About us.
Million Dollar Hoods maps and documents the human and fiscal costs of mass incarceration in Los Angeles and beyond. Launched in September 2016, the Million Dollar Hoods website, began by hosting digital maps that show how much is spent per neighborhood on incarceration in Los Angeles County. In just over two years, MDH has emerged as a university-based, community-driven, mixed-methods research project that deploys not only data mapping, but also rapid-response reports, oral histories, archives, and policy/movement work with two clear goals: to document and map how much mass incarceration has extracted from largely Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and working-class communities since the 1970s, and to help local advocates and activists secure new public investments in the people, families, and communities most impacted by local police and incarceration practices.
Our Values
Million Dollar Hoods believes in centering the voices of those directly impacted by policing and incarceration and producing research in response to community identified needs.
Our Vision
Million Dollar Hoods aims to become a California staple for community-driven, university-based research on policing and incarceration.
Our Objectives
- Respond to community calls for research on mass incarceration.
- Build community and student capacity to understand and conduct research related to mass incarceration.
- Contribute to community driven policy efforts around decarceration
