Designed by architect Jon Jerde, L.A.'s leading postmodernist comic, CityWalk attempts to distill the essence of indigenous Los Angeles - the wild and wacky feel of Melrose Avenue, Venice Beach, and Sunset Boulevard. Ironically, these places are now considered by many to be too mean to meander. A fish restaurant will lure customers with its faux beach and wave machine. So now they go off the real world to simulators. Leon Whiteson, architectural writer for the Los Angeles Times, is less rattled by the concept.
Private spaces masquerading as public places are increasingly common.
CityWalk is going to look hokey because it's instantaneous. But it's better than not having public spaces at all. Sharing common space of any kind is not part of the Los Angeles experience. Still, when community development is given over to corporations, Davis fears, society risks losing its soul. There's a struggle going on in America today to save the democracy of public space.