In 2012, Human Impact Partners worked with the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), and Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles (PSR-LA) to conduct a rapid HIA of the proposed construction of the 72,000 seat Farmers Field football stadium in downtown Los Angeles. The HIA included substantial guidance and input from residents living in the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed Farmers Field development. The HIA considered the ways in which the proposed development could impact low-income and vulnerable populations, such as gentrification, displacement, housing costs, policing and safety, access to open spaces, and employment opportunities. The HIA offered several recommendations, including adoption of “No Net Loss” policies within the “Impact Zone” of the proposed development; compensation to any resident who is displaced or forced to move as a result of the stadium’s construction and/or operation; ensuring that the project design includes the creation of open and green space immediately outside of the stadium; development of a local hiring agreement for jobs created and provided to residents of the area immediately adjacent to the Farmers Field construction and operation; and provision of health insurance for all full time employees at Farmers Field.
Watch a video highlighting the partnership between LA CAN and Human Impact Partners on the Farmers Field HIA.
According to a community organizer at the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the HIA process helped to educate and engage the community surrounding the proposed project site.
The HIA helped the following provisions become part of the approved Farmers Field development plan: a $15 million housing trust fund to preserve and create very low-income housing in neighborhoods affected by the construction; $1.9 million of funding for air quality and bus rider improvements; neighborhood improvement plans for South LA, Downtown and Pico-Union, with funding for improvements identified through community input; a requirement that the City’s living wage will be the minimum for all onsite jobs; supplements to the neighborhood park commitment, including additional funds and community planning and design processes; and establishing that 40% of all local hires in permanent jobs will be prioritized for disadvantaged workers.
As of January 2014, construction on the project has not started.
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This Health Impact Assessment Report first appeared in The Cross-Sector Toolkit for Health. The Cross-Sector Toolkit for Health was originally developed by the Health Impact Project, formerly a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The creation of this resource was supported by a grant from the Health Impact Project. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Charitable Trusts, or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
