logo for print

 

los angeles
Roberta Stevens Villa

LOS ANGELES

A Breath of Fresh Air In South Central

For Robin Cannon, environmental activism means more than protecting forests and keeping the oceans clean. It also means tending to what she calls our “social and economic space.”

Cannon, a mother of four, was working as a data processing technician in 1985 when she and Charlotte Bullock, a mother of two, organized Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles (CCSCLA), which succeeded in preventing construction of a 65 acre city incinerator in their neighborhood. After researching the potential effects of the incinerator, Cannon had grown fearful that emissions could contribute to her children’s asthma.

In the past 15 years, CCSCLA, with Juanita Tate at its helm as executive director, has burgeoned into a powerful advocate for inner-city residents of South Central Los Angeles, many of whom live in poverty or near the line. Since its founding, CCSCLA has helped maintain more than fifty block clubs, is constructing a $13-million shopping center, and has built more than 300 homes and manages approximately 600 units.

One of the group’s signature housing projects is the Roberta Stephens Villas. Hailed as a “model for the country” for its social programming, the project was funded in partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Canaan Housing Corporation, a subsidiary of the Second Baptist Church.

Roberta Stephens Villas, like all other CCSCLA developments, provide residents with more than just a place to come home in the evening—they rise to Cannon’s standard of “environmental” excellence. All units include central air and heating; and a sun deck or patio. Residents can browse a community library.

CCSCLA helped to create a community credit union to deliver financial services to a community that otherwise has lacked them, and urged the construction of soccer fields and other recreation facilities for area youth.

After World War II, Los Angeles gained notoriety for its uncontrolled sprawl and—soon thereafter—the smog that shrouded downtown from sunrise to dusk. Lost in this maze were communities like South Central Los Angeles. Now, thanks to vigorous intervention from leaders like Cannon, and funding from Living Cities, CDCs, and local investors, neighborhoods like South Central are gaining desperately needed housing and vital community resources.