Mapping L.A. is a project of the Los Angeles Times , beginning in 2009, to draw boundary lines for 158 cities and unincorporated places within Los Angeles County, California. It identified 114 neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles and 42 unincorporated areas where the statistics were merged with those of adjacent cities. [1]
The project began in February 2009 with the posting online of the first version of boundary lines for 87 Los Angeles neighborhoods. The map was then "redrawn with the help of readers who agreed or disagreed with our initial boundaries." The Times said: "After reviewing this collective knowledge, Times staffers adjusted more than 100 boundaries, eliminated some names and added others." [1]
The Times' database editor and the map project's coordinator, Doug Smith, [2] along with researcher Maloy Moore, standardized the neighborhood boundaries "based on historical and anecdotal definitions, civic proclamations and reader commentary." "Thousands of city blocks" were converted "into a complete picture of Los Angeles neighborhoods, with no ambiguities, overlaps or missing pieces." [3]
The Times said that the Mapping L.A. project became the newspaper's "resource for neighborhood boundaries, demographics, crime and schools." The results as posted are searchable by address and ZIP code or by individual neighborhood. [1] It noted that:
The maps cover the 4,000 square miles [10,500 km2] of Los Angeles County — by far the most populous county in the nation — from the high desert to the coast. In 2009, there were an estimated 9.8 million residents, up from 9.5 million counted in the 2000 U.S. census, the basis for The Times' demographic analysis for each neighborhood and region. Unlike most other attempts at mapping L.A., this one follows a set of principles intended to make it visually and statistically coherent. It gathers every block of the city into reasonably compact areas leaving no enclaves, gaps, overhangs or ambiguities. [1]
The project crafted neighborhood boundaries by merging together neighboring census tracts. However, census tract boundaries are not always consistent with traditional neighborhood boundaries. [4] As the Times states:
Census tracts are drawn by the U.S. Census Bureau and used for tabulating demographic information, including income and ethnicity. The shapes of the tracts are frequently out of sync with the geographical, historic and socioeconomic associations that define communities. However, by using the tracts as building blocks, The Times was able to compile a statistical profile of communities, something other neighborhood boundaries do not offer. [4]
The Times further stated that after merging tracts, they then adjusted the boundary lines by moving individual city blocks from one census tract to another. That allowed them to adjust the census data in proportion to the relocated block's population. A first draft of 87 neighborhoods was released in February 2009. As the Times received input from their readers, they shifted where the neighborhood boundaries should be nearly 100 times. A final map of 114 neighborhoods was released in June 2009. [4] With the release of the maps, the Times stated:
We'll be the first to acknowledge that our map isn't perfect. No lines can capture the geographic diversity and demographic energy of Los Angeles. [4]
Not everyone agreed with the neighborhood boundaries the Times ultimately settled on. Elizabeth Fuller wrote in The Larchmont Buzz that "Many people who live in and represent their neighborhoods in various ways have objected to the Times’ designations for not following city-recognized borders, and for lumping many smaller neighborhoods into larger, more indistinct areas such as “Mid-Wilshire.” [5]
In 2017, cartographer Eric Brightwell of Pendersleigh and Sons, [6] created a map [7] that identified 472 neighborhoods (in comparison to Mapping LA's 114 neighborhoods).
Comparing Brightwell's map with the Mapping LA Project, Jenna Chandler, the editor of Curbed Los Angeles , wrote that Brightwell's map of 472 neighborhoods "looks more accurate than the neighborhood maps compiled by the Los Angeles Times." [8] Additionally, Elizabeth Fuller of The Larchmont Buzz said that Brightwell's map was a much more fine-grained view of “every L.A. neighborhood.” [9]
LAist reporter Tim Loc said that while Mapping L.A. provided "plenty of insightful information about individual neighborhoods...Brightwell takes it to the next level when it comes to breaking down the territories." Of Brightwell's map, Loc noted that Downtown L.A. is parsed out as the Historic Core, Bunker Hill, Skid Row, and Gallery Row among others. Brightwell notes that in the Mapping L.A. Project, Downtown L.A. is just "downtown L.A. and Chinatown; there's no Jewelry District or any of the others." [10]
Hancock Park is a neighborhood in the Wilshire area of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s, the neighborhood features architecturally distinctive residences, many of which were constructed in the early 20th century. Hancock Park is covered by a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).
Mount Washington is a historic neighborhood in the San Rafael Hills of Northeast Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1909, it includes the Southwest Museum, the world headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship, and Eldred Street, one of the three steepest streets in Los Angeles.
Koreatown is a neighborhood in central Los Angeles, California, centered near Eighth Street and Irolo Street.
Century City is a 176-acre neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of the most prominent employment centers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and its skyscrapers form a distinctive skyline on the city's westside.
Palms is a community in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, founded in 1886 and the oldest neighborhood annexed to the city, in 1915. The 1886 tract was marketed as an agricultural and vacation community. Today it is a primarily residential area, with many apartment buildings, ribbons of commercial zoning and a single-family residential area in its northwest corner. As of the 2000 census the population of Palms was 42,545.
The Fairfax District is a neighborhood in the Central region of Los Angeles, California.
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Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home to over 40,000 residents.
Leimert Park is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California.
Larchmont is a half-square-mile neighborhood in the central region of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has three schools and one small park. It has been the site of early and recent motion picture shoots.
East Hollywood is a densely populated neighborhood of 78,000+ residents that is part of the Hollywood area of the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is notable for being the site of Los Angeles City College, Barnsdall Park, and a hospital district. There are seven public and five private schools, a Los Angeles Public Library branch, and three hospitals. Almost two-thirds of the people living there were born outside the United States, and 90% were renters. In 2000, the neighborhood had high percentages of never-married people and single parents.
Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is known for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district.
Central Los Angeles is the historical urban region of the City of Los Angeles, California.
Windsor Square is a small, historic neighborhood in the Wilshire region of Los Angeles, California. It is highly diverse in ethnic makeup, with an older population than the city as a whole. It is the site of the official residence of the mayor of the city and is served by a vest-pocket public park.
Melrose Hill is a neighborhood in Los Angeles. A portion of the neighborhood is designated as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone.
Hyde Park is a neighborhood in the South region of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it was consolidated with Los Angeles in 1923.
Beverly Crest is a neighborhood in the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Westside area of the city of Los Angeles, California.
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a 16-square-mile rectangle with two prongs at the south end.” In 2003, the Los Angeles City Council renamed this area "South Los Angeles".
Vermont Vista is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, within the South Los Angeles area.
Victor Heights, sometimes referred to as the Forgotten Edge, is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles.