For this week, I commented on a post by a fellow classmate Tony. Here is the url to his blog
http://afigueroageography151.blogspot.com/2012/10/social-difference-in-l.html
Enjoy!
"Great article Tony about Koreatown, I am a big fan of going there too and love eating the food like you did when there.
My response focuses on the collectiveness of the businesses in the area, as I am seeing others in the class are discussing as well. What intrigues me about the collection of businesses is the motive, as I wonder what lead to the grouping, especially in regards to the New York Times article on insurance red lining in LA neighborhoods. You discuss that the companies band together to form a united community, but what about the purely economic side of it?
As Koreatown saw some of its largest growth in the late 80s and 90s, the main stop for many immigrants was that area as your friend speaks about. They were looking for a safe neighborhood to start in and get their feet on the ground. So with the Rodney King riots of the early 90s, a lot of this came at risk possibly for shop owners so close to the fray. A united community that works together to guarantee insurance for themselves, seems like a logical thing for them to continue to do. I'm not sure what the answer is, or if this why they continued to partner together, but something interesting I think to consider.
At the end of the day, people do want a sense of community, but more importantly they want to be economically viable. A small mom and pop shop in Ktown might see the benefit of working with other shops to keep low rent, insurance, and customers together. Clearly something is going right as they are doing well, curious to know if its because of keeping the insurance in high risk areas though.
Thanks for the post, very interesting to read!
-Nick Rojas"
Friday, October 26, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 2
For this week, I took the readings "The Growth of the City" by Ernest W. Burgess and "The Emergence of Postsuburbia" by Kling, Olin, and Poster as my foundation to examine the city of Pasadena and more specifically the area around the Rose Bowl, to provide some insight into how the landmark affects the city and region as a whole. First, I will be summarizing some relevant parts of the different articles and then overlaying them with my experience in Pasadena to draw a connection between the theories and what is experience on the ground.
The Burgess article deals with the physical expansion of the city, how that takes place, and what that means in terms of mobility for a population and individual. I focused more on the earlier section, describing the layout of a city that was seen by Burgess in 1926. He uses Chicago as his main example (he was a professor at the University of Chicago) for how the American city has developed, first identifying that the city is not defined purely by its official borders anymore, that instead it bleeds out into "the metropolitan area of the city" which includes "satellite" communities that are still affected by the larger city center. People come in and out the city everyday, some further than others. The city itself though, is zoned into different rings that he describes with various people living and working in each.
This "concentric zone model" as it is widely known now is the basis for how cities have been thought to be set up and aspire to. There is a Central Business District (CBD) in the middle with major financial operations, other business, culture, arts, sports, and entertainment. This is circled by industry and sometimes ghettos and slums of the urban poor that make up the factory ring and zone of transition. This area is often inhabited by immigrants and the working poor that take jobs requiring low skill. As you move out, the zones become gradually wealthier and stabler with residents that are better educated, more mobile, and less inclined to "vice".
Below is an illustration of the zone model
source:http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0napoHGhB1rrnij4o1_1280.jpg
Los Angeles was and still is remotely based off this model, with central downtown being that middle point, the working poor and ethnic neighborhoods surrounding like Skid Row, Chinatown, Japan town, the City of Vernon, Little Ethiopia, Korea town, and more. Further out you find working and middle class neighborhoods till you hit other neighborhoods and cities like Pasadena, a wealthy area of residents who mostly commute to work. The question has to be asked then, how does the Rose Bowl (unlike the Coliseum in Downtown LA) function as a major center of sports that attracts anywhere from 60,000-90,000 people every week or so for 3 months in the middle of a residential neighborhood?
The answer is not a clear or easy one, further insight can be brought in though from the Kling, Olin, and Poster article, which discusses the growth and urbanization of nearby Orange COunty. This area which was mostly a "bedroom community" quickly became urban and has more jobs in the county than beds now, a complete reversal of an area that was meant to serve as a satellite community for the wealthy to commute into L.A. Pasadena, while not in this exact position, is part of L.A. that too is more of a polycentric model with mixings of people all across the city, although tradition ethnic neighborhoods definitely still exist.
Observing the relationship of the Rose Bowl to the local community by driving around the streets and neighborhood was incredibly interesting. As a resident who might want to run an errand or move around the local freeways in a car, it becomes extremely difficult with so many people moving around. Roads are blocked off that require special ID access and verification of residence. Thousands of cars fill up the streets bringing noise and pollution to a relatively quiet community. This is not to mention the type of coming to the area. Most people coming to a football game are not doing so quietly as honking for teams, cheering, and music can be heard all around the streets and in the arroyo surrounding the Rose Bowl. They are eating and drinking, often times for a very long period of time, while hanging out with friends new and old. They come from all over Los Angeles and the nation to watch the game, bringing in people of varying age, race, and economic class than is found in white upper middle class Pasadena. Police are there escorting cars through the streets, in addition to high school age and older kids wearing vests who direct traffic, knowing no more about it than I would if I got out of my car. It makes for an extremely eclectic group of people all together in this area that is usually so homogenous.
In case you wonder what a section of a stadium that is currently holding 70,000+ people looks like, see below.
What makes the whole situation more interesting, especially in light of the Burgess reading, is that while Pasadena has that strong WASP idea and image, just a mile or so east of the 210 freeway that runs next to the Rose Bowl and a bit north of Old Pasadena is the neighborhood of Altadena that I went into to grab gas. Looking at it blindly, you would think you went into Inglewood or something. The types of businesses change, the housing architecture and size, and even the people look different to put it bluntly. It is a reminder that while the L.A. area might look to be your traditional city with a downtown, it quickly diverts from the concentric zone model that Burgess describes in early 20th century Chicago. It is another example of how cities and regions are no longer being defined by old principles or dictations.
*Updated 12/8/12*
Continuing on the theme of social clash between the Rose Bowl and the people of Pasadena, a few weeks ago, Pasadena city officials moved forward with a plan that could allow the NFL to move a team to the city to play while a downtown stadium is constructed. After a 5 hour debate on the issue, the city council voted to allow more large events to be housed at the venue, essentially opening up the possibility of the another football team to play there. The main reason for this move is the need to meet a $30 million budget gap the city has on the new Rose Bowl renovations taking place. Because this would be a temporary move, the hope is that it will last long enough to help pay for the renovations and then move on to the new stadium.
Many residents and residential groups are opposing this move as it will bring even more traffic on the weekends, sometimes shutting down streets and nearby recreational services for a whole weekend if there are both Saturday and Sunday games scheduled. It's a great example of how individual interests and community interests are not always the same, there is no single idea of what is best for city, even in a smaller and homogenous one like Pasadena.
The article can be found here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/rose-bowl-neighbors-threaten-lawsuit-over-nfl-plans.html
The Burgess article deals with the physical expansion of the city, how that takes place, and what that means in terms of mobility for a population and individual. I focused more on the earlier section, describing the layout of a city that was seen by Burgess in 1926. He uses Chicago as his main example (he was a professor at the University of Chicago) for how the American city has developed, first identifying that the city is not defined purely by its official borders anymore, that instead it bleeds out into "the metropolitan area of the city" which includes "satellite" communities that are still affected by the larger city center. People come in and out the city everyday, some further than others. The city itself though, is zoned into different rings that he describes with various people living and working in each.
This "concentric zone model" as it is widely known now is the basis for how cities have been thought to be set up and aspire to. There is a Central Business District (CBD) in the middle with major financial operations, other business, culture, arts, sports, and entertainment. This is circled by industry and sometimes ghettos and slums of the urban poor that make up the factory ring and zone of transition. This area is often inhabited by immigrants and the working poor that take jobs requiring low skill. As you move out, the zones become gradually wealthier and stabler with residents that are better educated, more mobile, and less inclined to "vice".
Below is an illustration of the zone model
source:http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0napoHGhB1rrnij4o1_1280.jpg
Los Angeles was and still is remotely based off this model, with central downtown being that middle point, the working poor and ethnic neighborhoods surrounding like Skid Row, Chinatown, Japan town, the City of Vernon, Little Ethiopia, Korea town, and more. Further out you find working and middle class neighborhoods till you hit other neighborhoods and cities like Pasadena, a wealthy area of residents who mostly commute to work. The question has to be asked then, how does the Rose Bowl (unlike the Coliseum in Downtown LA) function as a major center of sports that attracts anywhere from 60,000-90,000 people every week or so for 3 months in the middle of a residential neighborhood?
The answer is not a clear or easy one, further insight can be brought in though from the Kling, Olin, and Poster article, which discusses the growth and urbanization of nearby Orange COunty. This area which was mostly a "bedroom community" quickly became urban and has more jobs in the county than beds now, a complete reversal of an area that was meant to serve as a satellite community for the wealthy to commute into L.A. Pasadena, while not in this exact position, is part of L.A. that too is more of a polycentric model with mixings of people all across the city, although tradition ethnic neighborhoods definitely still exist.
Observing the relationship of the Rose Bowl to the local community by driving around the streets and neighborhood was incredibly interesting. As a resident who might want to run an errand or move around the local freeways in a car, it becomes extremely difficult with so many people moving around. Roads are blocked off that require special ID access and verification of residence. Thousands of cars fill up the streets bringing noise and pollution to a relatively quiet community. This is not to mention the type of coming to the area. Most people coming to a football game are not doing so quietly as honking for teams, cheering, and music can be heard all around the streets and in the arroyo surrounding the Rose Bowl. They are eating and drinking, often times for a very long period of time, while hanging out with friends new and old. They come from all over Los Angeles and the nation to watch the game, bringing in people of varying age, race, and economic class than is found in white upper middle class Pasadena. Police are there escorting cars through the streets, in addition to high school age and older kids wearing vests who direct traffic, knowing no more about it than I would if I got out of my car. It makes for an extremely eclectic group of people all together in this area that is usually so homogenous.
In case you wonder what a section of a stadium that is currently holding 70,000+ people looks like, see below.
What makes the whole situation more interesting, especially in light of the Burgess reading, is that while Pasadena has that strong WASP idea and image, just a mile or so east of the 210 freeway that runs next to the Rose Bowl and a bit north of Old Pasadena is the neighborhood of Altadena that I went into to grab gas. Looking at it blindly, you would think you went into Inglewood or something. The types of businesses change, the housing architecture and size, and even the people look different to put it bluntly. It is a reminder that while the L.A. area might look to be your traditional city with a downtown, it quickly diverts from the concentric zone model that Burgess describes in early 20th century Chicago. It is another example of how cities and regions are no longer being defined by old principles or dictations.
*Updated 12/8/12*
Continuing on the theme of social clash between the Rose Bowl and the people of Pasadena, a few weeks ago, Pasadena city officials moved forward with a plan that could allow the NFL to move a team to the city to play while a downtown stadium is constructed. After a 5 hour debate on the issue, the city council voted to allow more large events to be housed at the venue, essentially opening up the possibility of the another football team to play there. The main reason for this move is the need to meet a $30 million budget gap the city has on the new Rose Bowl renovations taking place. Because this would be a temporary move, the hope is that it will last long enough to help pay for the renovations and then move on to the new stadium.
Many residents and residential groups are opposing this move as it will bring even more traffic on the weekends, sometimes shutting down streets and nearby recreational services for a whole weekend if there are both Saturday and Sunday games scheduled. It's a great example of how individual interests and community interests are not always the same, there is no single idea of what is best for city, even in a smaller and homogenous one like Pasadena.
The article can be found here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/rose-bowl-neighbors-threaten-lawsuit-over-nfl-plans.html
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 1
Welcome to my blog, where over the next ten weeks I will be venturing into different parts of Los Angeles by varying means of transportation to discover what makes this city so unique and how it is a working factory of discovering the social difference found in a city.
By taking a look at the differences as well as solidarities found in various parts of Los Angeles, I hope to gain an appreciation for how they interact to make the urban experience here. Interacting with the environment by physically walking through it, taking notes, communicating with inhabitants, and studying the structure will all allow me to critically analyze "the everyday urban environments we live in".
My journey will be taking me to various areas of Los Angeles, whether they be in city proper or incorporated cities close by or within, as well as looking at the successes and failures of the areas in providing an adequate urban experience for people. Within this one city, there are a host of different experiences available to you, with no one uniting it all. As the satirist Dorothy Parker once wrote, "Los Angeles is seventy-two suburbs in search of a city" and it is with this mindset and a desire to learn more about the second largest metropolitan area in the United States that will be my guiding force in this journey.
Commentary and analysis from peers in the course and anyone else is greatly appreciated, as with most things in life there is no definitive answer to a question.
By taking a look at the differences as well as solidarities found in various parts of Los Angeles, I hope to gain an appreciation for how they interact to make the urban experience here. Interacting with the environment by physically walking through it, taking notes, communicating with inhabitants, and studying the structure will all allow me to critically analyze "the everyday urban environments we live in".
My journey will be taking me to various areas of Los Angeles, whether they be in city proper or incorporated cities close by or within, as well as looking at the successes and failures of the areas in providing an adequate urban experience for people. Within this one city, there are a host of different experiences available to you, with no one uniting it all. As the satirist Dorothy Parker once wrote, "Los Angeles is seventy-two suburbs in search of a city" and it is with this mindset and a desire to learn more about the second largest metropolitan area in the United States that will be my guiding force in this journey.
Commentary and analysis from peers in the course and anyone else is greatly appreciated, as with most things in life there is no definitive answer to a question.
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