Over a 25 year period, residents of the El Sereno community in Los Angeles have opposed efforts of investors seeking to build luxury homes on the area known as Elephant Hill. After years of community organizing—canvassing door to door, developing a broad-based coalition and mobilizing supporters to attend public hearings—residents declared victory after the City Council agreed to settle a lawsuit with the developers by buying the 20-acre site for $6 million to create a future park. Residents are glad that a chunk of one of Los Angeles' last undeveloped hillsides will remain open space in this park poor, working-class Latino community. Opposition efforts reignited in 2004 not only to preserve open space, but also to encourage public safety and counter threats to gentrification. Elva Yañez, the El Sereno resident who led the most recent efforts to preserve Elephant Hill, hailed the settlement as a victory for environmental justice: "After a long and hard fought struggle, the residents of this community have been afforded the environmental protections that are rightfully theirs. We are pleased that this poorly planned project is not moving forward and environmental justice has prevailed." [Contreras & Sanchez, 2009; Yañez, personal communication, 2010
