Mapping Gentrification in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles: Using Geographic Information System (GIS) Analytical Tools

Abstract. From the time when its roots traced back all the way back in 1886, Little Tokyo has overcome numerous obstacles including the Great Depression, Japanese American internments in the Second World War, racial discrimination, transition into Bronxville, multinational redevelopment projects, and the demographic/ geographic dispersion of the Nikkei communities. Despite these numerous development, Little Tokyo remains the major historical, cultural, and civic center for Japanese Americans living in Southern California and has continued to be a historically and a culturally symbolic space for many.

This research strives to identify the trends of gentrification in the study area; Little Tokyo, through indicators or variables in 5 domains: (A) Housing, (B) Demography, (C) Income, (D) Education Level, and (E) Public Safety with the central focus on housing. To analyze the occurrence of these elements between the year 1990 and 2013, quantitative research including GIS groundworks were delivered. This research is aimed at becoming a tool to measure and potentially assist communities to make more robust development intervention and implementation by identifying the trends that emerge socio-economic problems like gentrification facing local communities around the world.