Grace Woods

Kindergarten and first grade students from Para Los Niños – Gratts Primary Center—located just west of the 110 freeway—parade around their school wearing "superhero capes" created as a "symbolic representation of their super strength."

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — While Downtown's residential boom was built around the image of the young, single professional, the central city is increasingly becoming a place for children.

Several hundred youngsters will gather at Grand Hope Park this evening for the Downtown Center BID's fourth annual Halloween party, and the group's recent demographic study showed that more than 18 percent of Downtown residents either have kids at home or plan to start a family soon.

Urban living can be tough with children, however, and on Thursday evening, a group of neighborhood churches will host a town hall meeting for Downtown parents interested in learning more about nearby school options and how they can get involved in shaping the neighborhood's kid-friendly future.

While the event will take place at Union Church in Little Tokyo, Rev. Dennis Kang of City Light Church tells blogdowntown the evening will have no particular religious bent.

“We’ve seen a growing number of families moving out of Downtown because of the perceived or real lack of schooling options," says Kang. "We hope the Town Hall will be an excellent place for parents to come together to get information and share their concerns for the future of Downtown families.”

Representatives from several nearby elementary schools will be on hand, including principals from Castelar Elementary in Chinatown, Solano Elementary in Solano Canyon, and Para Los Niños Charter Elementary in the Arts District.

The town hall takes place at 7pm on Thursday, November 3. Union Church is located at 401 E. 3rd Street. Also sponsoring the event are New City Church, City Light Church, Live Church LA and Sovereign Grace.