by nate on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 | Attraction, Entertainment, Inspiration, Places to Visit, Travel, Weird

I used to live in L.A. and so many people are talking about this scary “gangster” areas around L.A. Not so many people have visited these area due to their crime records, I did *work-purpose. However, this economic recession seems to have a positive side on LA tourism by adding a new route:

L.A. GANGS TOUR

Thanks to the a group of civic activist that is preparing to offer bus tours of some of the grittiest pockets of the city, which will profit back into the community.

After a VIP preview last weekend, L.A. Gang Tours expects to open to the public in January, giving tourists a look at the cradle of the nation’s gang culture – the birthplace of many of the city’s gangs, including Crips and Bloods, Florencia 13 and 18th Street.

The L.A. tour comes after months of planning, and is offered in a spirit of education and public service. Lomas, who will lead tours at first, plans to talk about important chapters in the development of the city’s core, such as how racist housing restrictions shaped ethnic enclaves and the formation of gangs.

Other aspects may raise eyebrows. Selling shirts painted on the spot by a graffiti “tagger” is one thing. But one backer said he also hopes to stage dance-offs between locals; tourists would pick a winner and fork over a cash prize. It wasn’t long ago that organizers decided against a plan to have kids shoot tourists with water pistols, followed by the sale of T-shirts that read: “I Got Shot in South-Central.”

“It’s going to be fascinating — but really controversial,” said Francisco Ortega, a field staffer with the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission and a respected mediator and neighborhood advisor in South L.A. Ortega said there could be great value in “sensitizing people, connecting them to the reality of what’s on the ground.”

“But the other side is that it could come across like a zoo or something,” Ortega said. “You’re being carted about: ‘Look at that cholo over there!’ It could be perceived as demeaning for the people who are living in these conditions. I don’t know how they’re going to manage those perceptions.”

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Tags: bus tour, downtown L.A., gangster, L.a. tour, Los angeles city tour, places to go in L.A., safe passage, South L.A., traveling in L.A.