UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge

🚨 New Research Alert! 🚨

In response to recent LA wildfires, we partnered with the AAPI Equity Alliance UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute to release a data brief on how Asian Americans—especially those with limited English proficiency (LEP)—are impacted.

📍 Nearly 50,000 Asian Americans live in evacuation zones, including 12,000+ LEP individuals speaking over a dozen languages.
📢 The brief highlights the urgent need for multilingual disaster communication and offers policy recommendations to ensure equitable emergency outreach.

CNK Director Paul Ong will be awarded the 2020-2021 Haagen-Smit Award for his research contributions in air quality & environmental justice. Tune into the CARB Clean Air Leadership Talks this Friday 5/20 at: http://bit.ly/3yBUHif
More info at: http://bit.ly/3LdwMIs

With the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, we at CNK are thrilled to announce the recent launch of Movement Hub! The Hub is aimed to connect AAPI communities with relevant resources and amplify grassroots activist and organizing efforts nationwide. To learn more, access the website at: movementhub.org

“It creates an atmosphere of fear when you go to work and you’re uncertain about what’s going to happen that day because you happen to be Asian American,” said CNK Director Paul Ong in a KQED article that highlights findings from our anti-Asian racism brief done in partnership with UCLA Asian American Studies Center and Asian Business Association Los Angeles.

Report Highlights ‘Atmosphere of Fear’ for Asian American Employees In a survey of Asian American and Pacific Islander workers, more than a quarter reported experiencing a hate incident at their place of employment in 2021.

Pandemic’s Toll on Southern California’s Asian American-Owned Businesses Survey reveals widespread financial losses, closures and staff reductions, and difficulty accessing local, state or federal aid.

A Closer Look at Pandemic’s Impact on Asian American Businesses A survey of Asian-owned businesses highlights the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on their livelihood.

Ong on COVID-19’s Impact on Asian Businesses Based on the findings of a survey among local Asian business owners, Ong recommends targeted outreach to support the hard-hit businesses.

Our recent policy brief with Asian Business Association & UCLA Asian American Studies Center highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Asian American Businesses throughout Southern California, who were also less likely to access and receive governmental aid.

Asian American Businesses: Identifying Gaps and Supporting Recovery 2021 - UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge A majority of Asian American-owned businesses in Southern California faced financial losses, closures, and staff reductions during the pandemic, and many of those struggled to access state, federal, or local aid, our new policy brief with the Asian Business Association of Los Angeles and UCLA’s As...

Our Census 2020 Factsheet was featured in articles by the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, and the Long Beach Post on the results of the U.S. Census 2020 and its impact on communities of color and low-income neighborhoods in particular. “There is strong evidence that undercounts in the 2020 census are worse than in past decades,” CNK Director Paul Ong said.

Ong on Repercussions of Census Undercount His analysis of 2020 Census data points to the likelihood that populations including low-income households and Black and Hispanic communities were undercounted.

A recent study by CNK surveying census data reveals inequities and a "differential undercount" for low-income communities of color in particular for the 2020 U.S. Census. “Given the analysis, it is imperative that we address the inequality in the census to ensure fair political representation in redistricting,” CNK Director Paul Ong said.

CNK Research Finds Census Inequity in L.A. County - UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge The Census Bureau conducts an enumeration of the population every decade and compiles the information to assist local officials in the redrawing of political boundaries in response to population changes to ensure that electoral districts are equal in population size. While the goal for every decenni...

CNK Director Paul Ong was recently featured in an LA Times article highlighting the impacts of the pandemic on Korean family-owned dry cleaning businesses, which have struggled significantly during the time of .

Long a path to success for Korean immigrants, dry cleaners struggle in the pandemic For many Korean immigrants, owning a dry cleaner has been a path to a better life for the next generation. The receipts from countless shirts, dresses and slacks paid for UCLA, UC Irvine, Stanford and NYU.

In collaboration with the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, a new report analyzing Pacific Gas and Electric Company utility debt data finds that utility debt burden is uneven across 40% of California. In particular, Black, Latinx, and economically vulnerable neighborhoods face the greatest utility debt burden.

Find the policy brief and map of distribution here: https://bit.ly/3hjqWsl