Urban and Suburban: Are they Both Los Angeles?
A few weeks ago, I moved houses for the first time. I didn’t think the move would affect me, but I was
really struck by it. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my time on Waverly Drive and comparing it to my
new Church Street dwelling. After some time, it became clear to me that it wasn’t the change of homes
that had such an impact on me-- it was the change of scenery. Silverlake, although not in the heart of
Los Angeles, is a somewhat urban town. There are lots of shops and restaurants that attract a great deal
of foot traffic and give the place a very active feel. On the other hand, the San Rafael Hills/Garvanza
(I still don’t totally know where I live) is quite the opposite. As I’ve walked my dogs around the
neighborhood for the first few times, the lack of noise and consistent presence of relatively similar
houses is something that threw me off at first. The change from a semi-urban to suburban setting is
certainly something that will take time to get used to.
really struck by it. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my time on Waverly Drive and comparing it to my
new Church Street dwelling. After some time, it became clear to me that it wasn’t the change of homes
that had such an impact on me-- it was the change of scenery. Silverlake, although not in the heart of
Los Angeles, is a somewhat urban town. There are lots of shops and restaurants that attract a great deal
of foot traffic and give the place a very active feel. On the other hand, the San Rafael Hills/Garvanza
(I still don’t totally know where I live) is quite the opposite. As I’ve walked my dogs around the
neighborhood for the first few times, the lack of noise and consistent presence of relatively similar
houses is something that threw me off at first. The change from a semi-urban to suburban setting is
certainly something that will take time to get used to.
As we begin reading Always Running by Luis Rodriguez, the importance of neighborhood and setting
is already clear. The environment in which Rodriguez and his siblings grew up in plays a huge role in
their development and the challenges they face-- the various obstacles that Los Angeles poses nearly
forces the family to move back to Mexico. Additionally, we can see the many differences between
Watts and Reseda as the family moves from one to the other.
is already clear. The environment in which Rodriguez and his siblings grew up in plays a huge role in
their development and the challenges they face-- the various obstacles that Los Angeles poses nearly
forces the family to move back to Mexico. Additionally, we can see the many differences between
Watts and Reseda as the family moves from one to the other.
- Are there inherent differences in upbringing based on whether you grow up in a suburban community versus an urban city?
- If you think there are differences between the ways of life, is there a way someone could rectify them? In other words, could you truly provide an urban upbringing to a suburban child (or vice versa)?
- Looking specifically at Los Angeles, do you think the suburban parts of the city really get the true “LA experience”? Why or why not?
- Do you have any other general feelings or opinions regarding urban versus suburban neighborhoods? What are some of the most significant advantages and/or disadvantages to each setting?
- What qualifies an area as urban or suburban?
I’m not really sure about the first question. I think that some areas of Los Angeles could be suburban and others could be urban, but then there are areas, in my opinion, like Pasadena that lie somewhere in between. I know that a suburban community is supposed to be on the outskirts of a city and have a lower population density; an urban community (from wikipedia) says that its one of higher population density and infrastructure of built environment. So, I’m just gonna consider Pasadena as both suburban and urban. Living in Hollywood for most of my life and then moving to Pasadena, the one difference is that in Pasadena, everything is closer. When I lived in Hollywood, I would drive to many different places for different reasons, school, piano lessons, cello lessons, volleyball, etc., but living in Pasadena, I can stay in Pasadena (mostly) and have access to all of those things. Another difference I’ve noticed is that it is much easier to hang out with friends. Most of my friends are a walkable distance or a 10 minute drive. I think the suburban parts of the city do get the true “LA experience.” What is the LA experience? I think the unique thing about LA is that it is a large city with lots of variations with different people, culture, food, etc. People who live in the suburban areas of Los Angeles still consider themselves Angelenos, and I think the most important part about getting the “LA experience” is everyone has their own unique identity and that affects how you experience LA. I’m wondering what you all would consider Pasadena: urban or suburban?
ReplyDeleteMy mom grew up in Lake Bluff, Illinois, a suburban town around 30 miles North of Downtown Chicago. Based off of stories and anecdotes my mom has shared with me as well as annual summer visits to Lake Bluff to see my grandparents, there are clear distinctions that I can conclude between suburban life and urban life. Lake Bluff and Lake Forest (its adjacent sister-town) are home to phenomenal public school systems, beautiful public parks, beaches, libraries, and town squares, as well as tight-knit, friendly communities that host events and put on parades and parties. I’m not sure if I’ve ever considered Silver Lake an urban area, but for the purposes of this comparison, I’ll call it urban. I cannot say these same things that I did about Lake Bluff for Silver Lake. First, for a geographic comparison, while Lake Bluff is 30 miles from Downtown Chicago, Silver Lake is only around 6 miles from Downtown LA. This proximity to Downtown probably contributes to Silver Lake’s hustle and bustle atmosphere that Wally mentioned in his blog post. I think that urban communities like Silver Lake can certainly have strong, top-notch public schools (like Ivanhoe Elementary, the public school in Silver Lake that I attended for grades K-5), but when talking about broader public school systems, I would argue that suburban communities typically have stronger systems, probably due to funding. In terms of public spaces like parks, beaches, and libraries, again, I think that the quality of these spaces and buildings comes down to financial resources and budgeting. For instance, even if Lake Bluff and Los Angeles had the exact same amount of money to spend on building new libraries, Lake Bluff will probably end up with better, nicer libraries due to the smaller size of the community they are serving. LA can’t make one library significantly nicer than all its other libraries; the money has to be distributed, meaning that the quality of the city’s facilities will probably be compromised. In terms of the nominal qualification of an area as “urban” or “suburban,” I think it really comes down to geographic proximity to a “downtown” area (for Lake Bluff, it’s Downtown Chicago and for Silver Lake, it’s Downtown LA). Are there exceptions and nuances to this definition? Of course. And I think that it’s important to understand that these sterile classifications of “urban” and “suburban” may create stereotypes and characterizations that might misrepresent the experiences of the respective community members.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there are some inherent differences in upbringing based on whether you grew up in a suburban community or an urban city. These are two different locations and settings, and like Wally said, he already notices the great differences between the two locations. I could not speak to this experience myself because I have lived in the same suburban setting for my entire life, but I think the setting of living right in front of the San Gabriel Mountains is much different than living a few blocks away from City Hall. I don’t really know how we could rectify these differences though. I’m also not sure if there is a “true LA experience” because LA is such a diverse place. I think the LA experience is unique to every person who lives here. I know that my LA experience is different from my neighbors whose experience is different from someone living in South Gate. Something we have talked a lot about in City of Angels is LA’s diversity. From food to culture to people, LA provides a unique experience for everyone, but I think that the location you live in can greatly influence your experience. I know my life would be very different if I grew up in Santa Monica instead of Altadena. To answer Zoey’s question, I consider Pasadena suburban because it is a community that is next to a large city or within commuting distance to a larger city (Los Angeles).
ReplyDeleteI believe that there are differences that come with growing up in a suburban or urban area, but I have always lived in Pasadena so I can’t say for certain. That being said, I do think that there is definitely a difference between growing up in New York City and Pasadena. With suburban areas you often see houses with yards, rather than apartments stacked on top of each other like you do in urban areas. I honestly don’t know if there is a way to provide a suburban life to an urban areas, but I am not sure. I think the main difference between a suburban life and an urban life is that the suburbs have more access to open areas (lawns, parks, bigger apartments/houses) than urban areas, and I think it is hard to have access to space in urban areas. I think people who live in the suburbs have a different experience than those who live in the city no matter what city, but I am not really sure what you mean by the LA experience. When I think of the suburbs I think of “below the freeway” Pasadena, I think of Levittowns, I think of high income areas, but there are definitely suburbs aren’t like those things. In reality, suburbs are just places adjacent to highly populated cities, but wealth is often associated with suburbs.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in the same house my entire life, so I'm not sure if there are for sure inherent differences between a suburban or urban upbringing — or at least not as obvious as rural vs. suburban or urban. I think in a place like Los Angeles where almost everywhere has some touch of an urban aspect (everything is pretty close and big street/freeways connect almost everything) there is less of a distinction between living in a suburban vs urban area. Of course the experiences of someone living in the heart of downtown will differ from those of someone living in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, but those are pretty much the extremes. I'm not quite sure what is meant by an urban or suburban "upbringing." I guess Pasadena kids could be viewed as more sheltered from the chaos that is downtown — but nothing matches the chaos of downtown except for downtown. So I guess my answer is no, you couldn’t give a true "urban upbringing" to a suburban kid. You can give them urban experiences, but they'll never have the experience of growing up in the environment. The third question relies on how the LA experience is defined. I think that a lot of people who live in the suburbs of LA interact at some point or another with the urban center of the city, so most are not completely out of touch with the urban experience. But then again I also think that someone who lives in South Pas and maybe works in Burbank will have a completely different experience from someone who lives in Little Tokyo and works in Burbank. But they're both experiences in LA. So which one is the "true" experience? I think they both can be. That didn't really answer the question at all but there are parts of it I think need to be further explored/discussed.
ReplyDeleteLiving in different neighborhoods definitely provide different experiences but I am not sure there are inherent differences that impact your upbringing as a result of your neighborhood, but I do think it is one of the key factors that contributes to everyone's unique perspective. As a result, I’m not sure that there is any way to “rectify” that difference, or if there is anything that needs to be “rectified” at all. I think that one's perspective is also influenced by what kind of cultural engagement is encouraged in their home, and how they interact with their community and other communities. My entire life I have lived in a suburb of LA County, and as a result, I never really considered myself a part of the true “LA experience.” This class however has slightly shifted my view. While I might not have the LA experience that is often portrayed in the media, my experience is inherently “LA” because, well, that is where I live. I think every person's experience with LA is, to them, their uniquely individualized “LA experience.” I don’t have very strong opinions about suburban versus urban neighborhoods, however, I have only ever really lived in a suburban neighborhood so my experiences are limited. However, I think they both have their strengths and weaknesses and both provide different experiences in which one is not better than another. I am not exactly sure what qualifies an area as urban or suburban, but I would assume it could be determined by foot traffic, density of non-residential buildings (stores, restaurants, business), and the type of residential buildings that exist. I think that suburban neighborhoods provide a tight-knit community-based experience, while urban areas provide more opportunities for a diverse range of more culturally-enriching experiences.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there would certainly be differences between experiencing urban vs. suburban communities, they would probably be rather nuanced changes to ones upbringing. Surely, small factors such as availability of goods and services may result in varying experiences. At the same time, other differences including ambient noise level could prove to be much more significant to the individual in the long run. I am not sure that the differences in the experiences of people from urban vs. suburban communities is something we need to rectify. People have different experiences because the settings are inherently different, and the human response to ones home is predicated on the qualities and characteristics of the environment. Therefore, taking artificial steps to recreate urban qualities and characteristics in a suburban environment, or vise-versa, seems to be a difficult and odd task. Not having a definition for the "true LA experience," I am unsure how to respond to the question of who might be living it. It would seem to me, however, that the main reasons people choose to live in Los Angeles include the relatively stable weather and convenience of access to goods and services. These would probably be elevated in urban or suburban areas, where there are higher concentrations of people and residences. I believe that there is a lot to be said about being raised in a suburban or even rural setting. With ambient noise, solicitors, traffic, etc, less of an issue, people in suburban or rural areas enjoy a degree of peace and tranquility that fosters healthier development.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think Los Angeles is different than most cities in this regard, I do think that there are differences between urban and suburban lifestyle, thus resulting in a different upbringing. One of the biggest differences I believe is the public transportation. In suburban communities, I think that there is a bigger emphasis on individual transportation, meaning that more people own cars in suburban areas than urban areas. In Los Angeles, I live in the suburbs so growing up, my family always owned cars and we very rarely ever took public transportation. However, when I visit my dad in Toronto, he lives in a very urban part of Toronto. Due to this, I take public transportation a lot more when I am in Toronto compared to when I am in Los Angeles and it is a direct result of living in a more urban part of town.
ReplyDeleteI think there are differences between growing up urban vs. suburban. I've lived in Glendora and Pasadena, so I have been able to pick up on some of the subtle differences between urban and suburban communities. While I do not think that Pasadena is truly "urban," I find it has many more urban qualities when compared with Glendora. To me, suburban seems much more community oriented. While in Glendora, my family knew all of our neighbors and I could play on our street with all of the neighboring kids. In opposition to that, in the last year and a half, I have been able to see my little brother grow up while we've lived in Pasadena. My family lives on a relatively busy street so my brother can't play much outside unless we walk to the park with him. We only know one of our neighbors and all the rest of his friends he has met through classes and play centers in the area.
ReplyDeleteEspecially after learning all that I have in this class, I don't think the LA experience can be defined, but if you are talking about the LA experience as portrayed through the media, then no I don't think it is possible to have that experience in a suburban area. The LA experience seems to be about celebrity, glamour, and city life, and those are things that suburban areas don't offer.
Sometimes I forget that Altadena, Torrance, and Topanga are all a part of the same County. I also forget that Los Angeles is different from Los Angeles, the city and the county. (Only in Los Angeles?) And when I say I live in LA, I wonder what people envision of my home, an apartment or a single family house, Hollywood, the beach, or the city center, what are my neighbors like? The point is there are a lot of different lifestyles available or assigned to Los Angeles residents. There are a lot of cities within the city all with their own personality. Most areas have their own (urban) center or Main Street or something of the like, some have their own town hall, and because of the freeway gridlock, each area is annexed from the next to further breed unique characteristics. (I was noticing today that the freeway system is the most orderly and right-angular part of the city whereas all the streets slant downward.)
ReplyDeleteSuburban and urban Los Angeles seems to veer from the general city center versus suburbs give-and-take. In and around other cities, advantages and disadvantages are clear: in downtowns you'll find good food, nightlife, traffic, pedestrians and public transport. In suburbs you'll find chain stores, more space, quiet, increased living costs, driveways and cars. In Los Angeles, though, there's some crossover.
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ReplyDeleteI think the decision of whether to live in a suburban town or an urban one is probably a bigger one in Los Angeles than in other major cities; since Los Angeles is so big and difficult to navigate, where one chooses to live is normally where they spend most of their time. We’ve talked about how in Los Angeles, one can live in a certain town and never visit other parts of LA throughout their time living here. Because of this unique dynamic, the choice of urban vs. suburban can change a person’s experience. In terms of which experience is the most true to the general idea of LA, I honestly think neither setting can capture the entirety of the city. I feel like the stereotypical LA experience is one that is made up by producers in Hollywood and projected throughout the country. There are certainly aspects to the stereotype that match up with individual peoples’ experiences, but I don’t think any certain setting within LA could truly represent the city. I think living anywhere in LA, even in suburb-esque towns like Pasadena, is definitely an experience closer to ‘city-life’ than so many areas of the country. Pasadena seems pretty quiet and calm compared to somewhere like Santa Monica or Downtown, but I really these ideas are relative. Someone from a small farm town would probably be overwhelmed by things like the amount of lanes in our freeways and the number of people walking around on Lake if they visited Pasadena.
ReplyDeleteBecause I have been raised in a suburban area for my whole life, I don't know if I can accurately answer whether or not being brought up in an urban or suburban area will affect your upbringing. I assume that a child who grows up in an urban area would have to have a little more street intelligence as urban areas tend to be more populated than suburban places. Bigger populations mean more dangers. What is strange though is that most helicopter parents I know reside in suburban areas rather than urban ones so I don't really know if what I said previously holds any validity. If there was a difference between the two upbringings, then you would be able to provide either upbringing no matter where you live. I don't know what the point of calling someone's upbringing in an urban place a "suburban upbringing" though as they wouldn't have been brought up in the suburbs. Suburban parts of LA do not get the same experience as urban parts do. Pasadena is quaint, calm, and not too busy (for the most part). Some people even compare Pasadena to smaller towns in the midwest because, all though it isn't tiny, Pasadena has a "small town" feel. I would never say Downtown, LA has a "small town" feel. It's constantly busy, noisy, and chaotic. Pasadena could never emulate the feel of the urban parts of LA because it is so different. Pasadena is everything that LA is not. To answer the last question, suburban areas are residential areas that are settled near an urban city but are not caught in the business of the city. Suburbias were made so that families could live somewhere near work but not at work.
ReplyDelete1. City life exposes kids to different cultures, ethnicities, races and creeds. Theres also exposure to class differences, the elite and the homeless, middle class and upper middle class are all more visible in an urban environment. Aside from the types of people one would see in a city living environment the types of buildings, methods of transportation and overall infrastructure differs greatly from suburban living. Cities are often cultural hubs, filled with districts and specialized areas for one to explore, where a suburb is a mono culture, usually just residential spaces sometimes gated off or planned in a way where one cannot tell the difference between their neighbors house and their own.
ReplyDelete2. There is no way (in my opinion) to make up for entirely how someone is raised in terms of their environment.
3. I don’t think the suburban parts of LA get the “LA experience” because I’m from the suburban parts of LA and I don’t know what the LA experience is entirely. I know that whenever I leave LA I do take part of it with me, its in the way I speak, how I dress myself, the food I like to eat, movies I watch, and a whole list of things that I see, think, and wonder. So if that is the “LA experience” then
I think I actually have the true form of it. If the “LA experience” is restricted to how I live in LA then I don’t think so. I travel around LA for thing I have to do in my daily life, but I find myself often going into the city as a place that’s “other”, but that’s not to say I don’t feel home there, it’s just I feel the most at home when I am at my home in Pasadena.
4. Advantages of Urban
1. Exposure to so much more around you
2. You end up more worldly as a whole
Advantages of suburban
1. Cosmetic
2. Cost can be less
3. “Safety” and “Peace of mind”
5. Suburban is separate, residential, and can either be inside of a larger city or physically removed. Urban is something that fades, seemingly strongest in the center of a city but as one exits from the center the feeling of the city grows distant.