Cities of Los Angeles

Abstract

The world capital of the movie industry does not keep up with the world capital of business when it comes to the application of urban planning solutions. Los Angeles and New York are poles apart, to say the least, as far as their cityscapes are concerned. New York is the essence of a high-density city, whereas the metropolitan area of Los Angeles is a group of several cities scattered over a vast territory, each with its own small centre. The climate is different, the lifestyles are different and so are the paradigms of the two urban schools. If there are any similarities, they may be found in the environmental approach gaining popularity in both cities, as people have realised they do not really want to spend more than one-third of the day in their cars commuting. The article discusses the phenomenon of the L.A. metropolitan area – a polycentric city covering the area of 12,500 square kilometres, and the Los Angeles County – a nearly mythical city composed of small mythical units.