VOA文化艺术2023--Lack of Housing in Los Angeles Brings Activism, Art

More and more of Judy Branfman's friends and neighbors found themselves unable to afford housing in Venice Beach, a neighborhood in Los Angeles.

So, Branfman began photographing the houses and apartments being sold, renovated², and then resold at two or three times the cost.

Branfman thought she should be recording³ the growing problem of evictions and housing in Venice Beach. The writer and activist⁶ was disappointed that Venice is losing what made it an interesting, artistic⁷ neighborhood to her.

Her photo project has gained some attention. Earlier this year, Branfman started hosting community meetings where residents could share their experiences with evictions that caused them to become homeless. Some people read poems. Others expressed themselves through paintings. They started gathering⁸ information on housing and evictions.

Branfman's idea to take a few photos became an art exhibit called "Where Has All The (affordable) Housing Gone?"

"The idea was to illustrate⁹ the problem, to show what we've lost," Branfman said.

Venice Beach became a center of the homelessness crisis during the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles. The nation's second-largest city has an estimated 46,000 people who are homeless in a population of 4 million people.

Venice Beach has been popular for the arts for a long time. But people noticed the difference between rich and poor there as technology companies moved in and people started building costly¹⁰, modern homes.

The nonprofit group Angeleno Project said that about 80 percent of low-income Los Angeles renters pay over half their income toward housing costs.

At Branfman's exhibit, her photos are displayed on a large and detailed¹¹ map. The map shows many of the nearly 1,500 rent-controlled homes she said have been lost from the housing market in Venice over 20 years. In some cases, the buildings were sold to large corporations that are buying up properties and increasing rents.

The map and the exhibit say part of the problem is a law called the Ellis Act. The 1985 California law gave apartment owners power to evict⁴ tenants¹³ in rent-controlled buildings for redevelopment. Owners can then later require higher rents for the same apartments. "Rent-controlled" means that rents are limited by law.

Branfman said she suffered because of the law when she was evicted¹⁴ from a Venice Beach apartment in 2003.

"Too many tenants are afraid to fight back. And most don't know what their rights are under the law," she said. Even when tenants do bring complaints, she said, the city very rarely deals with the claims.

Branfman and other housing activists¹⁵ are hopeful that change could come with a measure that will be voted on in 2024. The measure would expand local control by overturning a 28-year-old law that bans rent control on single-family homes, condominiums and rental¹⁶ properties that were built after 1995.

Words in This Story

afford –v. to be able to pay for something

renovate¹ — v. to repair and improve a property

eviction⁵ — n. to be forced to leave a place, usually a place where you have lived

illustrate — v. to show something, often through pictures

income — n. money that is earned from work, business or investment

tenant¹² –n. a person who pays a landowner to live or work on a property

complaint –n. a statement that you are unhappy about a situation and want something to be done about it

1 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

2 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

5 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

13 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

14 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。