SKID ROW LA GETS OFFICIAL MURAL - POPULATION TOO MANY!

LA TIMES - SKID ROW GETS MURAL   full article including slideshow.

"For skid row residents and advocates, mural is a sign of survival"

FROM THE ARTICLE:

 

The neighborhood of 10,000 people on the eastern end of downtown Los Angeles — with the largest concentration of homeless people in the country — is generally not listed on municipal signs or maps. The local firehouse was ordered years ago to take "skid row" off its ambulances and rigs.
As bars, lofts and restaurants started to pop up in skid row's traditional territory, the city — prodded by business groups — began using names like Old Bank District, Historic Core, Central City East or Industrial District to describe parts of the 50-block area.

This month, a group of residents sought to reclaim their turf, at least symbolically. They put the final touches on an 18-by-50-foot mural with a detailed street map of the area and a clear message: Skid row is a legitimate Los Angeles neighborhood, and should not be erased.
Organizers call "Skid Row Super Mural" a show of pride and self-determination by a community sick of being defined by its most unfortunate citizens. Detractors say the mural is a misguided attempt to paper over the misery of the homeless enclave.

A YOUTUBE VIDEO ON IT.  Artist "Risk" speaks