Any Angeleno who's ever set foot outside knows that the economic gap between the rich and the poor here is about big as the physical gap is small—Los Angeles is home to four of the nation's 20 most unequal zip codes. Now the Obama administration is trying to help us help ourselves by designating an area that weaves through Pico-Union, Westlake, Koreatown, East Hollywood, and Hollywood as a Promise Zone, meaning that the city will get up to $500 million in government cash over the next 10 years to put toward resources that might close that income gap—"increasing affordable housing, investing in public transit lines and bike lanes, and giving people more access to career and technical training opportunities". It also means that LA (and the nation's other Promise Zones) will have preference when applying for federal grants, the LA Times reports. Mayor Garcetti said that that this money was the city's "best shot" at reducing the impacts of poverty within its borders.
· U.S. to Designate Poor L.A. Areas a 'Promise Zone,' Eligible for Aid [LA Times]
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