In 1952 voters liked the idea of cities developing projects that paid their own way with a tax increment system and approved the CCRL by a “two-to-one” majority.

However, cities were slow to take advantage of the tax increment feature. By 1965 only 46 cities had established a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), and only 32 projects were actually initiated. From 1966 to 1975 112 additional agencies were created and 172 projects were added.

From 1981 to 1985, 117 agencies were established, the largest single number in any five year period in CRA history. The 205 projects that were formed in the early 1980’s, comprised almost one-third of all the CRA projects that were created up to that time.

The adjoining table lists the top 36 populated cities (50,000-plus population) in Los Angeles County that have Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs).

As the chart will show, Inglewood ranks 11th in population among the top 36 cities in Los Angeles County with an active CRAs.

NOTE: ALL chart figures are drawn from the the sixteenth edition of the Community Redevelopment Agencies Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000, released by the California State Controller’s Office dated April 19, 2001. In addition, chart figures for the City of Inglewood have also been augmented by City of Inglewood’s Annual Budget, Year 2000-2001.