The Greater Los Angeles region, we ve all been told, is not a City, at least not in the European or East Coast sense of the word. LA is a collection of suburbs in search of a City, the detractors say. In a number of areas, Los Angeles has household density rivaling New York and San Francisco. The region has an integrated, multi-sector economy. It has major cultural institutions, internationally recognized universities, and unparalleled diversity.
LA also has cars more than any other place on earth.
Here in southern California, the automobile is emblematic of the lifestyle. The region also has a history of developing outward at a breakneck speed into the valleys and deserts. With all of these ideals, it is no accident that LA is known as the horizontal city. All the while, residents, observers, and planners have bemoaned this pattern of development. In the long term, they say, the costs of outward expansion outweigh the ideals.