By Daily Press staff
LOS ANGELES — Loyola Marymount University’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles gave housing market opportunities for Latinos in Los Angeles County a “D” grade in the “2006 Latino Scorecard — Road to Action,” a publication recently released by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
The “2006 Latino Scorecard” is an update of the study published in 2003 and tracks how Latinos living in Los Angeles stand in five key areas: health, education, economic development, public safety and housing.
“The Latino Scorecard is both a resource and a call to action for civic, social and business leaders to change Los Angeles institutions to better serve the Latino community,” said Fernando J. Guerra, director of LMU’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles. Guerra, who also is a professor of political science and Chicana studies at Loyola Marymount University, spearheaded the housing research alongside associates Matt Barreto, Mara Marks and Donald Morgan.
The team gave the housing industry an overall “D” grade on the basis of four components: accessibility, availability, affordability and quality. This reveals that there has been no significant improvement since the last study. Although Latinos have risen into the middle-class, the achievement is not reflected in the homeown-ership rates. In comparison to other ethnic groups, Latino levels of homeownership are low, few receive new home loans, and many tend to live in small overcrowded deteriorating housing units.
According to the study, in order to improve the quality of life for the region’s largest ethnic subgroup, policies must be prioritized to address the issue. Some of the policy recommendations proposed include: building more houses, improving access to capital/loans, promoting inclusionary housing, and enforcing current codes without taking units off the market.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 8, 2006. Read the original PDF.