Gentrification
In 1994, due to the stigma of the neighborhood's reputation as "Los Angeles at its worst" many investors have been deterred from the area.
With gentrification transforming the formerly more downscale sections of the West Side, many of its rivals are either near-defunct or in severe decline. With housing prices starting in the $500,000 and escalating into the millions from there, Venice 13 struggled to maintain the same presence it used to have in its neighborhood during the 1990s. While Oakwood was at one point a very inexpensive area to buy property, it is being sought after by wealthy artists and businessmen at competitive prices. Famous movie stars such as actresses Julia Roberts and Anjelica Huston, and actor Nicolas Cage have taken residency in or around the Oakwood area. According to a Venice gang member, some Venice 13 members have even been forced into nearby Inglewood due to rent and housing costs. The affiliate, with plenty of animosity for the mostly Caucasian professional newcomers, stated that new home owners in the area at sometimes fail to even notice Oakwood as a gang neighborhood. This gentrification has been the cause of rising racial tension between the original Black and Latino residents and the more affluent newcomers.
The inconsistent pattern of gang violence in Oakwood has also scared many high income residents who are not accustomed to the neighborhood, such as a 2001 string of violent shootings which resulted in 3 murders in a two week period. Months following the incidents residents reported the streets being empty at sundown despite increased police presence. In the November 2004 issue of Vanity Fair magazine author John Brodie contested that gentrification would fail as "...the gunplay of the Shoreline Crips and the V-13 is as much a part of life in Venice as pit bulls playing with blond Labs at the local dog park.".
Read more about this topic: Venice 13