Bruins give time, effort to assist Rebuild L.A.
Organization works to revive neglected areas
By Jennifer K. Morita
Daily Bruin Staff
Three years after the riots that devastated Los Angeles, UCLA is
getting involved in efforts to revitalize L.A.’s neglected
communities.
Rebuild L.A. (RLA) was formed immediately after the 1992 riots
to coordinate recovery efforts in the affected communities and
address issues that led to the riots. But since then, RLA has
expanded its mission.
With the help of several UCLA student interns this year,
revitalizing efforts are occurring both in areas affected by the
riots and other neglected communities where 20 percent or more of
the population lives below the federal poverty level.
"UCLA can play a vital role in the communities, particularly in
impoverished communities," said Stewart Kwoh, RLA board member and
director of the Asian American Legal Center.
Expanding opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses in
these communities and revitalizing the 250 lots left vacant since
the 1992 riots are RLA’s main strategies, explained Director of
Communication Vallee Bunting.
"L.A. has a surprising amount of industrial strength in
neglected communities," Bunting said. "There are actually any
number of businesses and industries that have flourished even as
L.A. was in the grips of a recession."
RLA has been looking at nine industries that are heavily
concentrated in low-income areas, including the metal work, toy,
food processing, household furniture, entertainment crafts,
biomedical, electronics, computer hardware and software
industries.
"It’s an impossible task to try and coordinate and be effective
in many areas," Kwoh said. "RLA is focusing on developing the small
business networks … and developing creative solutions to those
property and business owners who are having difficulty rebuilding
on their lots.
"They certainly will not rebuild Los Angeles themselves but they
are an important component," Kwoh added.
Mina Tran and Jeff Prieto, UCLA law students serving a year-long
internship with RLA, have been researching L.A.’s electronics
industry since August.
"The idea is if we can somehow learn more about this industry
and then bring manufacturers together, they can work
collaboratively to face challenges that are unique to the
electronics industry," Tran said.
Through contacting 200 companies and conducting over a dozen
interviews, Tran and Prieto pinpointed some of those
challenges.
"The electronics industry is currently going through a
transition from defense to commercial application of their
products," Tran said. "Smaller and medium-sized businesses
producing the same product all of a sudden don’t have a market
because they’re so closely tied to the aerospace industry."
These smaller businesses lack resources that larger corporations
have and can’t afford to hire engineers for redesign. Similarly,
businesses don’t have the money to upgrade their products to meet
an international quality standard which is replacing the military
standard, Tran said.
The first networking meeting between electronics manufacturers,
organized by Tran and Prieto, takes place May 25.
"The notion behind a collaborative network is that they can do
things together, whereas individually they’d have a really hard
time," Tran said.
UCLA’s Office of Technology Transfer is also assisting in
revitalizing the biomedical industry. RLA recently signed a
memorandum of understanding to try to help biomedical companies
create a stronger relationship with the university, Bunting
said.
"We are in the process of talking with UCLA to explore two
things," said Ahmed Enany, a UCLA School of Public Policy student
who’s serving as a mediator between the university and RLA. "One is
encouraging more technology transfer to existing firms. We want to
make sure that a firm has easy access to technology, like if a firm
needs access to the engineering department for autobotics."
RLA is also helping biomedical firms make the transition from
science to industry by creating an incubator which brings them
together with the university.
"A lot of biomedical companies need to tie into the scientists
and the researchers," said Linda Griego, RLA’s executive director.
"UCLA has a wealth of information that could help industries
leapfrog."
UCLA undergraduate students Michael Haskell and Hye Kwon are
working at revitalizing vacant lots. RLA conducted a community
survey interviewing 1,100 people trying to find a solution for some
of the lots.
"Our number one response was that people wanted grocery stores
since there’s a lack of grocery stores in many of these
communities," Bunting said.
One neglected area that is home to 260,000 people had only two
grocery stores up until another one opened in October.
"It points out the lack of grocery store outlets for the inner
city," Bunting said.
Another recently opened grocery store is serving as a prototype
for future projects. The 15,000 square foot market is grossing
$160,000 a week, according to Bunting.
"We’re hoping to duplicate that effort in other parts of
neglected areas," she said.
UCLA interns are also researching and working with other
industries that RLA has targeted for development, such as the food
processing industry.
"We really count on them to handle a lot of the important
project-oriented work that’s happening here," said RLA’s Steve
Herman. "They’re actually in charge of the work and they’ve
conducted all the research."
RLA Â funded by corporate donations and a grant by the U.S.
Department of Commerce  is mandated only until spring of
1997. Their interns are either unpaid or receive money from UCLA’s
work study program.
"We couldn’t get any work done if we didn’t have them. They’re
our lifeline," Griego said. "When you have a small non-profit
organization like ours with limited resources, tying in with the
universities is essential."
The work interns do is also important to the community itself,
others say.
"That type of work is very important for UCLA students and
faculty to be involved in," Kwoh said. "Community groups don’t have
a lot of monetary resources. If they can get expertise of the
university on a voluntary basis, the community will have more
access to information."
He added that outreaching to other organizations servicing
neglected areas is also needed.
"The contribution of UCLA students to the RLA effort has been
outstanding," Kwoh said. "I hope that will be broadened so that
there will be more UCLA connections to community organizations and
in more areas."