The dynamics of immigration and local governance in Santa Ana: Neighborhood activism, overcrowding, and land-use policy

This article examines the City of Santa Ana's responses to a changing urban landscape. We explore how the rapid growth of the immigrant neighborhoods called into question traditional ways of municipal governance and city planning. We pay special attention to how the local government used land-use policy to promote urban revitalization and bring substandard housing up to code. Initially the urban policy choices fueled neighborhood-based protest and exacerbated racial and class tensions throughout the city; however, more recently the neighborhood activism has created a space for government reform.