Collector (Chinatown), 2023
Smog, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide ( NO2), Ground Level Ozone (O3),Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), soot, dirt, dust, guano, automobile tire microplastics, and other unidentified debris sourced from Human Resources rooftop in Chinatown, California on canvas
564 inches by 48 inches
The US Federal Government played a role in developing segregation with the passage of the Home Owners Corporation Act in 1933. The act created the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC), a company designed to help homeowners facing foreclosure during the great depression. In order to determine which families were eligible to receive mortgage financing, the HOLC developed Residential Security Maps, which surveyed the lending risks in cities with populations over 40,000. The lower the grade the higher the “loan risk” would be for private lenders. These reports explicitly cited race, class, and ethnicity as the basis for grading in a process that became known as “redlining.”
In a 1933 HOLC report, the neighborhoods of Elysian Park (Chavez Ravine) and Bunker Hill received the lowest possible grade, D. “This is an extremely old area which was never highly regarded and is now thoroughly blighted. A part of it is known as "Dog town" is a typical Mexican poon district. Although there are a few old fairly presentable homes which are still in original ownership, the area as a whole is dilapidated and inhabited by a highly heterogeneous and subversive population. The area being thoroughly "blighted" is accorded a low red" grade.”
As a result of redlining, the value of homes in Chavez Ravine, Chinatown, and Bunker Hill plummeted, making them particularly vulnerable to seizure by the government for public development. Through this process of eminent domain, homes in Chavez Ravine and Bunker Hill were seized for the construction of Dodger Stadium, a new financial center, and eventually the Harbor [I-110] Freeway