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The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) is a longitudinal study of families in Los Angeles County, California, and of the neighborhoods in which they live.

Research suggests that safe, supportive neighborhoods are important for children, teens, and adults. But what makes a neighborhood a positive place to live? We are trying to answer this question by comparing the lives of children and adults in a broad range of neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County.

The L.A.FANS focuses on:

  • Neighborhood, family, and peer effects on children's development
  • Effects of welfare reform at the neighborhood level
  • Residential mobility and neighborhood change

The first wave of the L.A.FANS was fielded between 2000 and 2001. Fieldwork for Wave 2 of L.A.FANS was conducted between 2006 and 2008. Public Use Data and four versions of Restricted Data are now distributed by the Data Sharing for Demographic Research Project (DSDR) at the University of Michigan. See the comparison table to decide which version is right for you.

Questionnaires are available on this website: Wave 1 and Wave 2.

Also available are L.A.FANS documentation reports and publications.