Blogging Social Difference In L.A.: Week 10

This week, I commented on Oliva Jenkin's blog, called Olivia Jenkins: Metropolitan Exploration and Interrogation! For her blog post, she rode the bus to Westwood and explored how neoliberalism expresses itself in the landscape of Westwood and how the bus represents the social democracy of Westwood. I really enjoyed reading her post, as I found it very insightful and unique! It made me look at buses in a new way! :)

Here's my comment:

Hi Olivia!

I liked your post on Westwood and your exploration of the concept of Neoliberalism. When you were talking about the stores dangling like "bait," I couldn't help but think of the Marxian concept of class and how the "city is a tool" for legitimizing capitalism and making it very attractive. For many who may not like their jobs, or working at all, shopping and consuming goods makes the city and capitalism in general worthwhile. I think the way you described these consumer centers (the mall) is precisely what Marx described when discussing the "city as a tool", like we learned about in the "Axes of Difference: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality" lecture (Wilford 2012). Adding on to your discussion of how consumerism helps define "self-worth" as it relates to "buying power," he ability to purchase and consume really does seem to have a gratifying effect for most people as they feel they are of a high enough class to do so.  

I also really enjoyed your exploration of buses being an anti-neoliberalist entity. I completely agree that the fact that these buses are a social good, that they don't completely fit into strict neoliberalism. I live in Irvine (when I'm not at UCLA) and the bus routes are basically non-existent. They have received so many budget cuts, they literally don't take you where you need to go and many don't even run anymore. Literally, in those situations, there is no other choice but to own a car and I think really reinforces the class differences and puts those who can't afford a car in a very tough position. Perhaps, it is also a reflection of the area (Irvine is a pretty expensive place to rent/buy a home), so perhaps the residents do not need the buses or want to pay taxes for them. I'm glad that Los Angeles has a nice working bus system that allows everyone to get to where they need to be. I feel like many people think of taking the bus as unideal though (in contrast to driving a car) though because you mentioned, it goes against the neoliberal concept that we are all surrounded by everyday. I might be going out on a limb, but I think that many richer people (like you mentioned) would rather take their own car because it shows their status outwards that they can afford to maintain their car and don't need to rely upon this anti-neoliberalist entity (the bus). This also leads to the radical individualism that we discussed in the beginning of class. 

Another thing I noticed from your photos is that there really is a strikingly obvious lack of public spaces, which is another central point in Neoliberalism. I never really noticed it before, but really there is no place for people to just meet and hang out, unless it involves shopping. Spaces are strictly designated to be for shopping or residential in this area. 
Really great post! It was very enjoyable for me to read and I think it was the perfect place to examine neoliberalism, as the whole Westwood area is pretty much stores, which are all about economic development, progress and profit and not much else haha! It really shows you how the money of the city is going more to helping the economy grow, rather than common goods for all, which would be more on the social democracy side. I also enjoyed seeing your perspective on buses being the social democratic side of the city peeking through the neoliberal focused shopping area of Westwood! Great post :) 

Hope you have a great winter break!! :) If you want to check out my blog, here it is: http://metromotleyla.blogspot.com

Hope everyone does great on their finals and has an amazing winter break! Thanks for reading! :)
Happy Holidays!

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 9

This Trip Includes:

6. Used Simplymaps.com

4. More than 15 Miles Away from UCLA
3. Walking Trip

2. Car Trip

        Hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing and delicious Thanksgiving! This past weekend, I was back in Orange County for Thanksgiving festivities with my mom. On Sunday, my friend and I went to Santa Ana for the Patchwork Show, which is a really neat festival that has hand-made and usually locally made crafts! There is always creative and fun things at these types of festivals and I got a lot of cool holiday goodies. I also realized this would be a perfect opportunity to do some fieldwork for this project and examine the social difference in the city of Santa Ana.

       I think one of the first things someone would notice when driving through or visiting Santa Ana is the large Latino/Hispanic population in the area, which can be observed by the people walking on the streets and driving cars and also by the high volume of grocery, restaurant and building names that are written in both Spanish or English (sometimes the signs are only in Spanish). Notice on the picture below, on the right hand side there is a sign that says "El Paradiso Place." This is one of the most obvious indicators of the ethnic composition of Santa Ana.

Driving Through Santa Ana, Note the "El Paradiso" sign on far right.       

       This is also confirmed by 2010 U.S. Census Data. Using Simply Maps, I created the map below showing the percentage of Latino/Hispanic individuals living in Santa Ana which also explains the large volume of street signs in Spanish. You can see outside the yellow outline in the map (which symbolizes the outline of the city of Santa Ana) that this city is a location of high concentration of Latino/Hispanic populations as the majority of the Santa Ana falls into the 80-100% Latino/Hispanic population category. From the looks of this map, there seems to be a lot of urban segregation based on race/ethnicity in Santa Ana, as well as the surrounding areas as there is not much ethnic integration.
       This urban segregation seems to be correlated to the high rates of poverty, crime and health related issues in Santa Ana. According to this news segment from PBS, Santa Ana is one of the hardest places to live in the United States because of the class differences, economically and socially. The article also mentions that on many occasions the city of Santa Ana has allocated its money to build more stores, perhaps to promote economic growth in the city, instead of to the city residents. Instead of using the money to provide services for the residents of Santa Ana who need it or to help promote greater social equality in the city, money has been historically used along the lines of neoliberalism. The above article from PBS also mentioned attempts to create a new park in Santa Ana to promote greater health for the city residents by giving adults and kids a place to exercise and stay active. As we learned in class from Professor Wilford's lecture, "Axes of Difference: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality," access to parks and other nature areas is very dependent on class status, as the wealthier an area is the more access it will have due to greater economic and political power to create and designate parks and nature preserves and the poorer an area is the less access its residents will have to parks because they lack those same resources. This inequality in access to parks and nature areas reflects the social inequalities in place in Santa Ana, as well as reveals how the health of the current and future generations are being negatively impacted.

       I was looking at different variables with Simply Map and I found the "Forcible Rape Index" very interesting when observing Santa Ana. As you can see below, Santa Ana has very dark shades of red, which indicate that the index for Santa Ana forcible rapes is very high, with many areas in Santa Ana above the U.S. average. All the darkest shades of red (almost a maroon color) indicate where forcible rape is well above the U.S. average. I think forcible rape is a good indication of the crime that occurs in Santa Ana, as well as the quality of life compared to the surrounding areas, because it shows a somewhat violent crime being inflicted upon residents within Santa Ana. When there is a neighborhood with lots of crime and safety stressors, the quality of life is highly diminished compared to an area like Irvine or Huntington beach where there is significantly less crimes of this nature. I think the high rates of forcible rape could be connected to the high levels of poverty and gang related activities.

 

       I think one of the most dramatic ways I could tell this area has more poverty than the surrounding regions, other than actually visiting Santa Ana, was looking at the "Luxury Priced Product Market" as a variable on Simply Maps. This variable shows the market that companies and stores use to market their products in certain areas. In this case, they are taking into consideration luxury priced products, or products marketed for their luxury and status value. In the map below, Santa Ana is a very significant section of Orange County which is not included in the "Luxury Priced Product Market." In other words, high end products are not typically sold here as they do not expect the residents of this area to buy these types of products. 

        This is particularly insightful when considering the what class most of these residents are assumed to belong to. Class describes "socially stratified groups, separated by access to resources and levers of power" (Wilford 2012). Companies who chose not to market to the majority of geographic locations in Santa Ana do so because they do not believe that the people who live in the area have the economic resources or cultural motivation to consume luxury priced items. In addition, it suggests that because the residents in this area do not have the resources to buy luxury items, they probably possess less power (economically, politically and socially) than other areas surrounding (i.e. Irvine, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, etc.). This social difference in terms of many Santa Ana residents having less cultural and economic power than other groups could be a result of "class struggle" (Harvey 1978), with the more wealthy and powerful exploiting the work of those who live in Santa Ana in order to create "surplus value" (Wilford 2012), thereby creating and reinforcing their wealth and higher status.

       As we were driving a little bit further throughout Santa Ana, I noticed that there weren't too many big "chain" stores, like Ralphs, Safeway, 7-11, Starbucks, etc., instead there were many stores which looked like they were family owned and didn't really have a "brand" associated with them. For example, there is a picture below of a liquor store that doesn't have a name, but instead looks like it is family owned.

       From what I saw as we got closer to 3rd street was there there are also areas in Santa Ana that appear as if they are gentrified. There were many places on the 3rd street (down below) that had hip bars, clothing places and coffee shops. They looked relatively new, trendy and had sort of expensive and upscale feels to them. It was interesting, because a few blocks later, I witnessed graffiti and many stores that were closed down and ready for new businesses to lease the property.

3rd Street in Santa Ana, maybe gentrified?

       I also noticed there were many really beautiful and historic looking buildings in Santa Ana, which reminded me a bit of Old Tustin. Down below is the Santora building.

    Again, here is another example of how many of the stores in the area all seemed to be family owned and usually the store name signs were written in Spanish, which reflects the ethnic composition of the city. Down below, you can see there is the "Mi Salon Joyeria" and it appears to have a haircut special being advertised in the windows.

      
       I found the stores that were for lease or shut down very interesting, because most of them had a high level of graffiti in the form of scratch marks on the glass or permanent marker on the glass. This one didn't have as many of the graffiti markings, however it was protected by black iron bars in the windows, perhaps to prevent burglars from breaking in. Comparing these window fronts to the ones I witnessed in Westwood, there is definitely an aesthetic and perhaps utility difference in the storefronts which could reflect the difference in security and safety of the two areas.

        Here is an example of some of the graffiti I found on a really old brick wall. The majority of the graffiti can be seen on the white portion of the brick wall, but if you look closely you can see it is written on the entire wall. The infrastructure of the brick seems to have worn down a bit as well, indicating that this building is probably older and less cared for. Graffiti, can definitely be considered forms of art, however, these graffiti markings do not look as purposeful, perhaps they might be more written and performed on this particular building to show unhappiness with the city or the environment, or to show affiliation with certain gangs. Either way, lots of graffiti, as shown here, is defiling the building a bit.

       Lastly, here is a detour traffic sign with the words all scratched out by graffiti.

       Off topic, but, here's a little bit of fluffy cuteness for you! Here's a cute husky puppy someone around Santa Ana was carrying with them, only four weeks old!

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 8

[Update: 11/30/2012 All New Additions are Underlined!]
This Trip Includes:
1. A Bus Trip

This week, I took the Big Blue Bus (Route 1) to Santa Monica! I had never been before, so this was a very exciting and interesting trip. Below is two pictures of me on the bus, leaving the UCLA Ackerman Turnaround on my way to Santa Monica. You can tell I'm pretty psyched for Santa Monica! :D

       When I first got on the big blue bus, it was pretty empty and mainly college students from UCLA going to different locations throughout L.A. for leisure. However, by the end of the bus ride, the bus was pretty packed, with some people standing and a diverse group of people, ranging in age, ethnicity, gender and reasons for riding the bus (some were getting groceries or going shopping, others were dressed in business suits going to work or coming back from work, some were going to the doctor, others were doing laundry, etc.). Riding on the bus through Santa Monica, I did notice there were about 10-15 different types of car dealerships, all for expensive cars like BMW, Fisker, Chrysler, etc. which made me think that Santa Monica must be a wealthy area.

       In about an hour and a half, I arrived in Santa Monica (stop: Third Street Promenade). As soon as I stepped out of the bus, I could tell this whole area was very busy and lively, with lot so music, people walking around and shopping. The first place I saw was Santa Monica Place, a very huge mall with very high end stores. It wasn't as busy as the surrounding area, but it had numerous christmas decorations and multiple levels with an overwhelming amount of stores. (Pictures Below, 1st picture: I just got off bus and took a picture in front of a dinosaur statue at the Promenade, 2nd & 3rd pictures: Santa Monica Place Mall with Christmas Decorations).

      The Santa Monica Place also had lots of signs that had different languages, probably catering to the tourist population coming to Santa Monica (see picture of the "Thank You for Visiting" sign). This sign also suggests that the mall wants to attract an international clientele. There was also a currency exchange station in the middle of the mall, further catering to and desiring to attract an international consumer base. The extravagant christmas decorations also serve as cultural markers that show this mall is more upscale and is a more expensive place to shop. For example, the stores in this mall were almost all designer brands, like Louis Vuitton, Coach, Juicy Couture (storefront below), Nordstroms, etc. This upscale projection can really make some people feel unwelcome in some of the stores or at least feel as if there is no purpose to go into the stores, if they cannot afford it. I also saw a few homeless people walking through this mall, but not as many as throughout the rest of Santa Monica, and they didn't seem to stay in the mall, they just seemed to be walking through it to get to another destination.

       Across the street, things were much louder and livelier. There were tons of stores, both high-end and not so expensive with many street performers (many of them children) performing for money to be placed in their buckets. I took a few videos, because they really were amazing (look below)! These children also had their parents with them, although I saw one kid doing a yo-yo performance, where there were no parents to be seen. I'm not sure if these kids just did it for extra cash and for fun, but I think it might have also been because they might have needed the money. However, the equipment they used looked fairly pricey, so perhaps this was just a hobby for them. The kids seemed to make a lot of money, as so many people walking by were impressed by their talent levels for such young ages. 

       For some reason, the videos above aren't working on this blog, so I have uploaded the videos onto youtube. Here is the link to see all my videos (ones from above): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdrI00v_gbA Make sure to watch them in 1080p (HD)!

        The girl in the video with her little sister sounded like Adele! And woah, I was so blown away by the kid who was drumming to a Beatles song! Contrasting with the kids who were getting lots of money and attention, there were many older homeless men and women who tried to get money, but were not as successful, one homeless man had his dog (also homeless) lie on his back exposing his belly, while people were putting money on top of him, he asked for a $10 donation to take pictures or to pet the dog. Although there were tons of stores on both sides of the street, many people were either window shopping or walking with their families here, only a handful of people I saw actually had bags in their hands from shopping. Many people would just stop to look at the entertainment and then grab something to eat, instead of buying retail items.

       After walking around for a bit (and shopping a bit at LUSH-- they have amazing handmade, cruelty-free, mostly paraben free soaps, lotions and cosmetics that are usually in environmentally friendly packaging), I went to the pier and beach area. Here is where I definitely noticed that there were many homeless people living on the beach, many without shoes. On the sidewalk right before we got to the beach, I noticed one man had such dirty and torn shoes that his back heels were not covered. He slept directly on the concrete, without a blanket or anything. I was very concerned and wondered how he was able to stay warm at night. In this photo I took (below), you can see many homeless people are resting (on benches, on the grass or on the sand).

       It is quite interesting to see how Santa Monica attracts both the wealthy, who can afford the expensive stores and homes, and also the poor who can barely afford to buy new shoes or food. For the homeless people, I think the choice in location by the ocean is more of a practical choice of where to live, as the areas by the ocean are not going to get as cold as night as other places in the city because of the moderating influence of the ocean (due to water's high specific heat), also in an economic way, the more tourists and wealthy people there are here, the more likely they are to get money if they need it than if they were to stay in a very poor area. For wealthy people, I think they are attracted to this area because it is by "nature," as we discussed in this week's lecture and living by the coast is not only beautiful, but also symbolizes being able to afford getting away from the concrete jungle of L.A., in other words, a nice status symbol and also being able to find solace in nature (Wilford 2012). Although it is still very urban around the ocean, the proximity of living here make the ocean a nice getaway. You can see these expensive beach homes, in the picture below behind where I am standing.

[Added New Picture Below & Update on Picture 12/1/2012]

       Lastly, when I was in Santa Monica, I also noticed this sign near the pier. The sign said "SMURFF", which stands for "Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility" (National League of Cities 2012). In Santa Monica, apparently, there is this water filter that filters out the runoff from Santa Monica's streets before they hit the beach. This type of solution would probably be considered part of the "end-of pipe solutions", or a solution that deals with environmental issues and concerns after they have already occurred (Harvey 1999). These type of solutions are common within the "Standard View of Environmental Management", which is when a government or society puts greater importance on economic development and economic health, rather than the environment (Harvey 1999). According to the SMURFF website, the urban runoff water in Santa Monica becomes contaminated by "excess irrigation, spills, construction sites, pool draining, car washing, washing down paved areas and residual wet weather runoff" (National League of Cities 2012). Although not all of these contamination sources are due to industry and the economy, it appears that there are components of economic development (like construction businesses, spills, etc.) that are taking precedence over the environment. As a response to environmental damages and human health risks, this program was initiated and continues to function to clean up the mess that was created, rather than prevent the water contamination in the first place. As a result, SMURFF might be an indication that Santa Monica practices a largely standard view of environmental management.

       

Unlinked References

Harvey, D. (1999). The Environment of Justice. Living with Nature- Environmental Politics as Cultural Discourse.

             Retrieved from www.oxfordscholarship.com

National League of Cities. (2012). "SMURFF." Retrieved from:  

http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/view/page.basic/casestudy/feature.casestudy/Case_Study_SW_Runoff_Recycle_San_Monica

Wilford, J. (Nov. 26, 2012). Nature, The City, and Social Difference. Geography 151: Cities of Social Difference.

             Lecture Conducted from University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 7

[Update: 11/29/2012 All New Additions are Underlined.]

Covered in this Blog:

3. Walking Trip

7. A post following a "social difference" news story in the Los Angeles Times.

Walking Westwood: Economic Troubles or Busy & Bustling?

       This week, I went to Westwood to really examine the area and apply the class material to the city. I have been to Westwood many times, but usually just for shopping and not really to look at this portion of the city in an analytical way. I walked from my dorms (Sunset Village on the UCLA campus) to Westwood Village. I walked past the fraternity houses all the way to the Westwood Village, first passing Diddy Riese and various other food places. I walked around for about two or three hours, just soaking in the surroundings, examining the cars, the people and the urban landscape.

       Before embarking on my trip, I read this article from the L.A. Times about Westwood Village and attempts to improve the economy in this shopping area. (Woot! UCLA is also mentioned in the article!) The article, written last year, mentioned that the shopping area has been struggling and ideas and events that will hopefully "revive Westwood"(Groves 2011). The article made me want to look at Westwood in a different way (because I never realized the area was struggling!) and really examine the ways in which Westwood may be revealing these economic struggles.

       To start off, one of the biggest and most eye-catching landmarks in Westwood are the brightly lit movie theaters, which seem to cater to the UCLA college students as they have the latest movies and are the closest to campus. According to the Marxian viewpoint, places like UCLA (educational institutions) and also the surrounding places like entertainment and shopping are literally "tools" of the city for "reproducing labor" (Wilford 2012). These types of locations and amenities serve to keep people happy and content enough to continue working (or studying!) and reproducing more people to add to the workforce and replenish the work force as time goes on. In particular, according to Professor Wilford's lecture on class, schools are very factory-like, as they teach people just what they need to know and universities can help people specialize in one particular field of study to contribute to the workforce. Sites of consumption and  entertainment are exist and function to keep people content with working, because purchasing items and getting entertainment serves as a reward for working. I did notice that these theaters weren't that crowded for a weekend night. All the times I have been to the Westwood Village shopping area, I haven't really seen the theater crowded-- however it might get more busy for movie premieres. Yet, for a movie theater it is surprisingly empty. I think this might be one of the ways Westwood shows that it might not be economically thriving.

Fox Movie Theater in Westwood

       Westwood is a pretty pedestrian-friendly portion of L.A. When I first moved here, I was really surprised to see how people cross the street through a sort of "x" shaped cross walk, which is efficient for people to get to where they need to go and also saves time for the stop lights. (See picture below.) There is a lot of foot traffic around, mainly a lot of students but it also seems that apartment dwellers as well as homeless people can be seen walking and sitting in this area.

Interesting Crosswalk in Westwood

        Because this seems to be mainly filled with more pricey retail stores, grocery markets (Whole Foods & Trader Joe's ,<3 my favorites!) and apartments, the area is very well kept and safe. The L.A. Times article mentioned that the streets were recently cleaned and there was a big effort to clean the place up. Although I was not around last year to see what it looked like before the clean-up, what the article mentioned is definitely reflected today. As you can see from the previous photo, the sidewalks and streets are free from litter, graffiti and illegal activities (for the most part-- I did see a homeless person smoking a lot of marijuana which smelled a tad funky!). However, there are still homeless people in this area and the way that homeless people are treated differently can be observed as you walk by them. For example, during my excursion, I saw about six homeless people in the area and each time I would walk by them, I would notice people in front of me would walk faster to walk away from the homeless people or purposefully veer away from the direction of a homeless person if they felt that person's activity was out of the social norms. They did so in a manner that was different than if they were avoiding someone out of politeness or for safety reasons. I distinctly remember one of the homeless men was using a water bottle to wash his hands. He was muttering to himself as he poured the water onto his hands and the water splashed slightly from the ground into the air. He used the entire bottle, then slightly tossed the plastic bottle onto the ground. People were trying to avoid him and the water splashing and they slightly glared at him, as if they were annoyed, confused or disgusted. It was sort of amazing to see the contrast between the high end clothing stores (like the sunglasses store that sells expensive Raybans and Gucci sunglasses to the high end sushi places) and people on the streets who don't have anywhere to wash their hands.

       Although this is a relatively more expensive place to live, I think homeless people come here because there is easy access to transportation around the area and you can see buses are constantly arriving and departing from this portion of L.A. There also seems to be less carceral archipelago in terms of architecture, as there is actual benches and places for people to sit and relax. There is also a large population of students and shoppers who might want to give money out to homeless people who have buckets/cups out for collection money or cigarettes (I noticed a homeless guy with a very full bucket of both money and cigarettes from people walking past him), which is probably attractive for many homeless people. I did some research online and found a daily bruin article that confirmed my suspicions that homeless people are attracted to the area because of the student population that is available to provide money or food. The article also mentioned that there is initiatives to reduce the homeless population and that many business owners find the homeless presence concerning.

       In terms of stores/eateries, there is a lot of diversity! Thrift stores, Sushi, Mexican Food, Italian Food, Korean Food, Ice Cream, Candy Stores, Urban Outfitters, Target, etc. make up a very eclectic and varied choice for shopping. Things, however, tend to be priced fairly high. I noticed that many of the things I buy in Westwood for everyday use (shampoo, food, makeup, razors etc.) tend to pricier than when I buy them back at home in Irvine, CA. This might be because these stores can make lots of money for being in a convenient location for the student population in Westwood. I did notice that many of the properties had signs up for leasing. It is pretty expensive to maintain a shop here, so many of the stores that do not make a profit probably go out of business pretty quick. Perhaps because of the price of maintaining these stores is high, that might be a reason why the stores charge more money to shop there. (See pictures below of successful/populated stores vs. empty buildings for lease.) Obviously, capital accumulation is extremely important. Along with store diversity, there is a lot of diversity in terms of ethnicity, but this could just be a result of the diversity of the UCLA campus bleeding into the rest of the area. 

       I think the amount of retail properties for lease reflects the expensive rent of this area and the inability for many storeowners/businesses in this area to keep up with the costs, hence the lack of extra businesses and documented economic issues. This can also be seen as a way for companies that own property in this area (like the McDevitt Company, who own these three property spaces and a few others that I saw in Westwood) to maintain the property value of their spaces by mainly attracting specific high-end/more expensive stores and therefore attracting wealthier clientele to the area. It is important to note, that although there are homeless people in the area (like I discussed earlier), these homeless people rarely enter the stores. I think that because the items are more expensive, it really discourages the homeless people from entering and shopping here, socially excluding them from their desired customer base and segregating them from the rest of the population in Westwood Village. 

Very Lively/Busy Nail Salon

Three Empty Properties for Lease Right Next to Busy Nail Salon

     

       After walking through Westwood Village this week, I think this area definitely shows signs of economic struggle. Although there is always people walking around, many of the stores are not crowded. The amount of "for lease" signs around the area is also quite a concerning indicator for how the area is doing economically. However, the area is still a very common hangout for the students of UCLA and nearby apartment dwellers and is highly diverse in terms of ethnicity, age ranges, and cultures. There is a definite sense of social segregation, in terms of the social exclusion of homeless people from the other shoppers and sight-seers, as they are typically avoided and ignored except when someone gives the occasional dollar or cigarette to a homeless person.

Unlinked References

Wilford, J. (Nov. 11, 2012). Axes of Difference: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. Geography 151. Lecture 
              conducted from University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. 

       

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 6

Hi Everyone!

This week I had plans to go to Santa Monica, but I got super sick and so I am postponing my next excursion for next week! In the meantime, I have perused some blogs and stumbled upon Ellen's blog, Lovely Los Angeles.

Her Week 4 post explored the city of Glendale and how the city excludes certain people through limiting the people who can afford to live in the city. She also mentioned a very overt lack of certain ethnicities and demographics. I thought the post was very interesting because it reminded me of Irvine, a city I lived in for a few years. I compared what I knew of Irvine to what she mentioned about Glendale. Here's my comment!

Hi Ellen!

Great post on Glendale! I’ve never been to Glendale before, but your description of the town reminded me of Irvine (a city I’ve lived in for a few years before moving to Westwood). Irvine, like Glendale is very suburban, an expensive area to rent/own a house and also lacks a homeless population. However, it is different in that much of Irvine is full of gated communities. There are non-gated housing communities, but the vast majority are gated. I think there are many parallels between both Glendale and Irvine, but it’s interesting that they have both achieved the same type of exclusions and exclusivity even though they are both not gated communities.

I think your post was particularly insightful because of your use of the simply maps and your connection between the income level and their prevalence in Glendale. Based on your maps, I agree that Glendale definitely excludes families and individuals of different income levels because there is no place for those individuals to rent or buy! This is definitely the case in Irvine, as all renting places are extremely expensive. There is only one area in Irvine I can think of that has lower rents and that would be a tiny little mobile home community that is completely hidden from the public view and it’s also a gated community! Were you able to come to any conclusion on why Glendale is mainly populated by a large population of Caucasian and Asian residents? Irvine is similar in that there is a large Asian, Indian, Persian and White population. I think perhaps this happens because there are so many choices of public schools in the area that many immigrant families might want their kids to go there, where it’s safe and the education is good. However, it could be that there was a smaller population of these individuals and their families, friends and acquaintances heard good things about the city and decided to move there.

Irvine also seems to keep out homeless people quite well. I have heard that police takes any homeless people in the area away and drives them to Santa Ana because there are no homeless shelters in Irvine. Although this logic makes sense, I think it is intentional carceral archipelago, because Irvine has the funds to create a homeless shelter(s). Yet, I think the resident population is concerned with increased crime rates and making the area less safe, so they do not push or encourage a homeless shelter in the city. Does the city of Glendale do anything similar? I would imagine a city like Glendale, which is heavily populated by people with higher income levels, would want to discourage a homeless population as much as possible.

Great post! I really enjoyed learning about Glendale! It was so interesting to see so many parallels between Glendale and Irvine and think about how these cities can be socially exclusionary! Can’t wait to see where you go next! Feel free to check out my blog http://metromotleyla.blogspot.com.

Have a great weekend!

Anyways, I can't wait to recover from my nasty cold and start running around L.A. again! Stay warm and healthy everyone! See you next week!

Breeanna Bergeron-Matsumoto

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 5

 Hi Everyone! This week I responded to Brittany Zajic's blog, A Look at L.A., from last week about her excursion to the Playboy Mansion. She explored the neighborhood surrounding the Playboy mansion and the ways that the actual mansion itself exhibited social exclusion through carceral archipelago. I thought the blog was very well written and a very interesting idea for a place to visit!

Below is my comment to her post.

       Wow! This is so interesting! Your choice of location was really creative!  

       Almost everyone I know has heard of the Playboy Mansion, but few every venture to it or get to come anywhere close to it. It has it's own mystique attached to it as it's the home of Hugh Hefner. I've seen it on TV once during a reality tv show commercial and also on the show, The Buried Life (about accomplishing goals on your "bucket lists" and helping other people accomplish theirs). Their goal was to sneak into the playboy mansion on halloween and it was EXTREMELY difficult. As you mentioned in your post, the Playboy mansion has been spatially placed in an area far away from the undifferentiated public. Additionally, there is so much security, gates and foliage surrounding the property that it is very clear that the owner (Hugh Hefner) wants his privacy and to exclude the general public from entering, just like the carceral archipelago we discussed in class. 

        It is very interesting, however, that he allows tour buses to come by and take a peak at his house. For him though, it probably works in his favor in the form of publicity. In some ways, that's very welcoming, but again it acts as a screening process. Most people (unless they go out of their way) would not be able to find the place, as you mentioned it was difficult even with a GPS for you). They had to pay money in order to get there, which ensured that they had enough money and were within a high enough class to spend money on leisure.   

       It's also interesting to think this secluded and private area is in a place like Los Angeles. When contrasting this place to other places in L.A. like skid row, Compton or south central LA, it is clear that there is much social differentiation in Los Angeles. It is clear that this neighborhood has less material density and a different demographic overall. Difference is blatantly expressed in the landscape through the large houses, perfectly landscaped foliage, the difficulty of public access, the security surveillance (which is pretty pricy) as well as the gates. 
Great post! I found your trip extremely informative and relevant to the class material! :) Have a great weekend!

Thanks for reading! See you next week! Hope everyone's midterms are going well :)

-Breeanna Bergeron-Matsumoto

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 4

[Update: 11/27/2012, Underline indicates additions.]

This Trip Includes:

2. Car Trip

3. Walking Trip

5. Visit to a Location I've Never Visited Before

Walking in Little Toyko, Los Angeles

The Little Tokyo Visitor Center/Police Station.

       This past weekend, I trekked to downtown L.A. to visit Little Tokyo with a few friends from a school organization that I am active in. It was very nice because we all carpooled together and they also told me a lot about the history of Little Tokyo. Not only could I walk around by myself, but I gained insight into their perspective on this historic ethnic community.



Here's the route I took when we carpooled from UCLA to Little Tokyo.

       I passed by the Los Angeles Convention Center, The Staples Center and various high-rise buildings. For the majority of my car trip, I noticed a lot of freeways and cars. It was hard to observe the people, so instead I just looked around at the urban landscape and I took pictures of whatever I could capture through the window. It was pretty gloomy out that last Saturday and the gray of the clouds matched the concrete freeways and the buildings. Watching all the cars driving and piling up, I thought about the incredible impact of automobility in Los Angeles that helped spur the 4th Urban Revolution and how different life would be if there were trains instead of cars. On one hand cars and the necessity of automobility gives the residents of the L.A. area freedom and independence, but because of traffic, the cost of gas and less human interaction that accompanies driving, I think it's also very limiting. It not only separates us from interacting with others if we were to use public transportation, but it can create social distinction just by owning cars, like the type of car you have (expensive and new vs. old and rundown) or if you can even afford to maintain one. 

       When I got there, there was low material density and the surroundings seemed very quiet. There wasn't a high amount of traffic once I got within the Little Tokyo community. Immediately, I could tell we were in a different part of L.A. There were names and words written in hiragana, katakana and kanji (the writing systems of the Japanese language- see above). Additionally, the lamp posts were distinctly different than other L.A. because they had little fans with cats at the top (see picture below). These physical markers on the urban landscape signified the cultural and social difference of this space. I walked through the Japanese Business Plaza and it mainly consisted of food stores, grocery stores and clothing stores and they almost all Japanese stores catering to a Japanese clientele. These obvious markers on stores, signs and on the streets illustrated the cultural differentiation of Little Tokyo and serves as an indicator to visitors and people who live here that this is an ethnic community.

       I noticed there were also quite a few homeless people. For instance, one homeless lady approached me and told me she had AIDs and needed money for food. She also asked my friends for money, offering to provide documentation of her illness. We gave her about fifteen dollars and she left. Additionally, another homeless man asked me to take his picture because I had a camera. He was a former veteran. I'm not exactly sure why he wanted me to take his photo but I told him that I was working on a class project and he asked me to include his photo. Below is his photo, but I have blurred out his face to protect his privacy. Witnessing this level of poverty in a business area which seems pretty successful and resilient was a little unexpected for me. I would assume that the businesses nearby would want to set up funds or set up centers to help these homeless people, but as far as I could see in Little Tokyo, there were none. I did a little research online and there is a transitional homeless center in Little Tokyo, but homelessness has been an issue in Little Tokyo for quite some time. 

       As I was walking and I saw more homeless people, I kept wondering why there were homeless people there. After lecture this week, it became more clear to me and I think I understand why homeless people stick around Little Tokyo. Professor Wilford showed us a map of the different districts and neighborhoods in L.A. and the proximity of the Wholesale district (which is where Skid Row) is located is very close. At first I thought this is a bit of the spill over of the extreme poverty observed in Skid Row. I think the homeless people in this area could be some of the spill over of the extreme poverty observed in Skid Row. However, after reading a few blogs and looking at pictures online of how skid row really is, I realized that this instead also exhibited the carceral archipelago (lack of benches, seating, public water fountains, etc.), known as using police tactics to control the demographic of a certain area, as there is a noticeably small amount of homeless people when comparing Little Tokyo to Skid Row. This drastic contrast between the volume of homeless people and the urban surroundings of the area really reveal how L.A. has an extreme amount of fragmented inequality. So while there is still a noticeable population of homeless people in Little Tokyo, perhaps from spillover from places like Skid Row, there is much less because of the carceral archipelago built into the urban landscape.

       After walking around the Japanese American National Museum, where I took the picture of the homeless man, I tried to look for all the historical sculptures and artwork throughout Little Tokyo. I walked down Central Ave. and saw a mural that was painted to celebrate the Little Tokyo community (mural is shown below). The mural is an artistic representation of how the community feels about it's sense of place within Los Angeles since it first became an ethnic community. It shows different generations throughout time, like traditional Japanese immigrants, second generation Japanese Americans and the modern generation of Japanese Americans. Emphasized within the mural is a sense of diversity, not only in the activities that the Japanese engage in, but also in the ethnicities of those depicted. The African American community is represented within the mural as well, I believe to show the connection the Japanese feel with the African American community, as they felt both experienced racial and ethnic discrimination that was treated as the naturalization of difference in America. Perhaps, this is a current attempt on behalf of Little Tokyo to bridge the gap between people in this area resulting from decentralization and fragmented inequality.

       The mural also emphasizes the  way in which being a Japanese American has changed, as now Japanese Americans engage in all sorts of modern activities, not just traditional Japanese activities (like dancing, etc.). This mural indicates how culture changes and is fluid over time. This connects to Stuart Hall from our lecture on race as a "floating signifier," because activities that Japanese people might have been stereotypically thought of engaging in (like traditional dancing, etc.) are not the only activities they might engage in (Wilford 2012). While people still might engage in these activities, the mural shows how Japanese Americans engage in very diverse and modern American activities, as well as traditionally Japanese activities. Additionally, the mural, which depicts generational and cultural changes shows how the meaning of being a Japanese American has changed over the course of time since Little Tokyo has been in Los Angeles. 

       In total, I spent about five hours walking around and I gained a greater appreciation for my own heritage (I'm half Japanese) and learned a lot about the sense of place that has evolved in Little Tokyo as a result of the influx of Japanese immigrants and their presence in Los Angeles. This ethnic neighborhood, along with other ethnic neighborhoods (China Town, Korea Town, Little India, etc.) in Los Angeles, are representative of how the economy and the culture of 4th urban revolution cities expresses greater globalization as a result of being so densely populated, attractive to immigrants and engaging in post-fordism (movement of capital and goods overseas). I think this globalization and post-fordism has created a lot of cultural syncretism, like the Japanese culture and the Los Angeles American culture fused together. Below is a neat brand I saw displayed in one of the booths in the Japanese Business Plaza. The company was called "Japangeles." 

       Social Difference in Little Tokyo presents itself simultaneously in the homeless people who are present around the businesses and area, the customers who shop here and the cultural differentiation that occurs because the area is an ethnic community. Historically, Little Tokyo recognizes (though their murals and other artwork, sculptures, etc.) that they were once excluded from mainstream American culture and now celebrate that they are not. Instead of forgetting, they choose to display this within the urban landscape. 

Unlinked References

Wilford, J. (Nov. 19, 2012). Geog. 151: Cities of Social Difference. Geography 151. Lecture conducted from

             University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.