Social Difference in L.A.: Week 10

This week I went to Downtown Santa Monica. I wanted to look at this part of Los Angeles as a Neo-liberal city, just like in David Harvey's readings and in our class lectures. Walking through this area, it reminded me of different liberal theorist who talk about how the city is a place for the elite taking advantage of the working class. In the class lectures we talked about how entertainment areas were a way of keeping the working class happy. The proletariat, try and get their workers to work as much as possible in order to get as much production as they can get. In order to do this you need to also give the workers something to look forward too. In this case we have the Pier in Downtown Santa Monica, that has carnival rides and games. There is also shopping, which not only pleases the working class, but also contributes to the proletariat and their earnings. The more people buy goods, the more money the proletariat make, and the more workers will be working to make these goods.

This all contributes to this Neo-liberal world.

Stores for people to shop and help contribute to capitalism.

Mix of different races and classes, spending their time in Downtown Santa Monica.

A store display, trying to attract costumers to shop inside the store. 

Hotel on Ocean Dr. to accommodate people from further locations.

Business building, where workers will work the proletariat.

Lastly some more stores for consumers to consume more products.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 9

This past Saturday I went to LACMA and after that I went to the Farmer’s Market at the Grove in La Brea. I chose this area because there is a very high amount of diversity. Many different people from many different backgrounds come here to eat and shop daily. The Farmers Market has many places to eat from all different kinds of ethnic backgrounds like, Mexican, Greek, French, Spanish, Korean, etc. There are many different kinds of shops in the area too that sell anything from produce to jewelry.

In David Harvey’s Neo-Liberalism as Creative Destruction, he says that “neoliberalism is in the first instance a theory of political economic practices which proposed that human well-being can best be advanced by the maximization of entrepreneurial freedoms within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, individual liberty, free markets and free trade.” Neoliberalism and the rights to free trade is what has made the “Farmer’s Market” possible. Different types of food from all different types of countries are imported here, so businesses can sell and make food from that region. Different objects are made in different countries and sent overseas to be sold here too. 

Here is a panoramic photo inside the Farmers Market. As you can see there is different types of food to choose from and many different types of people.

Korean BBQ, one of the different types of ethnic food here.

Spanish Tapas from Spain.

This last picture is a little off topic, but I thought was really interesting and relevant to the class. At LACMA there was an installation piece called "The Metropolis II." Looking at it, it seemed that the lower-class or less elite would be located at the bottom layers, and as you go further up in society or the more elite you become, you would be located at the upper layers.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 8

This week I did a comment on another classmates blog post. She had written a blog post about her experience taking the bus and going to a "El Dia de los Muertos" celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Her blog post and my comment can be seen here: Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Here is my comment to her blog post:

Hi Teresa,

I thought your blog was very interesting. I think that the celebration of El Dia de los Muertos is a very beautiful and interesting cultural celebration. I didn't even know that they celebrated this event at this cemetery. 

In class, we discussed cultural signifiers. Which is a cultural symbol that signifies meanings that are produced in specific communities, at specific times, in specific places. We talked in class also how they are also floating signifiers, meaning that cultural symbols change through time. This tradition is a perfect example of a cultural signifier. Like you said earlier, that this tradition rooted from Aztec culture with catholic holy days. This was something that emerged over time becoming a tradition. I feel that what people have used (clothing, decorations, and art) have been a floating signifier through time. People have used different objects changing through time. Especially right now, I think that "El Dia de los Muertos" has been getting a lot of hype recently. I remember doing a day of the dead face painting for halloween about 4 years ago, and this past halloween it had recently become very popular. I am not really sure how and when this has become a popular thing, but artist have been making more art towards this tradition, you see it in the media more, and people are even getting tattoos of this on their bodies. Although this popularity going on throughout the nation may die out and a new floating signifier will come about, the tradition and celebration of this event for the people of this culture will probably never die out.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 7

This weeks blog post is a comment on another students blog post about her experience at a farmers market in LA and the access of different foods based on income.

Hi Hannah,

Since moving to LA this past September, I haven't been to any farmers markets, but I have been wanting to check some out. Something interesting I wanted to say was that at my previous community college, we had a guest speaker come in that worked in agriculture with a private company in Orange County. She was a big time advocate on organic foods, growing your own fruits and vegetables and healthy living. She had told our class that a lot of times farmers markets are not as organic as you think. She told us about little tricks some of the people do. One of the things she said was that sometimes they will have fake signs that their food is organic, and the only way to be sure is if you see or ask for there certification that is done by the state. Another thing she said is that legally some of farmers fruits and vegetables are allowed to have a certain percentage that is not organic, so sometimes you may be buying something that actually in fact is not organic. Another thing that she informed us about is that, some farmers will have an idea of when state inspection will come in, and if they have enough time before state comes in, that they will actually spray all the harvest with some pesticides, and by the time state comes in they really have no way of telling if pesticides were being used or not. 

There are a lot of tricks and lies in the business. I am not trying to label every farmer this way, but it does happen. I don't even know if you mind, but it is something to consider and is interesting to know about. She told us that, the only way you can really be sure that your produce is a 100% organic is to grow your own produce. This is a goal that I want to accomplish one day when I have the right yard. 

I also thought it was interesting what you said about the change in food access with income. I have noticed that around the UCLA vicinity, it is not very common to come by a fast food or drive through restaurant. Having been in and driving through different parts of LA, I have noticed it is easier to find these in lower income neighborhoods and/or industrial, business type areas. 

What you said about Mark Bittman saying that it is a misconception that fast food is cheaper than food from a grocery store. I think I do have to agree with that. There are certainly items on a fast food menu that are very cheap, but to get the best bang for your buck is to actually buy your own food and make it yourself. Being a student on a budget, cooking my food on a regular is way more cost efficient then eating out at a fast food restaurant on a regular. Maybe its more about the conveniency. People working all day either too tired or not having enough time to cook, leads them to eat out at fast food restaurants as the cheapest alternative.

Here is a link to her blog post and my comment.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 6

This week I wanted to visit a neighborhood that had predominately more Black's living in the area compared to a neighborhood that had predominately more White's living in the area. I chose this because in this weeks reading "The Continuing Causes of Segregation," by Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton, they talk about the segregation of blacks and whites in neighborhoods. They say in the writing "In the market-driven, status-conscious society of United States, affluent families live in different neighborhoods than poor families, and to the extent that blacks are poor and whites are affluent, the two groups will tend to be physically separated from one another." I wanted to see if this was true in Los Angeles, so I looked up on simplymaps.com, a website for UCLA students that shows geographical data on a map under different variables.

Here is a map showing the percentage of the black population by the block group. As you can see there is a high percentage of black's living in Inglewood. This is the city I chose for the neighborhood where predominately black's live. Below is a map of the median household income for black's. 

Next is a map showing the number of white population by block. In here you notice most of the white's are living near the beach and areas with higher elevation. I chose Brentwood as the city with predominately white's living in the area. 

Next is a map showing the median household income for the white population.

You can see the difference between the income of blacks and white on the map compared to the population as well.

I drove to Inglewood, and drove down Manchester Avenue. I had never been to Inglewood, and at first I have to admit, that I was a little worried that it might not be that safe, but to my surprise it really wasn't that bad! Even though the buildings, houses and businesses might not be as nice as compared to Beverly Hills it was actually fairly kept up nice and clean. I didn't really see any graffiti or signs of gangs and major poverty. The houses were smaller, but kept up pretty descent and nice. The roads were pretty wide and actually in better condition then the roads of Sunset Blvd. by the school campus. It was a rainy day, so you didn't really see as many people walking around, so I wasn't able to see the diversity. I drove by a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles though, and had decided to go in and have a bite to eat. The parking lot actually had a mix of expensive cars and some more economical cars, which I was surprised by. Inside there were a majoriy of black's sitting, socializing and eating lunch. I did see a few Persians, Asians and whites as well. 

I just thought this was interesting, because you would definitely not see any ads like this in some other upper class neighborhoods.

The Forum, a concert hall a lot of artist perform at.

The parking lot in Roscoes, you can see the mic of expensive cars and economical cars.

People eating in the restaurant.

A strip shopping mall. Notice the "Adult Videos." You would definitely not see this in Brentwood.

One of the houses. Its not the most perfect house, but it is in actually pretty good shape.

Roscoe's restaurant. You can see the nice paved roads here as well.

When I was in Brentwood I walked around San Vincente Blvd. The buildings here for the businesses are pretty nice and some of them are very architecturally pleasing. There are businesses here that are meant to serve to the upper class like, Wholefoods, expensive organic dry cleaners, upscale restaurants, frozen yogart and some speciality boutique shops. 

Overall, I agree that there is some segregation in neighborhoods, where white's tend to be more populated and where black's may tend to be more populated, but from what I experienced, I felt that the low-income and poverty rate was not as bad in Inglewood as maybe some other areas in the United states would be, like maybe Balitmore or Detroit. 

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 5

This weeks blog post is a comment on another students blog. Her blog post was about the social difference in Downtown Los Angeles, in particular the Garment District and Skid Row:

Hi Sara,
I really enjoyed this blog post. I have been to Downtown LA many times but have forgotten about the Garment District. Your post made me want to go back to this area again. I have been here a few times to shop and it actually is a great place to find some great deals on new fashion items. Many times some of these shop owners make clothes for major clothing companies and know the new designs for the season, and will make similar clothing based on what is in for the season.
For Skid Row, I remember when my mother first drove me down around here when I was about 8 years old. I remember being really frightened and couldn't believe that this was how some people were living. At the time I could not understand how people would get to this point. Now that I am older and understand real life situations now, I now know that many of the homeless either have a drug addiction or actually have some sort of mental illness, like schizophrenia.
You mentioned that there were many public service buildings in the area like shelters and what not. In William Julius Wilson's writings in "The Truly Disadvantaged," he says "....Indeed, Losing Ground (a book written by Charles Murray) not only attributes increasing poverty to programs such as those of the Great Society, it also explains increasing rates of joblessness, crime, out-of-wedlock births, female-headed families, and welfare dependency, especially among the ghetto underclass, in terms of such programs as well. Murray argues that recent changes in social policy have effectively changed the rewards and penalties that govern human behavior..." This quote makes me wonder if these public services make a difference or not. I do believe that public services are important but it makes me think what and how would be the best way to run these programs and decrease these rates of homelessness and poverty.
About your last comment of the lady yelling at you, that is crazy! Must have been a little intimidating and I am not sure how I would have responded to that. 

Here is a link to her blog post that I had commented on.

Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 4

This past Sunday, I went to Downtown Santa Ana in Orange County. Downtown Santa Ana is really interesting because it was one of the first major centers built in Orange County. Once suburbia started to sprawl and Orange County became this huge suburban city, DTSA started to become more isolated and this part of the city sort of became a ghost town, until it became more of a center for Latino's, with businesses that were Latino dominated.

Here is a map of Downtown Santa Ana currently.

I read an article in the Orange County Register, that talks about the history of ethnic mixing on East Fourth Street (can be seen in the yellow square in the map above) and according to the article, East Fourth Street was starting to become a Mexican commercial district since the 1930s. Although it was primarily white through the 1940s, Mexican immigrants were already starting to populate this area. Historically the street was a mixed thing, bringing in middle-class whites and Latino customers. There used to be a JC Penny's and other economical stores located in the area. In the 1950s, most of the customers were U.S. born, of Mexican descent. After South Coast Plaza was built in the late 1960s, DTSA started to become more focused on the immigrant working class. It wasn't until the 1970s that DTSA become a sort of a ghost town, and this is when Latino shop owners came in hosting largely to Mexican immigrant customers. 

Currently DTSA is going through a gentrification process which includes more condos and high rises, more pedestrian friendly streets with urban style streets and a light-rail service. Which would not only be in effect in DTSA but also surrounding areas where single-family style homes are located and industrial businesses. Here is an article that talks about some of the plans and problems with the gentrification process. 

Right now in Orange County, these old towns and centers are starting to become more popular and becoming more attractive to live in, especially younger couples with no children and/or older couples with grown children. I walked around DTSA looking at the mix of the Latino dominating areas, new condos and high rises, and the artist village where all the hipsters like to hang out.

Walking around the cars in the area were more economical, the landscape was very urban with some trees planted on the walkways, lots of latinos walking around, specially families. There was a lot of businesses catering to the Mexican cliental, like carts that sell mexican food and fruit, barber shops, hair salons, mexican food restaurants, clothes stores with spanish titles and even clothes stores specified for "quinceniera" (which is a mexican tradition of celebrating the birthday of girls turning 15 years old). On the outskirts of the downtown you could also see some old and dilapidated buildings. 

Here is an image of the outskirts of downtown that have old dilapidated buildings and some single-style family homes at the end of the street.

Barber Shop at a street corner.

Some small businesses that cater especially to latinos.

Trees that line the streets and walk ways.

Small Salon found on a street corner.

Advertising written in spanish, targeting latino clientele. 

Latino customers walking on the sidewalk.

Quinceniera clothing store.

I took a video when I was walking around, so you can kind of feel and experience the area a little bit.

In other parts of downtown there are movie theaters, bars, clubs, cafes, coffee shops, and restaurants. These areas tend to bring in a more younger crowd who like living a more city life. The Art District, is an area that tends to have more of these attractions. A lot of hipsters like to hang out here and of course there is art here!

Playground, a restaurant that has been getting a lot of hype. By the way I have ate here multiple times, and I would highly recommend it if you ever get a chance or are near the area.

Yost Theatre is one of the original buildings but now serves as a club.

One of the many new condos.

A mural in the art district.

The front of Santora building. This is a historical building here in downtown Santa Ana, which now serves as a gallery and holds several businesses. 

A display of some art inside the Santora building.

One of the restaurants in the Santora Building

A cafe in the art district, including the hipster crowd.

There is a lot of controversial about the gentrification going on in DTSA. Some crowds are not happy because of new taxes and they feel that they are trying to push out the latino crowd. Some crowds like it because they like the urban feel and the new businesses that go with it. There are pros and cons to this. Pros being less violence and crime, more sales tax revenue, and the beautification of these old downtowns. Cons being that some businesses get pushed out and people loosing there homes and culture due to new developments.

What do you think is better, the gentrification being done, or just leave it the way it is?