Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 10

This week’s post will be the last one for our project. I hope you have enjoyed reading about the different places in the Greater Los Angeles Area. To conclude this ten-week project, I decided to write about the city of West Hollywood. This is a very unique city located in Los Angeles County, and within the city it is very diverse as well.

For the first part of my visit I spent it walking around the vicinity of the Beverly Center prior to entering the shopping mall. I walked around looking at the residential area, the stores, and I also had lunch at a nearby restaurant called “Nonna’s Empanadas,” where they sold a variety of empanadas with dozens of flavors ranging from salty to sweet, including flavors such as Blue Cheese, Kimchi and also Chocolate Dulce de Leche. I noticed that the streets were very clean, the buildings were a bit older but well maintained, nothing special stood out for me, and there were very limited street parking. As for the multitude, the people seem to gather closer to where the shopping center was located, once removed from the fast food franchise and chain stores, there were less pedestrians to be seen.

Afterwards, I walked to the Beverly Center for a quick stop. On my way there, the brief 2 block walk, I encountered 3 homeless people. It is always shocking for me to observe the proximity between the poor and the wealthy and how even though they are on the extremes of the socioeconomic ladder they coexist in the same area. As I walk through the entrance passing the valet service, I see the numerous luxury cars parked indicating the class level of the people shopping at the stores inside the Beverly Center. The first stores I see when I get off the elevator are Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabanna, Coach and others. Moreover, inside the mall people were dressed extremely well most of them wore high end brands. Through the stores people shop, the cars they drive, the brands they wear are all “floating signifiers” that when seen tell a certain story about the person as we learned in lecture. These are stories society uses in order to organize our reality, to be able to put people into groups and have an idea of their background. Of course, these “floating signifiers” tell a general story, a stereotypical reality that is not applicable to everyone, but they are the details we grasp to form a general impression of someone.  Most importantly, these “floating signifiers” have a changing story, in other words, what they mean today was not the same 40 years ago nor will it be the same 40 years from now.

One of the main “floating signifiers” we learned during lecture was race, a concept discussed by cultural theorist Stuart Hall. Since race is not a physical division among humans, nor is it a scientific proven fact, all race is a society implanted “floating signifier” to put humans into different groups. Another “floating signifier” we touched upon in lecture was the concept of gender since it is a characteristic with a story attached. However, according to feminist theorist Simone De Beauvoir, “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.” The idea that we are not born with a certain gender, but throughout our lives we decide what type of person we want to be. According to Judith Butler, “Gender is not an essence, it is performed.” This brings me to the second part of my trip to West Hollywood, which took part during my drive down Santa Monica Boulevard. The 2002 demographic analysis reported that 41% of the city's population is made up of gay or bisexual men. Driving on Santa Monica Boulevard, I definitely noticed many rainbow flags raised which represents the LGBT pride, and also there were more gay couple holding hands on the streets. I especially thought the lecture on gender being a “floating signifier” was very relevant to this week’s trip. The idea of two men or women walking down the streets holding hands and sharing kisses would not have been accepted a few decades ago. Back then the idea of being a man did not entail having a relationship with another man, but as time passes and history changes so does the meaning of being a man. Therefore, when we see two men together, as gender is a “floating signifier” and the story is socially constructed, we can automatically accept the notion that they are a couple and the concept of homosexuality. Perhaps, through different mannerisms, ways of dressings or other details, we are able to get an impression that would not have been the same in another generation. As the significance of being a woman has been able to evolve throughout history, allowing women to have more rights and votes, as well as the rights and acceptance of homosexuals, hopefully in the future these progressions can also be applied to race. It is certainly a more difficult obstacle to overcome, since the history of racial differences is very ingrained in society and it is also one of the most conspicuous human characteristics that enable society to differentiate people, we also need to be reminded that in reality race does not exist and we are all equal. As one of the most progressive cities in the world, I hope Los Angeles is able to conquer this barrier soon.

Joseph Gordon Levitt's take on Los Angeles

Today I came across this article shared by a friend of mine on Facebook, which was a link to Huffington Post reposting an article from Los Angeles Magazine titled, "Joseph Gordon-Levitt, LA's Local Boy, Talks Favorite Theaters, Freaking Out And Singing In The Car."
After reading it, I thought to share it on my blog because it pertained to the topics we talked about in lectures, and I thought it was interesting to have the perspective of a celebrity on Los Angeles. He briefly talks about the different neighborhoods in Los Angeles, from South Central to Silver Lake, he compares it to New York and he also mentions the changes the city would have seen if public transportation would have been better implemented. He does not go into depth about any issues, which makes this a light read about the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 9

This week’s post is in response to Mitch’s Week 2 post on his visit to Compton, CA.

Hi Mitch,

I was very intrigued by your post since I have never visited Compton myself; it was very interesting to read your experience. There were many aspects you mentioned that I thought could be tied into this week’s lecture on nature in the urban area. Like the blog post mentioned in the post, Compton is definitely considered “the hood” or “the ghetto” where people from lower income classes reside, not as well maintained neighborhoods and typically have higher crime rates. There tends to be less criteria and considerations for the urban planning of these types of neighborhoods, especially for “nature” or “green area” such as parks, courts, etc. In addition, these places have more factories or plants in the vicinity that are harmful to the health of the residents. In this case, it seems true of Compton since the person who was selling the T.V. had stated that he worked in one of the factories of the city. Despite these existing factories, there is no “nature” to counter the harm caused by them that allows residents to lead a healthy life. Majora Carter mentioned in her “Greening the Ghetto” TED talk that when the air is polluted and their surroundings are detrimental, no one wants to be outside, no one would take walks or runs, which in turn becomes a deleterious lifestyle. Additionally, these houses have limited green space, which the blog post described as little backyards. I assume these conditions do not encourage outdoor activities either.

Some may argue that the concept of “Going Green” is not necessarily a priority in these neighborhoods because the community has much more important issues to worry about. Or low income housing cannot afford to be green. However, in a couple of articles I read online that seems to be the contrary. In Planetizen an articlewas published titled “Greening the Ghetto,” which brings up the idea how low income housing can also be green. In fact, it is actually a concept that is being implemented. The article also includes a comment made by Jeffrey Richardson, Chief Executive of Imani Energy Inc, one of the few energy companies working with communities in South Los Angles, saying, “There's a tendency to not seek out communities like these. There's the idea that people here don't get it, don't want to get it and can't get it when it comes to green.” This also goes back to the idea that the culture is quite different in these neighborhoods, and the idea of “green” is not yet formally introduced. A resident of South Los Angeles said in an interview with Los Angeles Times for their “Green revolution comes to urbanneighborhoods” article that without exposure to green ideas and projects, she hasn't really paid much attention to becoming more eco-friendly. It is certain that it is not due to lack of motivation that greening projects were not implemented sooner. A hairdresser from South Los Angeles said in the same article, “I don't know too much about green, but I'm willing to try anything new." Perhaps if there were more projects on greening South Los Angeles, residents would have a better grasp of it. And it seems that is the direction community organizers are heading in, as they begin helping turn their often neglected neighborhoods into more sustainable places through broad volunteer greening efforts.

After reading these articles, I came to the realization that it is not the different culture within these communities preventing any past greening projects, but the assumption by corporations and urban planners that low income neighborhoods would not want these projects is what has been hindering them. In spite of having bail bond companies’ billboard instead of Gucci shades propaganda as described in the post, their socioeconomic and cultural difference should not be reasons for these neighborhoods to be neglected of environmental improvements in their communities. As Majora Carter said, “No community should be saddled with more environmental burdens and less environmental benefits than any other. Unfortunately, race and class are extremely reliable indicators as to where one might find the good stuff, like parks and trees, and where one might find the bad stuff, like power plants and waste facilities.” Therefore, many benefits can come from the implementation of these greening projects, which were mostly listed in Majora Carter’s TED talk. These projects would help a range of issues from allowing healthier residents’ lifestyle and improving children’s health to lowering crime rates and enabling the betterment of these neighborhoods.

 

 

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 8

This week’s blog post will be a response to Peter Do’s Week 4 post on the O.C. Orange County! (Not the Horrible TV Show) I thought it was an interesting comment about how Orange County is actually much more diversified than what people perceive. I do agree with that on a certain level, but I would not go as far as to say that there is only a small percentage of Caucasians in Orange County. I think that the O.C. is starting to become a bit more diversified; however, it is still very segregated. Discrimination is still very prevalent in this area; especially towards the African American population who make up less than 2% of the O.C. population.

 

In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times titled “Blackfamily flees O.C. city after tires slashed, racial taunts”, it was reported that an African American family was victim of hate crime in Orange County that they had to flee the area and move elsewhere. This reinforces the ideas presented in Massey’s and Denton’s article “The Continuing Causes of Segregation” that the isolation of the African American community is achieved through racist attitudes, private behavior and institutional practices.

Some theories argue the reason for segregation is because of the economic disadvantages presented in the African American community; however, it seems that when there are people who want to move up their socioeconomic status by moving into better neighborhoods and integrate, there are actions to discourage that. In this case, a family, whose father works as a police officer in Inglewood and the mother works at the Los Angeles County Sherriff, was victim of racism and hate crimes after moving to the O.C. in 2011. Therefore, despite their ability to afford a life in Orange County, the neighborhood was not accepting of it through hostility. Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times article reports the Orange County Human Relations Commission indicating the African American population as frequent target of racial discrimination in the area. Situations like this also disprove the idea of self-segregation, which is a theory that blacks only live in neighborhoods that are largely blacks inducing high levels of segregation. Some may argue that this is an exception since there are not many similar news reports, however, I think the reason is due to safety reasons, which is why this family decline to state their identity.

It is surprising to learn that these issues still occur in the present day, decades after Massey’s and Denton’s analysis and theories. Even though many circumstances are better, I am still surprised that this type of hate crimes would still occur in such a diverse place like the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. California though known to be a more liberal state, Orange County is definitely an exception and like Massey and Denton mention in their article, “…large majorities of whites agree that people should be free to live wherever they want to regardless of skin color, most would not vote for a community law to implement this principle, and most would not want to live in a neighborhood where more than a small percentage of the families were black.” In other words, in theory people are accepting of diverse neighborhoods, but in practice their choices are much different. This is an issue society needs to improve on in order to move forward, because American cities cannot remain segregated, especially with the diverse cultures in this country. Therefore, although Orange County is becoming more culturally diverse, this diversification is not including a growing African American population.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 7

This week’s trip was to visit a place I have never been before, and the destination I chose was Newport Beach in Orange County since one of my roommates is from there. The drive took about an hour from UCLA to Newport Beach, heading south on the 405. When driving off the freeway, the first view was the “Back Bay” as it is called by locals, allowing for quite a scenic view with the city is located right alongside the coast.

Newport Beach is definitely a more automobile oriented city, other than joggers there were not many pedestrians on the street. Driving through the neighborhoods did have a more suburban feel to it. My first impression was of the well maintained overall feel of the neighborhoods. They were situated in peaceful areas, with tall trees and had a bit more variation of houses than in my previous suburban trips. The houses seemed to all be at least two-story high, and most of them had a front or back yard or had a nearby park, which allowed for more natural space in the area.

There were also different types of communities; some of them were gated and private, while others were more family-oriented. The residential area I visited was setup in a manner that facilitated access to schools, churches, as well as stores such as Ralphs within walking distance. The gated communities definitely stood out as well, especially when driving by with their ostentatious gates and houses with much fancier décor. These details were indicators of it being an area for a more affluent demographic when compared to the cities I had previously visited.

Moreover, another detail that stood out to me was the Spanish words use to denominate streets. My curiosity led me to inquire my friend about me, and she informed me that it was due to the historical Spanish influence in that area. However, this is a changing phenomenon with the development of new neighborhoods and streets.

I also had the opportunity to visit other parts of Orange County to have a better understanding of the city. These places included Fashion Island, Balboa Board Walk and “El Ranchito” restaurant in Corona del Mar. These were more commercial areas, which allowed me to interact with the community. The first place we went was Fashion Island, a higher-end shopping center located in Newport Beach, which contained renowned brand name stores. I would describe it as a mélange between the “Westfield Century City Mall” and “the Grove.” I was informed that this shopping center has been constantly renovating and bringing in better known stores in order to maintain its high class status, which has definitely been achieved. Many people come from neighboring cities to this center, making this place more of a destination than a local mall. The Starbucks at this shopping center even offers Valet parking to its clients, and there were innumerable of Louis Vuitton bags that were counted, seem to establish the type of place it is.

Later on, we went to Balboa Boardwalk and took the ferry to the peninsula as well. We walked for about an hour, just observing the different houses and their unique holiday decorations. Most houses put in a lot of effort to maintain the boardwalk culture, while other houses serve as holiday rentals for people who want to live right by the water. There were many yachts parked in front of the houses, as it seems there is a big sailing and surfing culture in the area. I also noted that a large number of houses carried Trojan Flags, which as my friend informed me, is due to the large USC community. Afterward, we had dinner at “El Ranchito,” a Mexican restaurant in Corona del Mar. The restaurant was nicely decorated and had a homey atmosphere. After visiting these different places in the O.C., I certainly noticed the demographics, which consists of a majority of Caucasians and a high number of Asians as well. I noticed a lesser percentage of Hispanics, while African Americans were definitely only a select few. Due to the demographics and socioeconomic status of the region, Orange County is a very politically conservative place.

However, it seems that there is an increasing number of immigrants coming to the O.C. According to the Los Angeles Times’ article “O.C. center for refugees gets expansive new quarters,” St. Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center helps people from many countries adjust to life in the United States with diverse offerings that include marriage counseling and personal finances. This indicates that there are more people from different cultures arriving to the area and this could start changing some aspects of the Orange County community.

Furthermore, I do agree with the readings from Rob Kling, Spencer Olin, and Mark Poster, especially the section titled “Orange County as a Subject of Inquiry,” It talks about the future of Orange County and the direction it seems to be heading with a developing technological hub and the migration of other businesses to the area. This creates a different identity for Orange County as it is not solely a suburban rural area, yet it is not entirely urban either. This will be an interesting place for social scientists to analyze and further determine what will become of Orange County and we should definitely keep an eye out for it.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 6

Due to elections this week my blog will take a political focus, and I will be talking about my experience in District 39. District 39 is a congressional district comprises of parts of different neighborhoods including Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights, Hacienda Heights, La Habra, Buena Park, Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda, and Chino Hills. This district is located about 36 miles away from UCLA, heading eastbound. 

My experience with the 39^th Congressional District has been much more interactive than with my previous my trips throughout Los Angeles. I decided to volunteer for a congressional campaign in that district, in order to gain another perspective into suburban life in Southern California, as well as to have to opportunity to be on a campaign. Since my participation was so close to Election Day, my role consisted of knocking on registered voters’ doors to remind them to vote.

The neighborhood I was assigned to was in a nice area, I would say of average income as the houses all seemed to own 1 or more cars yet they were not necessarily luxury vehicles. The neighborhood seemed quite safe, even at night, to be walking around from house to house. This area is more family oriented, however, the families I encountered ranged in age and ethnicity as well. There were young families in the area, with newborns to toddlers, as well as grandparents with their grandchildren and retirees couples living there. 

The ethnic makeup from my personal encounters consisted of Asian, Caucasian and Hispanic households. Some of them were first generation immigrants, while others seemed to be second or third generation. The reason for this observation is due to the limited or lack of language skill in some households when answering the door or when trying to communicate with the volunteers. There also seem to be a correlation between ethnicity and political party affiliation, which brings me to one of the most interesting observations made, which is the existence of extreme political views within the same neighborhood. Some families would refuse to hear us out when we tried to provide them any type of information, while some others were polite when discussing opposing views. This neighborhood also seemed a bit more involved with local politics. The people were aware of their voting location and were willing to compare different policies and platforms prior to making any decision. 

Interactions with each household were slightly different than the other. I recall a lady who was very private about her political decisions that made sure to tell me that the vote is confidential. Some voters were receptive to the information we were providing, while some were firm on their stance and beliefs, even if some of the information seem to have come from negative advertising and was not entirely accurate.  

This congressional election was special and important to the 39^th Congressional District because due to their recent redistricting there had been an addition of neighborhoods, creating a even more politically contrasting district. Now the 39^th district encompasses liberals and conservatives that support opposing policies, which will make it difficult for an even representation.  This concept led me to realize how through decisions made through electing representatives and stands on proposition shape many of the policies that will be implemented, and that also influences the movements society experiences. From reading Neil Brenner’ and Nik Theodores’ article, “Cities and Geographies,” it downed on me that neoliberalism being urbanized is consequence of shifts in policies and societal views. Therefore, the choices we are making during elections have indirect consequences in geography, economy, policy, social issues and more. Therefore, it is critical to have an understanding of our choices as these are the actions that can change or influence the issues we study in class.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 5

This is a response to Patrick Soulages blog post on Brentwood. http://patricksoulagesblog2.blogspot.com/2012/10/week-2-brentwood.html

This was a very interesting post for me to read, as I thought to write about Brentwood myself, but instead opted for responding to someone’s thoughts on Brentwood. My experience in Brentwood differs from what you seem to talk about, although I do agree it is a more affluent neighborhood when compared to many other cities in Los Angeles. However, from my perspective and past outings to Brentwood, I find it more of a recent graduate haven or more the Westwood for recent graduates. It seems to be the city where most Bruins gather afterwards, and it is filled with people in their twenties and early thirties, giving it a very young vibe. In my opinion, Brentwood is a cleaned up version of Westwood in a sense. This is definitely not a generalization of Brentwood, but from what I have been able to observe.

Walking around the streets and even asking friends who currently live in that neighborhood, it seems that everyone nearby is around the same age group, yet they are benefitting from the real life experiences of affording better homes and a improved quality of life. There are also many distinctions from the life led in Westwood to the one in Brentwood. For example, grocery shopping in the Ralph’s located on Bundy Drive is an entirely different experience compared to the shopping experience at the Ralph’s in Westwood. Red cups and ping pong balls are no longer on display every aisle in the supermarket or hanged next to the beer. The streets are in much better conditions as well, no longer filled with trash all over the sidewalk or overflowing dumpsters with beer cans and pizza boxes. The apartments are also nicer, the buildings are kept in better shape and they are decorated with better style.

Moreover, overall the lifestyle chosen by the residence of Brentwood seem much healthier as well. I do not recall seeing many fast-food places near the area, and during the day I see many people jogging in the residential area.  I also went to their Sunday Farmer’s Market set up near an elementary school, and the street was filled with shoppers as many couples and young families arrived to purchase their weekly groceries. Many of these people were in gym clothes either coming or going to work out. These images made me feel that perhaps people in this area were more careful with their health than in other places, as these were not details that stood out in other places I have visited.

Having said all that, I also acknowledge that certain parts of Brentwood are definitely not affordable by recent graduates, such as the Brentwood Country Club where many celebrities are sighted coming in and out of. In addition, I do agree it is a zone where people move out to, especially when we consider the concentric circle discussed in lectures. If we consider Downtown LA, or Wilshire to be the center due to the locations of various world renowned companies as you mentioned, then Brentwood would be the zone where people moved on to when they rose in the socioeconomic status.  It is interesting to observe the great difference between cities in quality of life and neighborhood “status” even when they are located in such proximity that going from one street to another can be from a poor area to a wealthy one.

Brentwood is an interesting city to explore and I would say its demographic is a mixture of young adults and young families, while there are also many celebrities located in these areas as well. I enjoyed reading about your experience in Brentwood, which has made me curious to learn more about the other aspects of it and perhaps I will also visit the Brentwood Country Mart as well.

 

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 4

This week’s post will focus on the experience of taking the 720 metro bus. As a UCLA student without a car, I rely on public transportation to mobilize myself. I have taken the 720 various times whether heading towards Downtown Los Angeles or going to Santa Monica. Riding the 720 is in itself an interesting feat; the experience on this bus differs greatly from other bus experiences, such as riding the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus per se. The 720 takes you through Wilshire Boulevard for the most part, which is a boulevard that traverses various different neighborhoods enabling a greater understanding of the neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Due to the diverse neighborhoods the 720 drives through, it brings together a variety of people on this bus, which allows for the most fascinating people-watching.

The 720 metro rapid is usually red to distinguish from the orange local buses and it is usually a two-cart bus in order to transport more people. The interior of it is pretty standard; it has many seats facing all directions, TV screens, numerous large windows and a few sets of doors. Most of these buses are also a bit more ran down and many of them have tag marks throughout the bus. The neighborhoods included in the 720 bus route range from the upper-class shopping strip of Rodeo Drive to the ethnic community of Koreatown to the college-town like city of Westwood. On this bus ride, I was able to identify well maintained, high class neighborhood such as Beverly Hills, streets with Korean commercial signs in Koreatown, and also segments of Wilshire Boulevard where streets are dirtier, not as well maintained and the architecture does not describe high-end. It is intriguing to learn that on different ends of the same boulevard there are people from the extremes of the socio economic divisions and how the wealth of a city does not spill over to its not so well-off neighboring cities. My observation for this contrast is to go from the neighborhood of Beverly Hills with world-renown luxurious stores 2.2 miles east and find a 99 cents store. The proximity of these two types of stores amazes me because of the contrasting clientele they target.

As a result of the variety of destinations, the passengers on the bus also vary greatly. UCLA students can be seen taking the bus to go to their internships, jobs or even going home, uniformed workers are going to or from work, tourists take it due to their lack of other mode of transportation, elders are unable to drive or do not have cars who spend their days wandering from place to place and there is always the crazy or homeless person on the bus that nobody wants to be near.  Depending on where the bus is at a certain moment, the crowd starts to shift. For example, as the bus approaches Westwood, more students are seen on the bus. The metro buses also have a diverse ridership, therefore different languages are employed on the bus for the instructions, advertisements or shows aired on the TV screens.

The interaction among people on the bus is also noteworthy. Only in some few cases do people strike up a conversation with the random person near you and have a meaningful chat, otherwise when riding alone on the bus people tend to avoid eye contact and communication with other fellow bus riders. I also noted that there are a few people who I will call “bus locals” who are the frequent commuters that seem to ride at the same time and become acquainted with each other. They tend to see each other around and eventually become semi-friends. The example that comes to mind is of a group of Hispanic woman sitting sort of together and chatting about work (they seem to all work as cleaning ladies) and other superficial topics on the bus. Neither of them got on at the same time nor do they get off at the same time and their exchanges seem to be the basic small talk. As a result, although the bus is mobile, there is still a routine established within the bus, which enables the comparison of the bus to a neighborhood.

Riding the bus has a social stigma attached to it that is imbedded in society that the majority of the people who take the bus are not able to drive or do not have enough economic resources to have a car, because that’s the social standard; while only a small portion of bus riders do so to avoid driving long distances and worry about parking. In an article published recently by the Atlantic Cities from the Atlantic Company titled, “Race, Class, and the Stigma of Ridingthe Bus in America” the author goes much in depth about  the social connotations of bus-riding and the reasons for these beliefs. An interesting fact from the article states, “In Los Angeles, 92 percent of bus riders are people of color. Their annual median household income is $12,000.” Hence, riding the bus determines a certain socio-economic status and because most people seen on the bus are of color, all these characteristics become correlated. Conducting further research into the bus stigma, I came across titles such as public transport segregation or “loser cruiser,” “the poor man’s vehicle,” and various others. This reinforced my perception of the strong existence of this demeaning factor of taking the public transportation. The conversation below from the 2004 movie “Crash,” depicts that sentiment:

“Anthony: You have no idea why they put those great big windows on the sides of busses, do you?
Peter: Why?
Anthony: One reason only. To humiliate the people of color who are reduced to riding on 'em.”

Massey and Denton discuss about pervasive discrimination and the significance of race in “The Continuing Causes of Segregation.” Although their focus is on housing segregation, their analysis underscores the belief of an ethnic hierarchy, which is also created through the public transportation stigma. These types of discrimination can only further segregation, which will never concede to an integrated America.

Lastly, another point I wanted to make with regards to public transportation in Los Angeles is its mobility limitation. Ernest Burgess mentions movement and mobility in his article “Growth of the City,” in which he states that in order to have change in a place, there needs to be mobility, and mobility will most likely occur when there is movement. The reason is that only with movement, can there be opportunity for new experiences, and only with new experiences can there be stimulation, and with that comes change.  Consequently, it can be argued that public transportation hinders some group’s chances for progress. While the city expands, people who are able to mobilize themselves will benefit from the change and stimulation by receiving more opportunities; however, the communities limited by their mobility tend to fall behind. Therefore, in order for society to progress as a whole, everyone needs to advance together.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 3

This week’s trip was to Downtown Los Angeles and as one of the criteria for this project is to ride the bus, I decided to take the 720 Metro Bus headed towards Commerce. The bus stop is a bit of a walk from campus, which is located on the corner of Westwood and Wilshire. The waiting period was for about 15 minutes before the red express bus appeared. Once on the bus, the ride was fairly quick stopping mostly only at the major avenue intersections. Since it was earlier in the morning, it took me about an hour or so before arriving at my destination, which I thought was relatively fast compared to the often 2 hour rides to the same area. For next week’s blog post, I will further narrate about my bus experience on the 720 bus, as it is definitely an essential part to the Los Angeles experience.

 

 

Upon arriving to the Downtown Los Angeles area, I promptly got off at Los Angeles Ave and 6^th Street, in the Fashion District vicinity. Downtown Los Angeles is divided into various districts or sections in order to facilitate the location of stores, businesses or buildings and allow visitors to find what they need accordingly.  These areas include the Financial District, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, El Pueblo, Fashion District, Toy District, Jewelry District, and many others. The buildings located in this area are more run down, not maintained as well and its set up is very whole sale or intermediate sale oriented.  The quality of these buildings is incomparable to that of Beverly Hills, which can be immediately sensed once the bus started heading towards the east. The upkeep of the streets was not as well maintained either; trash could be found on the streets, tagging on walls, the smell of urine was strong and even the air felt more polluted. There was a shift in the type of cars that can be observed; although that is not to say there was only one type of cars in downtown, but there was an overall greater variety of car makes and state of the cars found here. Walking through these districts, I also recognized the cultural diversity present in Los Angeles. Other than the name of these cultural communities such as Chinatown or El Pueblo, there are also many restaurants and stores located throughout that have names in many different languages. 

 

 

For this blog’s purposes, I will focus on the Fashion District which is where I spent most of my time. A friend of mine had recommended buying clothes, shoes, makeup and accessories in this area, because the prices found in Downtown Los Angeles would be significantly lower than anywhere else. The interaction with the people here, especially the retail service experience, was much more different. If you are looking for excellent customer service and attentive salesmen, this is perhaps not the best place to go. The first thing I noticed was that many of these shops (that I went to) were owned by Hispanics or Koreans (not Asians, but Koreans.) However, regardless of their ethnicity, Spanish was still the best language to use during these transactions. From my experience, as long as Spanish was spoken, bargaining was much easier and they often gave you really low prices. The people observed walking through the streets differed greatly from the people one would see in Brentwood or around Westwood. The manner people were dressed, the language used and the way people behaved were indicative of a lower socioeconomic status.

Additionally, one of the most shocking memories from this trip is while walking down 6^th street, I turned at one of the intersections and I encountered numerous homeless people sitting row after row on the sidewalk. They were mostly African American in this group of people. This observation undermined the class and race segregation that Massey & Denton discuss in their book “American Apartheid.”

Having spent most of my day in the Fashion District and venturing out over to the Jewelry and Warehouse District, I believe this is the division of labor Emile Durkehim writes about in his article, “The Causes [of the Division of Labor].” This is where wholesale is made, and each of these stores/warehouses carries mass production of whatever product they were specializing in. These are the same products that make way to the department stores or shops throughout Los Angeles or anywhere else that then we purchase and become part of our quotidian life. This cycle can only function with Durkheim’s differentiation and division of labor, more so in a consumer based society where no one could lead a lifestyle owning all these products or doing all these activities without specialization.
 

Moreover, my experience in the Fashion District made me reflect on Friedrich Engels’ article “The Great Towns.” This is a place where many people do not frequent nor spend much time in because of its characteristics. It is not the safest place to walk around or the cleanest or even the most scenic, yet it is part of Los Angeles and I would say an important part as well since many products do go through the warehouses there. Like in Engels’ article on Manchester, this part of Los Angeles can definitely be avoided by taking the freeways and no one would ever have to see the state of these neighborhoods. I wouldn’t say the freeways were purposely constructed to hide these places, but they definitely allow drivers to skip through these parts of town. I thought this was something interesting to reflect on and to think about whether it was absolutely necessary for the residents of the Los Angeles to have to see these places.

 

Of course, Downtown Los Angeles is such a great area with so many topics to discuss that cannot be covered with one analysis or one blog.  This week’s post is merely an attempt to analyze section of Downtown Los Angeles to give contrast to the places I have visited and the places I want to go. With this said, anyone is welcome to provide suggestions in the comment box of cities/places in the Greater Los Angeles Area that would be interesting visiting.

 

Thank you for reading and lookout for next week’s post!

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 2

The adventures have started! This past week a friend and I drove east on the I-1o freeway and ventured out to the city of Rosemead, which is located 25 miles away from Westwood and about a 40 minute drive without traffic.

The first thing I noticed was the physical appearance of the place, and how it greatly differed from Westwood. The layout of the city consisted of boulevards with blocks of “mini-plazas” where stores were located and most of them were usually franchised stores. The suburban aspect of Rosemead was most noticeable when driving through the residential areas where many of the houses were each identical to the next. The lack of architectural variation was a detail that stood out to me, compared to Lima, Peru where I am from and even Westwood, the houses and stores did not vary in styles, colors, sizes, etc.  This distance between places was much more extensive as well, without a car going from one place to another was an inconvenience. As a result, there were not as many pedestrians, especially when compared to Westwood where many people walk to the stores and restaurants. In that respect, there was more of a car activity in this place and for the most part they were usually the average sedan or SUV.

Another striking aspect of Rosemead and its surrounding cities is the immediate acknowledgement of a large Asian and Hispanic community when driving through the boulevard, as many of the store signs are written either in Chinese, Vietnamese or Spanish. This observation was also reinforced when we went to the Montebello mall in the neighboring city, where many of the languages spoken were Spanish, Vietnamese or some variation of Chinese. By using Simply Map afterward, it confirmed my observation of the highly concentrated Asian and/or Hispanic community in Rosemead and it surrounding cities such as San Gabriel, Montebello, Alhambra, Arcadia, El Monte, and others.

Since my friend’s family is Chinese I had a greater exposure to the Asian culture of Rosemead. It was interesting to see that there was such a community outside of Los Angeles Chinatown, where I would think would be the center for the Asian community. However, it seems that if people wanted to have authentic Chinese food and a wide variety, these are the cities to go to. Even the supermarkets in these areas are tailored to the community, with products that were imported from Asia that would not be found at Ralphs or Vons in West LA. These cities in Los Angeles have been able to create a large community with people that share the same culture. And these places sort of become the replica of the community’s hometown in the United States. When speaking to my friends’ mother, she stated that although she left China a few years back, coming to the U.S. and living in this community did not feel too different at all. If she did not venture out of the 10 mile radius, it would not even feel that she was in a different country. Despite not speaking English, she has been able to easily adapt to life in the United States because there did not seem to have a need to learn English, when everyone in her surrounding spoke Chinese.  

This testimonial is not specific to Rosemead or Los Angeles; similar communities were generated throughout cities in the United States. In one of this week’s class reading, Ernest Burgess’s article “The Growth of the City,” he uses Chicago as an example and in that map it can be observed as well how the different communities are labeled. Burgess also mentions the idea of “centralized decentralization,” in which the focus of the Chicagoan life was no longer centered on downtown, but slowly moving towards the suburbia. He states that with all city expansions, it is the natural tendency for local communities to become a larger economic unit and these local communities will coalesce into sub-business areas. From my point of view, Los Angeles is already further along that process where there are already larger economic units formed and business zones, and Rosemead in this case, is one of these sub-business areas. The difference is that Los Angeles did not originally begin like Chicago with a concentric city lay-out. It began with different communities spread out in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. This also underscores Kling’s, Olin’s and Poster’s concept of multicentered metropolitan region from the article, “The Emergence of Post Suburbia,” where they state that through time instead of long commutes these areas will start to have centers of their own. As observed on my trip, this is the occurrence in the city of Rosemead and their neighboring cities where their business activity was no longer as dependent on the dominant business center in downtown Los Angeles, but they focused on their own city’s center. The focus could be in Rosemead itself, Monterey Park, Alhambra, Arcadia, San Gabriel, and the other neighboring places. This creates the multicentered metropolitan phenomenon in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 1

Hello everyone!

My name is Christina Chang, a fourth-year Political Science student at the University of California, Los Angeles. As a project for my “Geography 151: Cities and Social Difference” class, we have to keep a blog of our weekly excursions throughout the city of Los Angeles. As the focus of this class is on social difference in the city, these blog posts will consist of observations that illustrate the socio-cultural diversity as well as the physical differences found in the various urban areas in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Having grown up abroad, and being a student at UCLA, my knowledge of Los Angeles is limited to the places surrounding campus. Therefore, this course will enable me to step outside of my Westwood comfort zone each week to explore a new location in the Greater Los Angeles region. Hopefully, with this project I will be able to gain a greater insight into what makes this city so unique.

Without needing to have lived in this city for long, it is easy to identify that a main characteristic of Los Angeles is its diversity and with diversity comes social difference, a key role in the structuring and development any urban area. More importantly, through social difference we are able to garner a better understanding of the social inequality present in society. This course pushes us to go even further and asks, “What difference does difference make? Why should we care about social inequality?” I hope to answer these questions in this blog and further examine the influence social difference has had in the difference in people, architecture, socioeconomic status that seem to drastically vary from one area to another based on the geographical divisions. Is “The City is a mosaic of little worlds which touch but do not interpenetrate” like Robert E. Park put it? Or does this “difference” influence all of us?

These questions will unravel as the weeks progress, watch out for next week’s post!