FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012
Week 3 Blog Response
Week 3 Blog Post
This week for my blog I will be taking a look at Kel Komuro’s trip to Downtown Los Angeles. He posted his exploration to this district last week and touched on some very interesting points while applying concepts we learned in the reading “The Emergence of Postsuburbia: An Introduction” written by Kling,Olin, and Poster. In specific, he thoroughly assesses how the Downtown area exemplifies post suburban spatial organization and appears to be a metropolitan hub for Los Angeles County.
Komuro starts his blog by quoting how downtown is “organized around many distinct, specialized centers rather than a traditional city center surrounded by industrial and residential areas.” I really enjoyed how he clarified this because the spatial organization of Downtown Los Angeles is something that really differentiates L.A. from other cities in America. Chicago for instance contradicts this city layout in the sense that it has very distinct zoning starting with a traditional city center, followed by an industrial zone then panning out into what will eventually end in nice residential suburbs on the outskirts of the city. He then follows’ up on his point by showing pictures of the multiple buildings that could be confused or misunderstood as the “center” of the city. His understanding of downtown’s spatial organization, as well as mine, is best summed up from this quote from our reading “the result of complex and weakly coordinated sets of conscious decisions by private entrepreneurs and many politicians who reflect their interests.” ”This quote from the reading enlightened me on the strong effect private entrepreneurs can have on city planning. To build on what Komuro had started to point out, it seems that what happened to Downtown Los Angeles was the beginning of the post-suburban spatial organization. As the reading stated, people from Downtown Los Angeles were the first to infiltrate and develop what is now Orange County. Orange County’s urban planning is a hallmark example for the influence private entrepreneurs can have on a city’s spatial organization.
The next thing he points out in his blog is the stark difference in the people that hang around Downtown Los Angeles during the day. In specific he emphasized the contrast between these corporate businessmen working inside these skyscrapers and the service men who do all of the maintenance as well as the vast amount of homeless people walking the streets. Every time I have been to downtown I have also noticed a group of very wealthy and very poor people making their “space” in the same “place.” We both agree that this reflects the capitalistic nature of cities.
Next he talks of the consumer culture seen in downtown Los Angeles. He put up some pictures showing the streets full of different places for one to spend their money at. Anything from Jeweler shops to McDonalds as well as multiple forms of advertisements all around. The fact that downtown has so much to offer for the consumer leads him to his next point about how it is a cosmopolitan area. This part of Los Angeles is very dense with a lot of people trying to make a living from all different walks of life. Some of the billboards were written in Korean, Japanese, and Thailand. Clearly, there are multiple cultures in the area and each lifestyle needs to be satisfied thus filling a specialized niche. The effect’s of globalization can be embodied in the multi-cultural society of downtown L.A.
Despite the fact that downtown has so many influences on its culture, Kumuro reports how things did no interpenetrate which I found to be very interesting. He reported how things can be so different and so close to each other yet still maintain a clear level of separation. This aspect of downtown L.A embodies that unique way people fit together functionally in a city.
P.S. Here is the link to the blog I was responding to.
http://kkomuro1005.blogspot.com/
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012
Week 2: Brentwood
For my first adventure in the city I chose to go to check out Brentwood. Sitting just 3.4 miles away from my apartment in Westwood, Brentwood is an affluent residential neighborhood in between Wilshire and Sunset Boulevard. I traveled by car so it only took me 10 minutes to get to my final location, which was the Brentwood Country Market.
This location is the local watering hole for most Brentwood residents, offering a variety of fine eateries and quant corner stores. As I pulled into the lot of the market I was immediately flagged down by a man trying to valet my car, I was quick to refuse considering I did not want to tip him. As I parked I slipped in between a Mercedes and a Porsche; common sights to see in this part of Los Angeles. As I entered the courtyard multiple restaurants began to pop up. Anywhere from Mexican to Italian food, this place had it all; there was not one meal or restaurant that could really represent Brentwood though. It was rather the overpriced item’s on the menu that really reminded me as to what part of L.A I was in. I eventually decided to eat at the Mexican Restaurant and settled for a twelve-dollar chicken tostada. The meal was clean, healthy, and fresh but like I said earlier it is far to expensive for what you got. When looking around at the people eating lunch I noticed that almost everyone was dressed up in very new and stylish clothing. The locals seemed to be either in a full suit for work or they were sporting the posh Lululemon athletic clothing. Despite that fact each restaurant shared picnic table style seating, no one was really engaged into each other. Everyone seemed to be fully engulfed in whatever piece of technology they had just purchased.
After my lunch I decided to take a drive down San Vincente Boulevard. On the way down I passed by Brentwood Country Club, a very established and well-recognized golf course. The entrance of the club radiated with prestige and elitism. The street signs were very nice looking, and some of the architecture reminded me of the east coast. As I drove through the suburbs, the very traditional houses and street corner’s reminded me of how much history Los Angeles has. When assessing what zone Brentwood would classify as, through the perspective of our recent reading from City Reader, it seemed to be a mix between the 3rd and 4th zone. Considering it is located right off of Wilshire Boulevard, a road that boasts some of the wealthiest companies in the world, I would classify Brentwood to partially be a zone of the “workingmen’s” homes. The workingman is only able to live there due to the nature of the work that is so close. This area is mostly a residential zone(4) where very wealthy families reside due to the fact that it is very safe, has great schools near by, and it is very close to the ocean. In 2009 the Los Angeles times reported that the median income for a resident of Brentwood is $112,927.
Overall I had a good time exploring Brentwood. It is a very clean nice area that is close to Westwood yet very different. Despite the occasional yoga yuppies and exclusive/snobby nature of the area I found that it fits in very nicely to the social fabric of Los Angeles. It embodies the Los Angeles glamour and class that so many people associate this city with. I am excited to explore another part of Los Angeles next week that will contrast my recent experiences.
P.S. If anyone is interested in visiting or learning more about the Brentwood Country Market I would recommend it highly. If you commit to spending a few extra bucks one day it is a cool place to try new food and to shop. I really enjoyed the lay out of the Market. The following link goes into the history of The Brentwood Market. http://www.brentwoodcountrymart.com/history/
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I recently began the decent of one of my favorite hikes off of Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades, one that offer’s a panoramic view of the skyscrapers in Downtown LA to the waves crashing at County Line. Bordered with mountain ranges and ocean view’s Los Angeles has to be one of the more geographically fortunate cities, yet before this assignment I never cared to wonder who makes this wonderful ‘space’ their own ‘place’.
With this new challenge to explore the vast and diverse city of Los Angeles I am excited to gain a well-rounded perspective on each different subculture that populates Los Angeles County. I am going to spend the next 10 weeks exploring different districts in Los Angeles by using public transportation, a car, and walking. When exploring these new areas I plan on fully submerging myself into the new culture of the area in attempt to assess how different a place can be if it is not separated by much space. In order to thoroughly evaluate the culture of each subdivision of Los Angeles I plan on talking to stranger’s on the street, going to a restaurant, and visiting the town’s main attraction. I will also be including articles of multi-media in my blog posts.
During these next 10 Weeks of adventuring I plan on keeping a crucial approach to my research, which is one that ties into class. I am going to try to understand the urban fabric of Los Angeles by evaluating the role each sub-culture has in making up this city. When reflecting on my trips I will take a somewhat sociological approach when comparing different parts of Los Angeles. I am very curious to see and read about each cities local school, social economic status, and the resident’s employment. I will also take class, race, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity into consideration. Ultimately I plan to fully understand what it takes for a place to be defined as a city as well as try to understand the specialized lives’ that come with living in a city. Towards the end of my research I plan to understand social opportunities given to individuals in each different community and see how different the resident’s lives are from one another. When looking at these differences I will see how they all fit together in an urban setting and ultimately how they are or are not functional. With this knowledge I will be able to better understand cities and the social differences found within them. In the end I will be able to hypothesize how functional the final product of a “city” is.
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