Re-Up Neighborhood Councils

We’re pursuing a community engagement project, in coordination with the City of Los Angeles, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (EmpowerLA) to increase millennial engagement with the Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils, including supporting millennial boards activity and increasing millennial voter turnout during the 2019 Neighborhood Council elections.

Subscribe if you are interested in learning more about Neighborhood Councils, and want to get involved in making your community a better place to live, work, or play.

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BACKGROUND

Los Angeles has 4 million+ residents – a population higher than 23 U.S. States - and is so large that the cities of Boston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Manhattan could all fit inside it, with room to spare. Such a large group of people spread out over a vast tract of land presented unique governing challenges, leading to the formation of Neighborhood Councils, taxpayer-funded, hyperlocal governing bodies who advocate for their communities with LA City Hall on important issues like development, homelessness, and transportation policy.

Millennials are heavily under-represented on Neighborhood Councils, but as Los Angele struggles with issues ranging from housing affordability and homelessness to embracing the role of technology in government, transportation, and more, we believe this needs to change.

DATA

Global Shapers surveyed 302 people within their local network, to gather information on what the community, especially millennials, –250 of which responded to the survey – knew or thought about their Neighborhood Councils. A presentation of the results can be found here:

Demographic info on participants is included in the results. Note: the survey was not a representative sample of the Los Angeles population.

Key Takeaways

  • 68.8% either did not know what Neighborhood council was, or did not know Neighborhood Councils existed.

  • 66.4% have never interacted with their Neighborhood Council or seen any information from or about them.

  • Above all people wanted their Councils to address: Housing Affordability (66.1%), Homelessness (57.6%), and Parks and Open Spaces (50.5%).

  • 74.3% of respondents rented/leased their housing.

Clearly, lack of information and engagement are issues for millennial Neighborhood Council involvement – especially for "renters". Despite this, there is passionate interest in a number of issues. Our goal is to solve the information gap and harness this passion to get millennials across Los Angeles engaged at the hyperlocal level.

 
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Become a candidate

We are currently recruiting millennials around Los Angeles to run for Neighborhood Councils around the city. Given that <0.3% of the city voted in the last election cycle, we have a real opportunity to transform the face of hyperlocal neighborhood governance in Los Angeles. Apply now!

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Spread the word

Help us spread the word about Neighborhood Councils! No matter which neighborhood you live, work or play in, the city views you as a stakeholder. Share our page with friends, family and colleagues. One-click tweet or follow us on social media – facebook, twitter, instagram.