The View of LA from DC
John Pomfret of the Washington Post reports on LA’s efforts to “transform itself from a gritty urban landscape into the Manhattan of the West Coast.”
California historian Kevin Starr said he was unsure all the development would combine to create a center where they was once none. “I think L.A. is still uncertain as to its urbanism, unlike New Yorkers who are fundamentally certain about theirs,” he said. “Over and over again we debate this issue: Are we or are we not a big-time city?”
Even some participants in the downtown boom wonder if Los Angeles can remake itself into a more traditional city.
“Angelenos are different than the rest of Americans,” said Dan Rosenfeld, a partner at a downtown real estate development firm. “We are a collection of individuals, not a community.” He noted that Los Angeles has some of the best private gardens in the United States but the worst parks, some of the most stunning private architecture but disappointing public buildings, the greatest private art collections but middling museums.
“L.A. is impossible to plan,” Rosenfeld said. “Its civic character is a bundle of energy and not a place.”
