Pacoima is a neighborhood in the northeastern San Fernando Valley, within the city of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California. With a population of roughly 70,000, it is one of the Valley's older and more densely settled communities, carrying a history and cultural identity that distinguish it from the region's newer suburban tracts. The neighborhood's roots run deep. Pacoima developed as one of the earliest communities in the northern Valley, and over the decades it became a landing place for successive waves of newcomers. In the post-World War II era, African Americans arriving during the second Great Migration settled in Pacoima after being excluded from other neighborhoods by discriminatory housing covenants, making it a center of Black life in the Valley at mid-century. Later waves of immigration shaped the area's present-day identity as a predominantly Latino community, and this layered history is reflected in the neighborhood's cultural life today. Pacoima's best-known feature is its Mural Mile, a stretch of Van Nuys Boulevard designated for its more than fifty murals, which celebrate the community's diverse cultures and histories. Van Nuys Boulevard itself functions as the neighborhood's main commercial spine, lined with markets, small businesses, and restaurants. The neighborhood is bordered by Mission Hills, Arleta, Sun Valley, Lake View Terrace, and the city of San Fernando. Transportation is a defining physical feature of Pacoima. The neighborhood is ringed on several sides by elevated freeways and crossed by an active Metrolink and freight rail line, placing it at the convergence of the Valley's infrastructure. Public schools fall under the Los Angeles Unified School District, with several campuses located within the neighborhood. For those seeking an established, culturally rich community within the city of Los Angeles, Pacoima offers both deep roots and central Valley location.