The City: Los Angeles and Urban Theory at the End of the Twentieth Century

by Allen J. Scott, Edward W. Soja (Editor)

Los Angeles has grown from a scattered collection of towns and villages to one of the largest megacities in the world. In the process, it has inspired controversy among critics and scholars, as well as among its residents. Seeking original perspectives rather than consensus, the editors of The City have assembled a variety of essays examining the built environment and human dynamics of this extraordinary modern city, emphasizing the dramatic changes that have occurred since 1960. Together the essays―by experts in urban planning, architecture, geography, and sociology―create a new kind of urban analysis, one that is open to diversity but strongly committed to collective theoretical and practical understanding.

Genres: Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Urbanism, Nonfiction

496 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 1996

Reviews

[Daniel Hadley · Rating 3 out of 5]

How did Eden loose it's garden, you ask; read Mike Davis and mourn the loss of LA's landscape. I like the muckraking of Davis much more than the postmodern theorizing of Dear, but the "LA School," even more so than the Chicago School, relies on the diversity of its members. The whole is better than the sum of its parts.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I don't like living in big cities I am fascinated with them. The City: Los Angeles and Urban Theory at the End of the Twentieth Century is a collection of essays on the history and culture of Los Angeles.

The City is one of the most serious books I've read in ages. It was nice to exercise the old brain cells again. Topics covered include a brief history of the city, it's architecture, urbanism, transportation policy, loss of agriculture, metropolitan space, urban art, industrial development, racial issues, and homelessness.

My favorite essay in the book is "The Evolution of Transportation Policy in Los Angeles: Images of Past Policies and Future Prospects." It covers the on-going competition between mass transit (rail and bus) and the automobile. At the time that the book was published, Los Angeles had just completed its first round of subway and light rail construction. Since then the Pasadena Gold Line has opened. While the rail lines aren't back to what they once were there is more careful (although bureaucratic) oversight to the system. This essay explains the flaws of the previous rail system and it proposes ways to avoid those problems in the future.

[Kate]

Technically just read a chapter or two (the design chapter in full and skimming here and there). Good stuff though.