A Los Angeles City Council member has proposed rebranding South LA under the moniker "SOLA."
Councilman Bernard Parks introduced a motion Tuesday to rename the neighborhood south of the 10 Freeway. Parks claims other communities have been reinvigorated by adopting more contemporary names.
Council President Herb Wesson said he wants to give the public time to comment on the idea before a vote is held on the proposal. A neighborhood committee will now look into the idea.
However people in the area did not seem particularly impressed with the idea, and there are fears it could be an attempt to gentrify the area, which could lead to it becoming too expensive for current locals.
"I think it is just trying to make (the area) more attractive to people," resident Roshni Mejia said, "It's interesting but I think it is always going to be South LA."
It will not be the first attempt at using a name change to rejuvenate the area however, for back in 2003 the City Council change it from South Central Los Angeles to South Los Angeles, an attempt to distance it from associations with riots and crime.
