How a Community of Architects Is Helping Altadena Rebuild and Protect Its Culture
As the devastating Eaton wildfire tore through parts of Altadena and damaged homes, it also threatened to erase generations of Black homeownership, legacy, and pride rooted in the unincorporated Los Angeles County community.
'There [are] a lot of legacy homeowners who have lived here since the '40s, '50s, '60s. These homes are their primary source of wealth and identity,' said Matthew Trotter, architect and president of the Southern California chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCal NOMA). 'These aren't just properties. These are people's histories. These are people's memories.'
In response to the devastating fires, Trotter and local architects, advocates, and designers came together to form the Altadena Rebuild Coalition to make it easier for more families to return to the area and preserve its historic charm and culture.
'We realized that if we didn't get involved, a lot of these homeowners wouldn't come back, and that would completely shift the demographics and character of the neighborhood,' Trotter said.
Many of the volunteers share a connection to the community and want to make sure Altadena wildfire survivors, facing steep rebuild costs and limited support, have access to their fair share of resources.
'Many of our legacy architects and high-ranking members lost their homes,' Trotter said. 'Many of them are from Altadena, so it was actually very personal for us, on top of an opportunity to advocate for communities of color.'
Altadena's significance for African Americans dates back to the Jim Crow era, when Black families faced redlining in Los Angeles and needed a place of refuge. It became a center of resilience and freedom where they could build their lives, homes, and legacies.
'That's why NOMA is doing what it's doing through the Altadena Rebuild Coalition. That's why a lot of organizations are doing what they're doing,' Trotter said. 'We give the residents a fighting chance to go back home and to build stronger and to build better.'
The coalition began by hosting community events focused not on architecture, but on healing.
'The first thing that we did was just gather information and create space for this community to weep, to cry, to sing,' Trotter said. 'It was all about providing food, providing a space where they can talk, get some things off their chest.'
As the community began to process the loss, the coalition shifted its focus to educating the community about fire resistance and the rebuilding process.
'Our main goal is to create awareness and increase the residents' knowledge,' Trotter said. 'Connecting them with people that can support them... builders talking about the construction process, architects talking about the design process, approval process.'
According to a recent report from UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, more than half of the homes lost in the Eaton Fire belonged to Black families, despite Black residents making up less than 30% of Altadena's population. Homeownership among Black residents in Altadena is 81%, nearly double the national average.
'Generations of Black families and people of color who have created an incredible cultural impact on Los Angeles have come from Altadena,' Trotter said. 'We're trying to make sure this isn't just another example of a Black community getting erased because systems weren't set up to support them.'
Many of Altadena's longtime residents are elders, and helping them navigate recovery and keep the properties they hoped to pass on to their families is a key part of the coalition's mission.
'We've been working with a lot of churches in Altadena and just showing up,' to answer questions, Trotter said.
The outreach has been effective because older homeowners take comfort in knowing that the group not only understands what they are going through on the surface, but also the hidden concerns and nuances that are part of the recovery process.
'They're seeing architects that look like them, that come from their culture, and so that's really been helpful for them,' Trotter said.
Building on that shared experience and trust has been crucial in supporting homeowners who are overwhelmed and are feeling financial pressures to sell.
'There's a lot of fear,' Trotter said. 'Not only did I lose my home, but now there's all these people coming to us out of the woodworks, and they're telling me that they want to help me, but I don't know if they're actually trying to help me,' he said, echoing concerns from residents.
Trotter said the goal is to help families rebuild, but he also acknowledges that some will inevitably sell because the mountains of paperwork, increasing cost, and the stress of it all may not be worth the time and trouble in their personal situation.
'We can't frown upon someone doing what they think needs to be done for the sake of their family,' he said. 'If a family needs to sell... we need to be able to have empathy and hold space for that, no matter how much you may want Altadena to look the same way that you remembered it when you were growing up.'
As part of the coalition's program, residents receive a customized 'property package' containing aerial images of their home, zoning data, and a record of past permits. These packages have served multiple purposes for residents, helping them fill out right-of-entry forms, providing documentation for insurance claims and starting the design process for their rebuilds.
The coalition is currently assisting 200 families with their recovery and reviewing the packets in phone calls to explain their options.
Residents can choose to hire one of the volunteer architects to design their rebuild, relocate using their insurance payout, or take their packet and knowledge to hire someone else.
The coalition also offers a directory of architects and designers.
Trotter stressed that the goal is to empower residents with the knowledge they need to hire the right person for them.
'We encourage the homeowners to not have anybody bully them into doing anything that they want to do,' Trotter said.
They've also been working with city and county officials to streamline design approvals as a way to speed up rebuilding and reduce costs, and have been fielding interest from outside groups wanting to connect with Altadena homeowners.
'There are many philanthropic organizations that have been reaching out to us... There have been some conversations about land banking or land trusts in a way to support people who may want to sell,' he said.
But Trotter said he meets all these groups with a level of caution, fueled by the residents' fear that real estate firms or outsiders may try to 'gobble up what they once knew to be their neighborhood.'
He said any group he works with or presents to the community of wildfire survivors must respect Altadena's architectural and cultural history, as well as the community's yearning to simply return home.
'We do our best to do our due diligence... we always ask, like, can you do this at a discounted rate? Are you going to be volunteering and helping out in advance to help these individuals, who are residents, get back up on their feet?' Trotter said. 'We're not trying to gatekeep. We're trying to guide people who want to help to do it in a way that supports the residents here.'
Even with its emphasis on protecting Black ownership and wealth in the area, the coalition offers its services to every family affected by the fire, regardless of background.
'The majority of Altadena, white and Black, and everyone in between, is interested in going back home. That's the desire of their heart,' Trotter said.
Trotter said the multicultural participation in the coalition's meetings and programs reflects his group's mission to preserve Altadena's enduring sense of unity and the community's pride in its history and diverse heritage.
'What's powerful is that these residents, they're real neighbors, and they love each other, and they support each other, and they've got each other's backs,' Trotter said. 'It's not necessarily about making it all Black. It's not about making it all white. It's about returning to what makes Altadena so specifically abundant in diversity.'
Visit the Altadena Rebuild Coalition page on the SoCal NOMA website or contact the coalition for support or outreach by emailing altadena@socalnoma.org.
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