Skid Row (Los Angeles)

Skid Row is, in general, an impoverished urban area with high rates of crime. It can also be a red-light district.
Recently it has come to mean a particular neighborhood in Los Angeles. This Skid Row is a poor urban area with high rates of crime and drug use and prostitution. The area is officially known as Central City East. It covers fifty city blocks (2.71 sq mi) immediately east of downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Skid Row has a large population (about 4,200–8,000) of homeless people. It has been known for its homeless population since at least the 1930s.
The question of why this has been tolerated in one of the world's most important cities has itself a long history. The city includes Hollywood, Santa Monica and other wealthy areas. It has voted Democrat in all kinds of elections since the 1980s.