r/geography • u/villehhulkkonen • 1d ago

La is a wasted opportunity Discussion

Imagine if Los Angeles was built like Barcelona. Dense 15 million people metropolis with great public transportation and walkability.

They wasted this perfect climate and perfect place for city by building a endless suburban sprawl.

38.2k Upvotes

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u/youaretheuniverse 1d ago

It’s actually pleasant to walk around parts of LA compared to a lot of car centric rural towns. There are all sorts of cool cuddy pathways with little gardens everywhere despite what people think.

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u/DrNinnuxx 1d ago

But you need to drive to them first.

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u/MochiMochiMochi 1d ago

I lived in LA and it's remarkable how people tend to stick to certain zones and routines that enable them to minimize driving.

I was in the Culver City area and thinking of going to a place like Pasadena (only 18 miles away) felt like planning a major trip. It had to be very much worth the effort.

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u/bigmt99 1d ago

LA is actually like 25 cities in a trenchcoat

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u/jtr99 1d ago

Twenty-five alcohols, please!

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u/KilliamTell 19h ago

Vincent LAdultman strikes again.

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u/Hashtagbarkeep 1d ago

This is perfect

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u/SvenDia 1d ago

Commenting on La is a wasted opportunity...Yeah, I always thought all the neighborhoods in the “Valley” were suburbs. And once I was in Glendale, which is a suburb, and drove south into a non-descript residential neighborhood and saw a sign that said LA city limits. Than neighborhood looked more like an unincorporated area between suburbs more than part of a major US city.

But in a way I kind of like that aspect of LA. It’s an agglomeration of small cities and towns and many have their own unique look and feel, like all of the little ethnic enclaves.

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u/funkekat61 1d ago

In the sidebar of the LA subreddit, LA is described as eight Portland sized cities jammed together, and it's not wrong.

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u/okhan3 1d ago

lol I lived in Venice and the first time I went to Pasadena I treated it as a vacation, got a hotel and everything

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u/Same-Cricket6277 1d ago

I live in Pasadena and we just went to Venice for dinner the other week (Scopa, sofa king good), also got hotel lol. Driving back across LA after dinner and drinks just less than ideal. Easier just stay out there and drink more

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u/okhan3 1d ago

Absolutely, dread for the drive home makes the whole night stressful. I live in SF now and this is also my relationship to San Jose.

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u/00zxcvbnmnbvcxz 1d ago

I lived in Venice for 16 years, and when a friend would move to Pasadena you’d just kind of stop being friends with them haha.

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u/okhan3 1d ago

lol, been there. We legit did phone/zoom calls for a bit before losing touch. Meeting up was never discussed

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u/00zxcvbnmnbvcxz 1d ago

😂😂🥲

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u/Kumlekar 1d ago

I briefly lived near culver city. Walked everywhere. Same when I lived in Upland. The places that were more car centric were the OC and the hills north of pasadena. It really just depends on where you are.

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u/deskcord 1d ago

People say this like people in NY do anything but stay in their bubble, too. This is just how people live.

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u/DrNinnuxx 1d ago

It's the same way with Houston, where I lived for a bit.

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u/TickyTeo 1d ago

You didn’t think to just take the train?

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u/MochiMochiMochi 1d ago

I was an avid Metro user, and yes I did take the E Line to Pasadena. But other trips were by car per my wife's preference.

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u/ItchyDoggg 1d ago

3 hour round trip?

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u/userhwon 1d ago

10 minutes longer than driving.

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u/CapGlass3857 1d ago

It’s more because of the horrendous traffic

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u/UnluckyPassenger5075 19h ago

This! I’ve lived in a few of the beach cities and even there, where you don’t need to get on the freeways as often, people tend to stay in their “bubbles”. When living in MDR, rarely left the cities of SaMo, Venice, and south to MB or Hermosa. Basically stayed west of PCH whenever possible due to the awful traffic going east/west.

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u/SoarinWalt 1d ago

I'm sure you know, it can be a shocking amount of time to drive that 18 miles.

I was in LA a few months ago and drove from Anaheim to Universal Studios, the time it took to drive was mind blowing. Its 40 miles, and almost all highway and took 2 hours. I was honestly shocked as shit.

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u/MyBoldestStroke 1d ago

At the risk of being that person… Anaheim is a completely different county tho?

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u/SoarinWalt 1d ago

40 miles is 40 miles, and a lot of the traffic was in LA.

For that matter we were in LA heading to Santa Monica Pier and it took us an hour plus due to traffic. It was my second time in LA, the first being in 2022 and I totally understood all the complaining about LA traffic that you always here.

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u/ALeftistNotLiberal 1d ago

Or have millions to buy a home there

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u/zemol42 1d ago

If you live there already, you don’t have to worry about it. I lived in Redondo and you can easily walk all over town, upto Hermosa or MB or bike over to Playa, Marina, Santa Monica. I basically used my car for grocery runs, see friends who lived in the valley but mostly for long trips to Mammoth and the National Parks.

My last two trips back, I stayed in Culver City and Westwood and easily averaged over 14k steps a day.

I do wish the Metro was more convenient to get beyond these local hamlets but maybe once Measure M is fully completed, it’ll be a game changer (that’s the hype at least).

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u/bringbackswg 1d ago

And pay for parking. Every time.

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u/New-Scientist5133 1d ago

Not if you already live in them. I live in Highland Park and walk to the grocery store, the dispensary, and tons of bars and restaurants. Climbing gym is a 7-minute drive and if I want to hit Trader Joe’s, the drive is 6 minutes. Whatever people say about LA can be said about America as a whole.

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u/SlicedSides 1d ago

How much is your rent if you don’t mind me asking?

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u/New-Scientist5133 1d ago

2.7k, but I need to have a stand-alone house with a recording studio. You can find an apartment for 2k or less if you have roommates.

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u/SlicedSides 1d ago

that’s not so bad, all things considered. thanks for the perspective

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u/New-Scientist5133 1d ago

LA is like a pineapple. The individual segments used to be separate fruits like grapes, but over time and a lot of breeding, they’ve all fused together to make one big massive fruit. All of the little clusters of LA are unique to themselves and it’s about finding the one you vibe with the most. That being said. I clocked 60 miles today picking up something from the west side and giving a friend in San Pedro a ride to the airport. Fuck, this city is big.

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u/atDevin 1d ago

LA is so big though - you have to drive anyway. LA is 21x more area than NYC

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u/Bigchiefngas420 1d ago

Or just live there?

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u/NotSoQuickTurn300 1d ago

I mean you gotta drive most places you don't live, but you could always take a bus into LA.

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u/snorkolito 1d ago

Not really, I visited LA this fall and we took the bus and metro everywhere. Also it was super cheap!

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u/Same-Cricket6277 1d ago

Or just walk near where you live.

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u/rkmvca 1d ago

That's right. As a Bay Area native who goes down every year, LA is improving! The metro is a huge step in the right direction and there are all kinds of cool walkable neighborhoods -- but you have to know where they are. I didn't until I got shown around by my relative who lives there.

That said, the damage has been done. The fundamental sprawl is there, and the improvement can never fully undo that.

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u/jcythcc 1d ago

Where are they?

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u/windnsea00 1d ago

Areas I am at least familiar with: West Hollywood, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, Highland Park, DTLA, Koreatown, Venice, Culver City, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, North Hollywood proper, to an extent Sherman Oaks and Studio City if you consider Ventura Blvd walkable. If LA (or these own individual cities) would add more shade with trees like Mexico City and Madrid, it would help.

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u/jcythcc 1d ago

Thank you

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u/Will_Come_For_Food 1d ago

It can absolutely be done. It just needs to be a priority. Pick the best spot for an urban density and start building vertically. You could fit the entire city of 20 million people in an area. The size of Manhattan all you have to do is try.

https://preview.redd.it/7hljz7872c9e1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20f571882b75b4e77457cbb28221910984e5dd40

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u/beastwork 1d ago

LA is a car town. Cars in LA are more than just transportation.

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u/sleepyeye82 1d ago

functionally, what value do they bring beyond transportation?

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u/Alvoradoo 1d ago

Culture, hot rods, low riders etc got their start there.

Sport utility - snow board, surf board transporting, cars that can go off road for sport.

Status symbols.

Protection from the collateral damage caused by capitalism (avoiding the crazy people on public transport)

All that said, I am not into cars myself. I have the cheapest Lexus just because I like luxury interiors and they break down the least out of every type of car.

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u/sleepyeye82 1d ago

"functionally" was the question. Nothing you're speaking of has any functional value. It's just 'culture' or whatever. Which frankly is not important.

Furthermore, going 'off road for sport' <-- this is still just transportation.

'collateral damage caused by capitalism (avoiding the crazy people on public transport)' <-- I know reading reddit over and over has you frothing at the mouth about capitalism, but man, if you're not going to spout well-founded criticisms you're just doing harm to the socialist cause.

I remain unconvinced by your argument that cars, by virtue of being in LA, are 'more than just transportation.'

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u/Alvoradoo 1d ago

When you said function, I was thinking along these lines.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_functionalism

I am not a socialist or capitalist. I do like to avoid the mentally unwell and vagabonds though. I think they need to be in asylums.

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u/No_Complaint2494 1d ago

It's just 'culture' or whatever. Which frankly is not important.

actual NPC

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u/sleepyeye82 1d ago

aww did I offend you? the material means of existence are what matters. Not your “culture”.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/sleepyeye82 1d ago

accusing? lol I am socialist.

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u/beastwork 1d ago

LA car culture is unique. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the country.

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u/sleepyeye82 1d ago

and what functional value does that bring?

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u/beastwork 1d ago

Who said it was functional? People can't /don't like to walk in LA for several reasons and the cities design is reflective of that

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u/sleepyeye82 1d ago

Um. That's my question above. What value does a 'car culture' bring, functionally speaking?

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u/beastwork 1d ago

Bro it's already been explained to you by 2 people.

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u/modestlyawesome1000 1d ago

Compared to a rural town LA is a metropolis lol.

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u/skippop 1d ago

As someone who grew up in a rural town, LA is like a bunch of small rural towns that popped up next to each other and the sprawl connected them

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u/Noarchsf 1d ago

Because that’s exactly what it is. Tons of little towns that grew together.

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u/WinonasChainsaw 1d ago

Idk why you got downvoted, this is exactly what it feels like for 80% of the greater area. Dollar Stores compressed next to each other instead of separated by an onion field or something.

That said, the 20% or so that is walkable is pretty sick, the area just lacks functional public transit to link all these pockets together.

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u/Theresabearoutside 1d ago

Could you name a few? I’d like to see them

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u/Noarchsf 1d ago

Pasadena, Silver Lake, Beachwood Canyon and the Hollywood Dell, Fairfax, West Hollywood, Venice, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach…

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u/pmccrory 1d ago

Little Tokyo, arts district, echo park, Glendale are some others. LA also has some of the greatest residential architecture in the world if you like to look at the sort of thing: see “John Lautner”, check out his house designs

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u/hackerrr 1d ago

See the De Palma film Body Double for the Lautner house the "Chemosphere"

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/shmianco 1d ago

i’m sorry that compassion isn’t your strong suit - i live in Pasadena and some of those folks are my neighbors, who are deserving of compassion just as you are.

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u/Awwfull 1d ago

I’ve spent a lot of time in Santa Monica and don’t think I can recall seeing any of that.

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u/sweatyballsackz 1d ago

Really? I've spent only a little time in Santa Monica and have seen all that.

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u/manwiththewood 1d ago

Is there still dog poop everywhere?

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u/Lame_Johnny 1d ago

I stayed in Santa Monica and few weeks ago. The whole place smells like stale pee.

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u/CommentsOnOccasion 1d ago

That’s a completely separate problem form walkability, and not really unique to Santa Monica

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u/permaculture 1d ago

It reminds me of Paris.

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u/Lame_Johnny 1d ago

It rains more in Paris which helps clean things off. The problem in LA is it rarely rains so the piss just sits there fermenting.

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u/Noarchsf 1d ago

Rustic Canyon smells like eucalyptus, ChaChaChicken smells like Jamaican jerk, and Montana Ave smells like money.

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u/pmccrory 1d ago

No it does not

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u/Lame_Johnny 1d ago

Yes it does

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u/pmccrory 1d ago

It’s funny bc I already know you literally walked over to and sniffed a pool of piss just so you could make a post shitting on LA

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u/pmccrory 1d ago

classy

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u/Imhappy_hopeurhappy2 1d ago

Echo Park and Los Feliz.

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u/SpiritAnimalDoggy 1d ago

Cute little gardens with homeless people and trash on the ground

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u/misterpoopydick 1d ago

With homeless camps tucked into all the bushes

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u/blueorangan 1d ago

yeah but people aren't comparing LA to rural towns because why would you

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u/Muunilinst1 1d ago

Lived there for 4 years. This is straight Stockholm syndrome.

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u/Enron__Musk 1d ago

Cutty

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u/Ibreh 1d ago

Probably the hugely expense high demand old rail car suburbs if i understand LAs development correctly

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u/misteloct 1d ago

Sure, just don't cross the street if you value your life.

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u/Alternative-Put-3932 1d ago

Idk my rural town has sidewalks to everywhere and I live like 15.minutes walking distance from a krogers and like 10 minutes walking distance from the main downtown with lots of shops, parks, a canal walking trail, school etc.

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u/jcythcc 1d ago

Examples?

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u/georgecoffey 1d ago

These are pretty much all the "Streetcar suburbs" that were originally built around the street car, which is why they are so walk-able and have interesting stairs and cut throughs to facilitate walking to where the streetcar ran

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u/CultureDTCTV 1d ago

The only pleasantly walkable places are Westwood and Culver City, and maybe Santa Monica downtown. Anywhere else is just a giant death trap. Koreatown is ok in broad daylight.

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u/thisiswhyparamore 1d ago

yeah because you’re comparing it to car centric rural towns. compare it to other major cities