Blogging on Social Difference in LA: Week 10 - The King of Westminster

Hello All,


For my final blog post (of the quarter), I chose to look closer at the phenomenon in an LA Times Article I found online about the election of a Vietnamese mayor in the city of Westminster. While this may not seem particularly intriguing or out of the ordinary to you, it is extremely crucial because it points to a fundamental change in the functioning of social difference within the urban landscape of the city. Westminster, which is a neighboring city to my hometown of Huntington Beach, is a great example of the hybridization of particular cultures and ethnicities as it brings Vietnamese and other Indo-Asian cultures into conjunction with the American functions already present in the area. This intermixing influence creates a new set of social rules and practices that change the function of the city, and thus affects the lives of its residents.

According to City-Data.com, 47.3% of the residents of the city are of Asian ethnicity, as compared to only 12.3% of the entire state's residents. Additionally, Westminster has one of the highest concentrations of Vietnamese-Americans in the entire United States (Wikipedia). There is a reason that the area is affectionately nicknamed "Little Saigon," especially considering that the area serves as a cultural reference point for the many immigrants who find themselves far from home and in need of cultural stability. Because these people cannot fully reestablish their old culture, nor can they forget it in favor of "American Culture," they begin to blend their culture with the dominant one to create a hybrid of the two. Thus, "Little Saigon" isn't Vietnam nor America, but a hybrid creation of the two that blends cultural characteristics from both into one. Thus, although the urban function of the city (meaning its streets, houses, buildings, cars, etc) models itself after a typical US city, the city is ethnically and culturally of Asian influence.

Aside from my addiction to Asian food and boba, this hybridization of cultures into one is why I love to visit Westminster. I appreciate the presence of other cultures in the multicultural makeup of the US, and especially enjoy when a culture is able to thrive and add dynamic diversity to the areas it touches. Thus, being able to go into Westminster and partake of traditional ethnic food, look at beautiful ethnic clothing,etc., is an intellectual treat. Additionally, because this is a hybridization of cultures, and not a clash of cultures, I do not feel intimidated or uncomfortable with interacting with the people of the area, nor with participating in the cultural practices present there. In the modern, globalized, culturally hybridized world,being a White person in a mostly Asian area is acceptable (and perhaps encouraged) because it represents the ability to mix cultures while recognizing the importance of their differences.

What makes this cultural hybridization so interesting is that Westminster now has a Vietnamese mayor, Tri Ta. Rather than having a representative who perhaps did not really represent the (near) majority of interests of the residents, the city finally has a person who culturally, politically, and socially represents the residents. The article talks about the jubilation of the residents to be able to connect with their constituent, but also of the pressures to reinforce the "dominant culture". This double identity of Tri Ta as both public servant and cultural role model is an example of the power of such cultural hybridization. He is neither just an American government representative, nor a Vietnamese resident, but rather a new product of the combination of the both: a Vietnamese resident who has been influenced by American culture, and thus acts as a Vietnamese-American.

In a globalized, increasingly interconnected world, the strength of such influences from other countries is apparent. The drive from Huntington Beach to Westminster is marked by a "cultural dividing line," as the change from city of mostly White residents to city of mostly Asian residents is indicated by a sudden change in shops, languages on signs, and types of restaurants. Considering the incredible innovativeness in shipping and communication technologies, it makes sense how the Asian Americans could dis-embed themselves from their homeland and make a transition to a new world, all without losing much of their cultural heritage. Jan Pieterse mentions the common creation of cultural hybridization as a result of globalization in his work, "Globalization and Culture: The Three Paradigms". As we become more interconnected and the "world begins to shrink," the once isolated development of cultures turns into the interconnected establishment of cultural differences/similarities as people leave their traditional cultural identities behind in search of new ones. Internet, telephones, computers, etc., make it possible for these world travelers to remove themselves from the Gemeinschaft of their previous lives to live in a new, modern, Gesellschaft. While their lives in Vietnam, China, Japan, etc., were not pre-modern, they are metaphorically representative of an old way of life that they had to break out of in order to become members of the metaphorically "new, modern lifestyle".

Cultural Hybridization, I have found, is not just about mixing two cultures together, but can be about multiple cultures mixed together. The "Melting Pot" of America creates an opportunity for all kinds of cultures to blend into one another, as shown by an Asian grocer that has signs in both its indigenous language, English, AND Spanish.

Thus, the 24% of Westminster residents that are Hispanic begins to affect the economic and social practices of the Asian American residents of Westminster, creating further influences and blends of cultural identity. As mayor, Tri Ta has to not only be an Asian American, but a mayor of a city that houses many different cultures.


My trip into Westminster made me realize the extent to which it is important to understand culture in the modern world. We can superficially look at a culture in terms of what food there is, or what music they listen to, but without recognizing the place of that culture in the modern, dis-embedded, individualized, and globalized world, the true meaning of that culture is never fully understood. Just looking at Westminster in terms of what proportion of its residents are Asian or how many boba locations it has does not tell us the story of the Asian Americans who want to maintain their indigenous cultures and ideologies while becoming a part of the American community. This understanding of culture in the modern world is important because it tells us not only the evolution of our cultural history, but the way in which our lives and lifestyles interact with each other to create the modern world. Thus, as we understand the differences within our cultures, we can understand the similarities, too, and work towards helping others understand and accept them.

Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 9- Sunny Santa Monica

Hi All,


This week I decided to comment on a blog post by Patricia Villareal.



Hi there,

I just wanted to comment on your blog post. I think that Santa Monica was an excellent place to choose to study because it is iconic of Southern California, and yet is not always representative of most of the areas in Los Angeles. Thus, it brings about both a social examination of this one specific area while giving food for thought as to the applicability of social difference in one place in terms of other places.

I very much enjoyed your descriptions of Third Street, and agree that it is a pleasant, picturesque place to visit, full of commercial and recreational activity. It is an icon of Southern California, and of Los Angeles, and provides much of the images of sunny skies, blue waters, and beautiful beaches that the original promoters of Southern California used to attract people to move here. This attraction definitely brings a wide variety of people from different places to this one location, thus bringing about an eclectic social and ethnic mix on the streets. I also thought your description of the bus ride very entertaining, and certainly descriptive of daily life for thousands upon thousands of people on a daily basis. However, I cannot help but wish you had gone further into depth about what the social implications of such places were, and perhaps compared these social patterns to those in less iconic areas.

Santa Monica, while being eclectic and unique, cannot fully represent the social patterns of most areas in Los Angeles, as most suburbs, city centers, barrios, etc., are not necessarily "iconic" of the city. For example, while there may be a mix of people in the city streets, we are mostly talking about tourists, visiting the beach or shopping in the higher priced stores along the Third Street Promenade. And while I agree with your reference to Watson's suggestions of the gender-selective nature of the area, meaning that it appeals to women because of its higher amounts of lighting, higher safety levels, etc., I think we can also say that not everyone feels the same level of comfort in this area. The shops and restaurants in this area almost certainly appeal to middle class and higher personas, perhaps making those of lower income level not feel welcome to shop or dine (a reference to the carceral archipelago, perhaps?). This class "segregation," if you will, goes across racial lines, but certainly has racial tones to it, making the social difference it manifests rather personal for those who feel it. We can also see the use of "bum-proof" benches and other anti-homeless tactics being used to maintain the area as a "cleaner," "safer," "higher class" area. This, as Sibley would maintain, is the manifestation of social control and differentiation that is common to areas that want to keep such "contamination" from reaching their areas. What I would like to ask is, If Santa Monica is iconic of Los Angeles, are these practices present within the area also representative of Los Angeles? Can we really make a fair comparison from this place to others that perhaps have far different social, economic, and ethnic makeups? I say that it is unfair to compare Santa Monica to most other areas in Los Angeles as most other cities do not have the same status, attractions, fame, etc., that Santa Monica does, and thus these associations affect the way in which the city operates, subsequently affecting the social makeup of the area.

Additionally, I would have loved to hear you develop the bus ride a little more. Is the bus ride crucial to the auto-centric city of Los Angeles? What does the integration of so many cultures, languages, occupations, ages, etc., in one place mean? In my experience, despite the connection through the use of the bus, people rarely talk to one another, socialize, or integrate when traveling. Thus, I think that while the bus may be crucial to providing many people of different social types a way to travel and function on a daily basis, it is not necessarily ameliorating the manifestations of social difference that occur in cities like LA.

These are both important places to Southern California, in my opinion. Many people visit Santa Monica each day, and many people use the bus on a regular basis. As we examine them, I think it's important not to think of them as just things, but as functions of society. Perhaps, even, we can use what we learned from Stuart Hall and floating signifiers to recognize that over time these places will change in meaning, and that understanding their importance and effect now will give us greater insight into what they will mean in the future. As Santa Monica and the bus gain meaning from the people that use them and function them, they will in turn affect their users, giving cultural and symbolic meaning that changes over time. As someone who occasionally uses the bus, and often visits Santa Monica, I find this fascinating.

Overall, I thank you for the fantastic blog post, and for sharing your experiences of these two places. While I have visited Santa Monica multiple times, and used the bus several times, I always find new and fascinating ways to think about the movement and spaciation of people, and how our lives are affected by this geography. Your post has given me one such new way.

Blogging on Social Difference in LA: Week 8 - Comment on Laiza's Blog

Hey All,

This week I chose to comment on Laiza's blog post about environmental development and toxicity.


Hey Laiza,

I loved reading your blog post about Montebello and the environmental (and health) hazards that industrialism can impose. I really liked how you related the post to Harvey's commentary on the unfortunate (and often unwanted) placement of these sites. Considering the toxins, chemicals, and other harmful things that are usually bi-products of industrialization in an area, there are considerable dangers posed to those who live in the area. I think you addressed it correctly by supposing that the residents of Montebello probably had no say in the industrialization of their area into an oil field. According to Harvey, the rich would have been able to move away from it, or move it away from them at least, and the poor would have been unable to say no because of their fiscal insecurity. This all reminds me very much of a literary work I read in a social geography class here at UCLA written by Laura Pulido. The piece, titled "Rethinking Environmental Racism:White Privilege and Urban Development in Southern California," also commented on the unfortunate pattern of placing environmentally toxic sites in areas of denser minority populations. While many believe that these sites are put in these locations based on race, thus making the issue one of environmental racism, Pulido suggested that it was rather than the sites were placed randomly, and that it just happened to be certain races who lived closer to them because they couldn't afford to live further away. Thus, groups that were affected by these sites were not categorized by race so much as they were categorized and segregated by income. I think that this helps to reinforce Harvey's idea of the poor being unable to avoid the hazards of the sites, and often times indebted to the job opportunity, while the rich can move farther away.

I think, also, that your trip to Montebello also has importance in regards to the readings regarding Geothe's Faust and Karl Marx's Manifesto. In Faust, we can see the inherent need of modernism to develop further and further, attempting to create human enhancement and power. This development is how we modernize ourselves and move away from the old, traditional lifestyle. Yet, wherever there is development, as shown in Faust's case, there is also destruction, pain, and anguish (as shown by the destruction of the old couple who wanted to maintain their simple ways). Marx also comments on this paradox in his Manifesto as he talks of the paradoxical nature in which the bourgeois develop capital and production, and yet the benefits of such production are always accompanied by destruction and pain for others. Thus, we can see that the toxic sites provide both benefit and cost to those who surround them.

I think it is important to see that by living in modern society, we endeavor to partake in all of the benefits of such society, be they medical, technological, or philosophical. And yet, we must remember that rarely, in this world of finite resources and infinite competition, is there ever development without accompanying destruction and desolation. Thus, as we go through our lives, we can examine our efforts and the efforts of others not just in terms of their immediate or personal costs, but in terms of their long-term and overarching costs.

Overall, I very much enjoyed your post. It has given me much food for thought. I would love to see if your trips to other cities and areas echo such patterns of the cost-benefits of development, or if we are, perhaps, making an effort to remove ourselves from such "modern conditions".

Blogging on Social Difference in LA- Week 7: Response to Eva and Pasadena

This week, I took the opportunity to respond to Eva's blog post from last week about Pasadena. It was great food for thought and I really enjoyed commenting!

Hi Eva,


I found your blog post very entertaining, and thought I would comment on it. I myself have only been to Pasadena a handful of times, and never on an intimate scale (unless you count football games at the Rose Bowl), and thus would have the same perceptions and impressions of the city as you would. Your comments on the inevitable disaster of mobility in the city is certainly one that is common to most areas of Los Angeles, as the entire region was (historically) based around the use and development of the automobile. Thus, we have large, inter-looping freeways, suburbs spread out far from the city center, and decentralized city layouts. I think you hit it on the head when you allude to how separated and distinct Old Town feels from the rest of Pasadena. My own experiences of the area also lead to me believe that, like Bel Air, the area is more autonomous and developed out of a different function than neighboring areas in Pasadena, thus giving it a specific function- consumerism. This coincides with your address of this area of Pasadena as being part of the 4th Urban Revolution, as we can see the development of such areas only possible when the center of the city becomes the home, when the automobile allows the disillusionment of center-periphery relationships, and when there is a shift from focusing on production to focusing on consumption. Heck, it seems like everything just comes back to Marx in the end, doesn't it? :/

This brings me to your comment on the high spending habits of people on themselves, and their stinginess with those of need. I myself am perplexed by this constant paradox of society- the overall moral imperative that we do well onto others, and yet the actual lack of implementation of said doctrines. It reminds me of the ever continuing cycle of differentiation discussed in class, the article on the disadvantage of the inner city written by Julius Wilson, and the naturalization of difference. If we examine the cycle of differentiation, I think we can see that the social problems of welfare, homelessness, and overall depravity represented by those outside the shops begging for change are manifestations of the complexity that arises in society from density of humans. Certainly, I think, we can all see the strains that growing populations put upon institutions, tax resources, and housing availability. Thus, when complexity arises, society "solves" the social issues presented by differentiating, which in this case usually means the creation of welfare projects, homeless shelters, etc. And yet, despite the efforts of these programs to remove the social issues at hand, we cannot but accept that the stigmatization that comes with such differentiation leaves the disadvantaged (in this case, the homeless) perpetually without. Thus, the shopper does not see a person in need, but sees the stigma associated with the homeless of being uneducated, dirty, diseased, etc., and withholds their charity. Wilson exemplifies this very trait in society in his article, "The Truly Disadvantaged," by discussing the similar plight of African Americans and other minorities who cannot escape the stigma and lack of opportunities forced upon them in their geography. Wilson comments on this when he writes, " Today's ghetto neighborhoods are populated almost exclusively by the most disadvantaged segments of the black urban community, that heterogenous group of families and individuals who are outside the mainstream of the American occupational system," referencing to their distinct and alienated status as outside of the realm of all other citizens (187). He continues to say that " certain groups are stigmatized by the label 'underclass,' just as some people who live in depressed central-city communities are stigmatized by the term 'ghetto' or 'inner-city'," which underlines the sincere nature of a stigmatized impression of a person to affect that person's livelihood and identity (187). Another set of authors that perfectly describe the effects of stigmatization in limiting the ability of the disadvantaged in receiving help and reform are Johnson, Cloke, and May who describe the negative effects of stigmatization on the homeless in their work, " Day Centers for Homeless People: Spaces of Care or Fear?". In it, they recognize that despite the best efforts of social reforms and social programs to "rehabilitate" the needy and destitute, the stigma that becomes associated with them completely removes them from the public sphere, turning them into an "other" that socially differentiates and alienates them. Lastly, I think it important to recognize that the space placed between the shopper and the disadvantaged could be a result of the naturalization of difference, whereby the disregard of the needy is naturalized as a part of social interaction. In this case, it could be that we live in a world where our social order creates a pathology that allows us to believe that the disadvantaged state of the person begging outside of the shop is natural, and thus to be tolerated. While Marx and Engels would never have agreed with this, we can certainly see how modern day policies, media, and institutions may have lead to this (unintentional) naturalization.

It is my belief, then, that the example of such behavior in a modern decentralized town like Pasadena is a clue to our understanding of the world. While not every city is exactly like Pasadena, noticing these aspects of the city can become universal towards our understanding of social relations and differences within that set of norms. While I wish that you had addressed some other points in regards to your observations, such as the relativity of such social dichotomies in Pasadena to other cities, whether the auto-centricity of the city has anything to do with the density of disadvantaged in the city, etc., I highly enjoyed your post and its inspiration for thought.

Blogging on Social Difference in LA: Week 6 - Cerritos, A Nice Place to Visit

On this week's blog adventure, I decided to go to Cerritos, and venture around this fair city. Cerritos, which is located approximately 30 miles away at the meeting point of Artesia, Long Beach, and Lakewood, has an extremely interesting diversity of people and cultures. In my opinion, the city is one of the better examples of the creation of a society from the coming together of different, specialized people (Durkheim), and shows the real value to understanding the extent and impact of social difference within the city.

My trip to Cerritos started with the drive. The city is quite a ways away from Los Angeles, and the drive can be quite terrible in LA Traffic. After traveling across the 405, the 105, the 91, and then finally the 605, you enter into the city of Cerritos. Upon exiting the freeway, you can't help but notice two of the more famous points of interest for the city: the Cerritos Auto Square and the Cerritos Shopping Mall. That these are some of the first things you encounter when entering the city references the Marxian view of suburbia: a place for the storage and distribution of overproduction and accumulation of goods. This characteristic of suburbia at first scared me into believing that Cerritos would be yet another example of a city containing the debilitating, segregation, and alienating social aspects common to many suburbs throughout the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Thankfully, my fears were soon put to rest.

My first stop in Cerritos was the area on Pioneer Street commonly known as "Little India". Located only a few blocks from the Cerritos Shopping Mall, this small stretch of street is jam packed with shops, restaurants, and jewelers who proudly promote their Indian heritage. That all of these people came together in one area suggests to me that they not only found the need to agglomerate because they are all specialized in certain services and aspects of their culture (be it food, clothing, technology, etc), but because they all had similar webs of significance (Weber). Living in Cerritos meant nothing to them without the context of their heritage to color and shape their endeavors. Thus, the restaurant packed full of people who wanted to buy mango lassi, dal, and naan was not just another restaurant, but one that represented the plight of the individual as an immigrant trying to make a life for themselves, the family trying to maintain their ancestors' culture, and the community that finds freedom and solace in maintaining their culture despite the homogenizing and assimilating effects of American life. Thus, social aspects that marked this cultural group as being "different" did not in fact separate them

My next stop in Cerritos was the public library. This library is an amazingly beautiful library. A huge, impressive structure of titanium panels and concrete, the library stands for a possible future where social difference does not have to exist, and where it cannot limit peoples' potential. This library, built to entertain all ages, had within it people of all races, studying and reading near one another.

The social restriction that sometimes comes about in the city, as in the case of the carceral archipelago, was not present in this location as all felt welcome to enter, to participate in the amenities provided, and to enhance themselves through study or reading. Because the city is so diverse in it's ethnic make up (61/5% Asian, 16.6% White, 12% Hispanic, 8% Black, http://www.city-data.com/city/Cerritos-California.html), the library was a focal meeting point for people to come and enjoy themselves without feeling like they were unwelcome or unwanted. Thus, the Cerritos Library becomes a beautiful tool that removed the import of social difference, allowing all types of people to feel comfortable crossing city or county lines in order to participate in and gain the benefits of public outreach.





Considering that the city does not have really well defined boundaries, it is very easy to find yourself in one city one moment, and the neighboring city the next, sometimes without ever having meant to change locations. This, however, is beneficial rather than harmful to the people living in the city, as it allows them greater opportunities of mobility and integration with those around them. There are less physical barriers to the inhabitants and visitors since they now can freely access the amenities within this city, and through a short drive or walk, the amenities in another city. I think that this is a perfect counterargument to Robert Park's assertion that "The City is a mosaic of little worlds which touch but do not interpenetrate.” Rather, Cerritos is a great example of how cities can "interpenetrate," allowing those in the city to enjoy their own residence and to travel to other residences so as to experience new things. While there are still parts of Cerritos that may keep it from fully disproving Park's assertion, I still believe that the city holds many of the important characteristics that can help us to better understand how to move away from a society that so heavily produces social difference to one that no longer leaves people better or worse off than others.

Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 5 -- Surf City, USA and its Romantic Perfection

Southern California is world-renowned for its idealic and utopic reputation. Starting with the pioneers of California who marketed Los Angeles as the utopic haven of perfect climate and freedom, to the cultural revolution instigated by the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Southern California has always retained its unbreakable image of beautiful weather, clean beaches, and socio-economic liberty. Kling, Olin, and Poster described Orange County as "a trouble-free, healthy life for families...modern housing, rural open space, high-quality schools, superb amenities, and a temperate climate that permitted an easy-going outdoor life year-round," thus painting an utopic image of the area. Yet, we know that this image of serenity and beauty is only really applicable to a few areas of the Southern California geography, leaving the rest of the area struggling with socio-economic differences. One such example of the utopic image of Southern California is Huntington Beach, or as it's more commonly known, "Surf City, USA".

Huntington Beach, located in southern Orange County, is a beautiful city, covered in palm trees, clean streets, and well-organized landscaping. The city is relatively large, containing a population of nearly 200,000 people. It is also easily accesible from several major freeways (405, PCH) and thus draws a lot attraction from tourism, especially for its beaches and surf-worthy waves. The sun is always shining, and the smell of the ocean rolling through this coastline city truly gives it its paradisal feeling.

As I walked through the streets and drove around the city, I noticed, however, that the city is not entirely perfect in its socio-economic spatiality. The city is rather homogenous in its ethnic makeup, as most people in the city seem to be caucasian, middle class, and relatively well-off. While there is not necessarily anything wrong with this, I couldn't help by wonder why there were so few minority families strolling the beach along with the white ones, or why there only seemed to be white teenagers milling around the downtown area. Why were minorities so few and scarce in this city? Why was it that the only minorities present in Huntington Beach, an affluent suburb of Southern California, seemed to be those present in its service sector?

Thus, I came to the conclusion after considerable observation, that social difference is a large part of what comes to play in the makeup of this city. Looking at several variables on Simply Maps, it becomes evident that Huntington Beach is an affluent suburb, with higher than average housing prices, a higher than standard consumer price index, and overall higher incomes per household. As we covered in lecture, these variables are often used as ways of controlling the social makeup of a city, allowing only certain types of socio-economic groups into the city. For example, the higher than average house prices means that only higher than average income families can afford housing in the area, which is evidenced in the maps. As you can see in the map below, very few areas of Huntington Beach have an average household income of less than $75,000, reaffirming the higher average income status of the area.

Additionally, the city is only accessible if you have access to a car, as everything is extremely spread out and the public transportation system is not nearly sufficient. Thus, those without access to cars do not have access to the city, and move to areas closer to their socio-economic means. This concept of the social division caused by economic means follows closely to the discussion in lecture of the restriction of access to the city through physical, social, or consumption means. Huntington Beach, full of gated communities, higher than average priced products, and overal feeling of white-affluence, keeps minorities out of the city, creating an indirect relationship of social difference between its residents and those of neighboring cities.

A large part of the creation of this social difference within Huntington Beach can be seen in the work written by Kling, Olin, and Poster in their work, "The Emergence of Postsuburbia". The authors comment on the growth of Orange County as a homogenous, well-off suburb that espoused post-WWII ideals of a family, affluence, and the American Dream, alluding to the influence of these ideals on modern-day Orange County. The area is still dominated by the ideas of creating homogeneity within neighborhoods, and of allowing the home to be the center of city, rather than a working area or shopping area. Kling, Olin, and Poster also comment on the automobile-centricity of Orange County, reaffirming that Orange County is only really accessible to those who have cars. Finally, the authors indicate that Orange County is largely based upon a consumption lifestyle whereby the resident does not interact with others, but focuses on their shopping needs without sociality, and moves on to other areas of the city. Thus, Huntington Beach is a creation of the expression of social differentiation in the American suburb. All of these various differentiating and segregating aspects of Huntington Beach remind us that social difference is still a common aspect of modern society. Despite the advances made in social and civil rights, or the efforts of liberals and conservatives to ameliorate the stark economic and social differences present in the modern city, there still exists a strong pattern of segregation and distanciation in the spatiality of people within cities. Yet, but looking deeper into these differences, and trying to understand them, we can hopefully one day overcome them.

Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 4 - An Interpretation on Nicholas Roja's Week 2 Post

In this week's post, I'm going to comment on a post I read by one of my classmates, which I find very intriguing. I find Nicholas's interpretation of Pasadena (and simultaneously Los Angeles) in reference to the works of Burgess and Kling, Olin, and Poster rather interesting. By referencing Burgess, Nicholas refers to the Chicago School's belief in the concentric ring model, where the city was centered around one area- the point of economic concentration. I highly appreciate Nicholas's interpretation of the Rose Bowl as one such "economic center," as it certainly draws in people from all surrounding areas on a regular basis to partake in economic activity (yay for Football!). This center is then surrounded by residential areas, similar in process to the concept presented in Burgess's model. Thus, the Rose Bowl could potentially partially serve as one such focal point in a set of concentric rings for Pasadena. Yet, I would like, however, to disagree with Nicholas's suggestion that the Burgess model is fully and currently still applicable to Los Angeles, and simultaneously, Pasadena. I am a believer in the post-modern/post-fordist model in which the city rather follows a model of poly-centricity, having many focal points that comprise the geographic makeup of the city. Nicholas suggests that downtown is the central point for Los Angeles, and then the city subsequently goes out in concentric circles from this point. And yet, we have discussed in class that Los Angeles is one of those cities that does not follow the Burgess Concentric Model well, as its layout is far from the traditional concentric theory. Instead, I believe that Los Angeles has no real center, and that the "center" of the city is contingent on the cultural and social makeup of the group(s) who live in the city, and thus have to choose their own "center". Koreatown, then, becomes a center of economic and social importance to those who work and live within that area. Similarly, downtown is only a center to those who particularly identify with that area, travel into it, and work within it. Thus, there are many centers that exist simultaneously in the city, and which collaborate to make up the entirety of Los Angeles. To classify Los Angeles according to the Chicago School Model, in my opinion, attempts to constrain Los Angeles to a set of ill-fitting classifications and borders, and truly does not exemplify the non-traditional layout and infrastructure of the city. While I may not entirely agree with Nicholas's use of the Chicago School to interpret Los Angeles, I highly commend the interpretation of the Rose Bowl in terms of the mobility of the city of Pasadena (and in the area of Los Angeles). Mobility, as we learned through our class discussions, is so crucial to success in Los Angeles. This city, which grew around the use of the automobile, is structured so that those without access to a vehicle are unable to reach most amenities and opportunities. Pasadena, it seems, is similar in that the city becomes "difficult to navigate" for residents when its mobility is constricted by the congestion caused by cars who come to the "city center" --the Rose Bowl. Thus, the city of Pasadena serves as an excellent example of the non-traditional layout of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area as it revolves around the car, and not the concentric ring. Overall, I very much enjoyed Nicholas's post about Pasadena and the Rose Bowl. It provided much food for though, as truly few UCLA students seem to realize the overall complexity of the Rose Bowl as an organism whose organs (cars, football, residents) all must come together to create a fully functionally organism. In reference to this structural functionalism theory, we can see how understanding the workings of a place in relationship to its organs allows us to better understand the functioning of a city in terms of its parts, and subsequently the functioning of residents of the city in terms of their residence.

Blogging Social Difference: Week 3 - Ktown!!

One of the things I love about Los Angeles is its incredibly diversified (and densely packed) population. There aren't many places where can you find African, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Hispanic, Portuguese, Indonesian, all together! The intrinsically complex and varied nature of Los Angeles is what makes it so interesting! Most people, however, do not have the opportunity to think of Los Angeles in terms of its social geography, and simply go through these areas in one-dimensional, entertainment driven terms. I myself made such a trip into one distinct cultural agglomeration, Koreatown, with the original intentions of entertainment, but with newly added socially geographic knowledge. For most college students, when we think of Koreatown, we simultaneously think of Korean BBQ, the most delicious and overly satisfying of dining experiences. For large quantities of delicious food, I assure you we will travel through most any circumstances. From UCLA, one must leave the white residence of Bel Air, pass along the 405S to the 10E, and then go into the heart of downtown. While many may think of downtown Los Angeles as the "center" of Los Angeles, we know now after studying the Chicago School and the Burgess Concentric Ring Model that this is not necessarily true. Regardless of whether downtown LA is the center point of LA or not, I would certainly like to claim that it is one of many major centers of cultural agglomeration, leading to large sections of the area being divided into multiracial enclaves. Thus, traveling to Koreatown asks that you pass through a dense hispanic population, where the streets are lined with Taquerias, vendors, and other hispanic cultural points. Just when you wonder whether you're heading in the correct direction after all, there is an abrupt change in the makeup of the population as the streets soon are lined in signs with Korean writing on them, kbbq's pop up on every street corner, and the population changes in its global origin. It is this kind of abrupt and distinct transition from cultural enclave to cultural enclave that not only plays into the cosmopolitan nature of Los Angeles as a whole, but to the severe social differences present within adjacent areas of the same city. Visiting Koreatown is not just a great opportunity to eat asian food, but a great way to better understand the social differences that come about from the integration (and sometimes disintegration) of cultures. Giddens writes that it is important to break with our past traditions in order to allow for the transition and change into modernity. And while the consistently Korean population of Koreatown has had to break with tradition in order to come to the United States, to build lives here, and to accept American culture, they also have been able to maintain a large part of their traditions. Thus, as there is integration of the Korean population into overall Angeleno society, the social difference between people indigenous to this area and not is apparent in the distinct differences in language, custom, and even physical appearance. Through examination of areas such as Koreatown, and subsequently Chinatown, LIttle Italy, etc., we get a feel for how social difference becomes cultural, as the city of Los Angeles turns into one giant city made of small agglomeration and enclaves of individuals.

Blogging Social Difference- Week 2: The Big Blue Bus (Updated 12/9/12)

Taking the Big Blue Bus is an adventure, to say the least. More than anything, a trip on this particularly clean and efficient mode of public transportation serves more as an insight into the diverse personalities and dynamics of the city, as thousands use the system to navigate the crowded and varied landscape of the city. Being originally from a particularly affluent residential area, I did not have much opportunity, nor need, to use public transportation prior to college. It wasn't even so much of a not wanting to, or preferring not to, as not seeing reason to in a city that did not have a well developed public transportation system. Everyone back home just used cars, and didn't think otherwise. Here in Los Angeles, however, the public transportation system is part of how so many people can survive the chaos of their daily needs. Before travel on the Big Blue Bus actually takes place, one must navigate the incredible complexity of determining available and working bus stops. Depending on the day and time, a bus makes different stops and reaches different places, making finding the correct bus at the correct place more challenging than seemingly necessary. I started in Ackerman Turnaround, having seem a multitude of Big Blue Buses come through there in the past, and thus believing this to be the correct place to start. Let me tell you, it only takes about half hour before you realize that you are in the wrong place, and really don't know where to go next. Thankfully, the Big Blue Bus company posts corresponding times and stops for their buses, yet this still necessitates a knowledge of the surrounding area. This only proves that public transportation is generally made more for local people with previous knowledge of the area and system, not necessarily for travelers. That the public transportation system is predisposed towards those who live in the area and have knowledge of the area serves as a somewhat subconscious divider as it separates the knowledgeable from the unknowing, the resident from the traveler, and those with access to resources from those that do not. To get on the bus requires a fee, which makes sense, certainly, in context of the need of the public system to be able to afford this public service. Travel itself is not necessarily smooth, but is certainly efficient. The stops are pre-determined and frequent, so travel is made in conscious observation of your relation to your surroundings as you try to avoid missing the correct stop and losing valuable time.

It is interesting to note that the Big Blue Bus, which covers a smaller area, seems to focus more on short-distance transit, meaning that people use the bus to go relatively close in their next destination. This is unique when compared to the Metro lines and other systems, which focus on long distance travel,and thus have different clientele, as the Big Blue Bus necessarily caters more to locals with limited traveling opportunties. At twelve thirty on a Tuesday, the demographics of the bus mostly consisted of younger students and elderly travelers. This makes sense in context, as most people in between those age groups would be at work during that time of day. The people themselves that use public transit are incredibly interesting and diverse characters. I personally enjoy trying to understand the social, economic, and political histories of those around me through my interpretations of how they dress, act, etc. The people on this trip varied incredibly from clean cut students to older asian grandmothers, to teenage tattooed skateboarders. For no reason whatsoever would these people come together unless through the need to travel through public transportation to meet their social and economic responsibilties. While the travelers on the bus did not interact or talk to one another, they still followed the social etiquette and structure that is common to all of us, and which brings us closer together in our common residences.

In terms of the modern day city, The Big Blue Bus is a manifestation, if you will, of the social differences that arise in society from the agglomeration of people in cities. If we follow Durkheim's belief that the division of labor creates society by agglomerating people into one area to share resources and center around one common religious/political center, then Los Angeles serves as a prime example of such agglomeration. It is home to thousands of occupations, and thus brings together multitudes of different types of people. In this way, society is diversified. As society becomes more dense and populated over a large area, there comes a need for transportation services to allow people to maintain their occupations and lifestyles. Simultaneously, we see that society stratifies itself, lending to the creation of classes and different social levels. Those in the higher levels have access to resources and thus are able to meet the daily (transportation) needs of being in this society without problem; those in the lower socioeconomic levels do not have such resources, and thus the need for public transportation, such as the Big Blue Bus, comes about. Without these tools, which are essentially manifestations of the division of labor and its consequences, society would not be able to live in cooperative unity, as competition for resources (such as dwellings nearer to work, commerce, etc) would cause discontent and conflict between groups. Los Angeles would then, hypothetically, have broken into pieces as society broke into conflicting pieces until equilibrium was reached once again. It is important to note,however, that the Big Blue Bus is just one such manifestation of this social division. Every place within Los Angeles, as well, is dictated by these social divisions, and society as we know it hangs in a balance of the manifestations of these divisions and the reactions of everyday people as they interact with these manifestations.

Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 1 (Updated 12/9/12)

My interest in Geography began when I started to ask questions like, "Why is this country more developed than that one?" or "What causes people to come together and create a language, culture, and tradition that is particular to only this area?". double majoring in Geography in addition to Economics gave me the perfect opportunity to explore and answer all of these questions. This blog is going to help me put only a portion of my suppositions, thoughts, and findings into physical form.

My interest in this class closely parallels my interest in these broader topics. I have focused my choice of geography classes at UCLA towards trying to get a better understanding of the world we live in, why people do what they do, and how things can happen one way in one place and completely differently in another place. This class will now allow me to focus my study of the distribution of people within spaces down to the distribution of social differences within and among spaces. Los Angeles is the perfect place to study this distribution of social differences, as it houses some of the most unique and varying collections of people, cultures, ethnicities, races, and beliefs all within one concentrated area. Thus, this class will not only let me study all of this, but put it into practical application.

After living in LA for four years now, I can truly attest to the importance of understanding the social, economic, and political dynamics that make up this city. Understanding the social fabric- meaning how people interact, how they are similar, and how they are different- is crucial in such a prominent and diverse city. Without such understanding, we would remain ignorant of the many processes that create society, and which subsequently mold who we are as members of society. Hopefully, through my various adventures into the Los Angeles Metropolitan Region,I will better answer the question, "What difference does difference make in the landscapes of the contemporary, metropolitan Los Angeles region?".