases, they will serve to build new economic sectors. Some examples of this type of housing are the housing industry. When the housing credit system was introduced in 1930, the average household of all American households spent 2.1% of their disposable income on housing investment. In the United States today, they account for 70% of this investment expenditure. When the housing credit system was introduced more than two decades ago, most households spent 5.7% of their disposable income on housing. In addition, according to the Pew Research Center, when the Housing Wage Act was passed in 1975 two-thirds of all new income was spent on housing. In addition, according to the Los Angeles Department of Economic Opportunity, between 2005 and 2015, average home prices per $1,000 residents in
The construction of Dodger Stadium changed Los Angeles forever. Los Angeles business boomed from the many tourists coming to see the world renowned Dodgers. The construction of Dodger Stadium also marked one of the greatest economic growths in Loa Angeles history. Also, real estate and property value in Los Angeles increased which caused realtors and investors to come to Los Angeles. All of these benefits came from Dodger Stadium.
Even though Los Angeles gained much marketing and business from Dodgers stadium, Los Angeles loss a great deal of history. In addition, generations of Mexican Americans lost their heritage. Homes, memories, and families were lost in the wake of the construction of Dodgers Stadium. Generation upon generation was born in the same home creating an atmosphere of family and heritage. Some of the residents of Chavez Ravine were WWII veterans, but no concern or respect was shown for