Census numbers for Los Angeles neighborhoods have been released as part of the city's process for redrawing city council districts. The Los Angeles Times reported that some areas on the city's Eastside are showing record declines in population.
According to census figures published by L.A.'s Redistricting Commission, Highland Park's population fell by more than 3,900 people between 2010 and 2020. Boyle Heights dropped by 3,000 and Cypress Park by 1,250.
The decline in Cypress Park was 13 percent—the largest of any L.A. neighborhood over the past decade.
Civic leaders and community activists are worried the numbers don't actually indicate a decline in population, but chronic undercounting on the part of census takers in heavily Latino areas.
“Our worst fears have been realized, in a sense, with a poor-quality count primarily in Latino-majority areas in the Eastside of the city,” David Ely, a demographic consultant with the Redistricting Commission, told The Times.
The consequences of undercounting involve forthcoming changes to city council district lines. Some neighborhoods where the population is not correctly tabulated could be assigned to new councilmembers, which could have a domino effect on the June 2022 city election.
Eight council seats are currently up for grabs. If district boundaries change radically, candidates could find themselves in districts that do not have an election scheduled for 2022. New districts may suddenly find themselves with no resident candidates on their slate.
According to The Times, City Hall has placed the blame for possible census undercounting on the previous presidential administration. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the Trump White House pushed for census forms to include a citizenship inquiry, which may have discouraged undocumented residents of L.A. from participating, a significant number of whom are Latino and reside on the Eastside.
Annie Shaw, a community organizer in L.A., told The Times she agreed that Trump had an impact on the counting. But she noted that gentrification may have also been partially to blame.
“In our collective experience, gentrification does play a role,” Shaw said. “We’ve had tenants who’ve had to leave because of rent increases and the lack of rent-control protections.”
The L.A. City Council will vote on modifications to the district maps before the end of 2021. New boundaries will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.