Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Map: Where Los Angeles' Homeless Live
A new interactive map showing the location of L.A.'s homeless population provides a startling representation of the city's recent dramatic rise in homelessness.
The extremely detailed map from the L.A. Times reveals the location of every homeless person documented by this year's homeless count conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The intensively thorough census, conducted visually every two years, found that roughly 39,000 homeless people are currently living in L.A. County. The troubling number reveals a 12% increase in the overall number of homeless individuals from just two years ago, while the number of tents, makeshift encampments and vehicles occupied by homeless people rose by 85%, according to the L.A. Times. The map shows dots on the approximate locations across the county where the survey found homeless individuals, encampments or someone living in a vehicle.
The map allows you to scroll across the entire county or zoom into specific cities, neighborhoods and even particular streets. The map represents individuals living out in the open with red dots, those living in tents or makeshift shelters with yellow dots, and anyone living in a vehicle with a purple dot. By hovering your cursor over the census tracts—which highlight a very small subdivision of the county—the map's key also reveals specifically how many people are living on the street, in an encampment or in a vehicle in that given area. The dots are randomized within the census tracts, so you aren't seeing exactly where people live, but it's easy to get a sense of roughly where and how many people are living in any area across the county.
The homeless aren't just concentrated in areas like Skid Row and Venice. The map vividly reveals that the distribution of the county's homeless population is spread far and wide. There are other concentrations in the San Fernando Valley, South L.A., Hollywood and Santa Monica but there are homeless almost everywhere you look. Of the 1,684 census tracts surveyed, only 300 had no homeless individuals, according to the L.A. Times.
Support for LAist comes from
The survey and accompanying map are thought to be the most thorough picture of the county's widespread issue of homelessness. Most previous surveys primarily focused on dense areas like Skid Row, while this map helps to reveal concentrations in what may seem to many as unexpected areas. In Willowbrook, for instance, over 200 hundred vehicles (purple) and over 100 individuals (red) were found in a largely industrial neighborhood:
Near Pacific Palisades, more people living in tents and makeshift shelters than in vehicles or outside:
The map below shows just how intensely focused the county's homeless population is around the Skid Row neighborhood. The census counted 1,243 people living in the two census tracts that make up that dense triangle just east of Los Angeles Street:
You can explore the rest of the map here.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago. -
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
Best of LAist