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Walking in L.A.

walkinginla.com

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Re: Walking in L.A.

#31

Post by StavrosK »

Senderman wrote: post #12
hbex5 wrote: post #5

So as somebody who lives in London, explain to me why Los Angeles always looks so featureless, so lacking in any kind of urban identity I'd expect to find in a city? It always looks to me no so much as a city, but rather merely some buildings that are connected by freeways.

Instead of the explanation you've asked the internet for, you might find a visit to L.A., to clear up your puzzlement, more rewarding.

I can't tell if you wanted to be joking, or if you actually meant your comment to be this useless.

Re: Walking in L.A.

#32

Post by cylinder »

hbex5 wrote: post #5

So as somebody who lives in London, explain to me why Los Angeles always looks so featureless, so lacking in any kind of urban identity I'd expect to find in a city? It always looks to me no so much as a city, but rather merely some buildings that are connected by freeways.

The worst part is the freeways and they are the worst way to see the city. I always find myself wishing they'd dismantle most of them and force the city to evolve without them.

Re: Walking in L.A.

#33

Post by StavrosK »

bitskits wrote: post #26
nether wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I like about LA. Keeps out the superficial people, and draws those who can see past appearances.

California native here. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say this about LA. Most generalizations usually go the other way; this is new. To be clear, all the generalizations are bad, IMO, but this perspective is new, and I think maybe the least accurate.

I think you mean rationalization. It was pretty egregious, though, yes.

Re: Walking in L.A.

#35

Post by cylinder »

tastythrowaway2 wrote: post #11
js2 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's not as dense. But it still has lots and lots of lovely neighborhoods and places to walk. You just need to drive between them. The view of L.A. from Mulholland Drive at night made me realize how truely immense L.A. is. edit: according to Google. "L.A. area" is 503 sq miles. "London area" is 607 sq miles. Interesting.

So is drunk driving a big issue in LA?

Drunk driving has always been an issue in most of America. It's not taken seriously. In Houston there was regularly horrific DUI deaths and people wouldn't bat an eyelash (several times there were cars driven by drunks onto the freeway *on the wrong side. Bam, four killed. Doesn't make top story on the local news).

Re: Walking in L.A.

#37

Post by johncolanduoni »

bitskits wrote: post #26
nether wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I like about LA. Keeps out the superficial people, and draws those who can see past appearances.

California native here. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say this about LA. Most generalizations usually go the other way; this is new. To be clear, all the generalizations are bad, IMO, but this perspective is new, and I think maybe the least accurate.

Pretty sure it's a joke ;)

Re: Walking in L.A.

#38

Post by zubat »

hbex5 wrote: post #5

So as somebody who lives in London, explain to me why Los Angeles always looks so featureless, so lacking in any kind of urban identity I'd expect to find in a city? It always looks to me no so much as a city, but rather merely some buildings that are connected by freeways.

All the distinctive elements of LA have been packaged and sold to you through Hollywood films, to the point where it's actually a bit shocking to see some of the landmarks in person for the first time, because you didn't think of them as actual places.

On the ground, most parts of LA don't look like anywhere in particular because they're too low rise and you can't see the horizon either. But there are some tells in certain of the neighborhoods: besides highways and palm trees, many blocks have "courtyard apartment" construction. The landscape favors autos but not in the same way as a city like Atlanta, favoring a regular grid with sidewalks over cul-de-sac deadends. With so much of the development spanning a brief period in the 20th century(by the 70's laments for "old LA" were common) there isn't a great deal of history. San Francisco contrasts as a city that has had fires and reconstruction in its core, but if you go out to the western parts of town or a bit down the peninsula, it's all recognizable as being of the same generation as many of those LA suburbs.

Re: Walking in L.A.

#39

Post by DonHopkins »

Mz wrote: post #25
hbex5 wrote: post #5

So as somebody who lives in London, explain to me why Los Angeles always looks so featureless, so lacking in any kind of urban identity I'd expect to find in a city? It always looks to me no so much as a city, but rather merely some buildings that are connected by freeways.

Because it was developed in very large tracts due to being in the desert and needing to import water. So, the financing only made sense if you developed large, spawling areas. This was true before cars were popular, when there was a tram and people took the tram and then walked everywhere. Then cars became popular, I think the tram died and now you have to take the freeway to get anywhere.

The tram in LA didn't die, it was murdered.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Judge Doom's Plot to Destroy Public Transit [1]

My favorite thing about this movie is that the villain's evil plot is to bring about car culture in America. Watch and giggle/shiver. Read about Pacific City Lines, National City Lines, and the Great American Streetcar Scandal if you'd like to know more about its historical parallels.

General Motors streetcar conspiracy [2]

The 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, vectors the folktale about the decline of the Pacific Electric. Scriptwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman explained: "the Red Car plot, suburb expansion, urban and political corruption really did happen. In Los Angeles, during the 1940s, car and tire companies teamed up against the Pacific Electric Railway system and bought them out of business. Where the freeway runs in Los Angeles is where the Red Car used to be." The story was told again in 1996 in Taken for a Ride and then in 2004 in the film The End of Suburbia.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OquSczOMkO4

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...

Re: Walking in L.A.

#40

Post by DonHopkins »

justinzollars wrote: post #17

LA is so ugly compared with SF.

Q: How many Northern Californians does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Hella!

Q: How many Southern Californians does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Totally!

Hella Nor Cal or Totally So Cal? The Perceptual Dialectology of California [1]

"This study provides the first detailed account of perceptual dialectology within California (as well as one of the first accounts of perceptual dialectology within any single state). Quantitative analysis of a map-labeling task carried out in Southern California reveals that California's most salient linguistic boundary is between the northern and southern regions of the state. Whereas studies of the perceptual dialectology of the United States as a whole have focused almost exclusively on regional dialect differences, respondents associated particular regions of California less with distinctive dialects than with differences in language (English versus Spanish), slang use, and social groups. The diverse sociolinguistic situation of California is reflected in the emphasis both on highly salient social groups thought to be stereotypical of California by residents and nonresidents alike (e.g., surfers) and on groups that, though prominent in the cultural landscape of the state, remain largely unrecognized by outsiders (e.g., hicks)."

Extra credit question:

Can you locate the isogloss [2] designating the "101" / "The 101" line? [3]

[1] http://stanford.edu/class/linguist159/restricted/readings/Bu...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogloss

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4347ZE0NQM

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