This dissertation research is an urban ethnography of how competing racial-ethnic and class groups and individuals make meaning for themselves in the context of gentrification and redevelopment in DTLA (downtown Los Angeles). The 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, alongside the Bringing Back Broadway (BBB) redevelopment initiative, has bestrewed DTLA with loft conversion and development. Specifically in the Historic Core neighborhood, gentrification has produced a site of racial and class polarities (Soja 1995) given the neighborhood's adjacency to Skid Row. The Historic Core is populated by a majority-white group of loft residents who are also pet owners, indigenous Skid Row residents, and old-timer Latino/a businesses. This study asks: how do polarities in racial and class composition of residents and local businesses converge within neighborhood affairs, problems and conflicts given recent redevelopment and gentrification? Over a three-year period (2010-2013), data collection included participant observation as researcher and resident, 36 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of mixed media data and artifacts. White nostalgic redevelopment theorizes the attempt of redevelopment supporters to whiten and restore DTLA to a zenith-era of upscale name-brand shopping and mainstream entertainment, much like at the turn of the 20th century. I find that domineering mechanisms of socio-racial microaggressions, the homeless control complex, and nostalgic narratives are employed by redevelopment supporters to control subordinate racial and class groups who are blamed for neighborhood decadence. This analysis is revealed in the examination of DTLA loft living culture, discussions about pets as a register of neighborhood inequalities, and the dissolution and evolution of old-timer Latino/a businesses.