Skid Row: Neighborhood of the Homeless

Skid Row Encampments. Photo by the Los Angeles Times

Originally written as an analysis report of the Skid Row in the spring of 2024, this piece examines the urban history of this distinctive downtown district. In progress, versions of this report were presented in March 2024 and May 2024. Thank you to Professors Mitchell J Glass and Jesse LeCavalier of Cornell University, for whom's class I looked into Skid Row and the Urban Planning of Los Angeles.

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Skid Row in Los Angeles is a neighborhood renowned for its large homeless population and the concentration of social services aimed at aiding this community. It spans approximately 50 city blocks, bounded by 3rd Street to the north, 7th Street to the south, Alameda Street to the east, and Main Street to the west. This area has been a focal point for homelessness and poverty for decades.

The name "Skid Row" is derived from the logging term "skid row" or "skid road." It originally described a section of a city where people who were "on the skids" lived. Workers in the logging industry used to slide logs down greased skid roads to transport them to a nearby river, and those who accompanied the logs would wait at the bottom for a ride back to the logging camp.

Over time, the phrase expanded to characterize locations where people without money or purpose gathered, and eventually, it became a generic term for run-down neighborhoods across North America. Other examples include Hastings Street in Vancouver, Canada, and Michigan Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.

As a result of its large low-income and homeless populations, Skid Row has faced ongoing challenges related to housing, health care, and law enforcement. The neighborhood is home to numerous shelters, missions, and non-profit organizations that provide essential services, such as the Midnight Mission and the Los Angeles Mission. These organizations offer food, shelter, medical care, and rehabilitation services to thousands of individuals each year. Several pioneering public housing projects have also had their beginnings and endings on Skid Row.

Skid Row's future is a topic of considerable debate and planning. It was the subject of a controversial containment plan in the 1970s and is currently undergoing another round of rezoning and planning with the Downtown Los Angeles 2040 Plan and the Skid Row Now and 2040 coalition.

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