City of Cars
Los Angeles was largely built after the invention of the car, and that history impacts the setup of LA;
the car gave rise to, in the words of 20th-century writer Dorothy Parker, “72 suburbs in search of a city.”
The sprawl of LA changes the culture and impacts interactions between areas of the city and
their respective inhabitants. Talking about freeways and driving as small talk is a common stereotype of Angelenos, even to the point of inspiring much of an SNL sketch series. During the walk to the beach that many of us did over Winter Break, we were able to see how un-walkable LA can feel–– in other words, how built-for-driving LA is.
the car gave rise to, in the words of 20th-century writer Dorothy Parker, “72 suburbs in search of a city.”
The sprawl of LA changes the culture and impacts interactions between areas of the city and
their respective inhabitants. Talking about freeways and driving as small talk is a common stereotype of Angelenos, even to the point of inspiring much of an SNL sketch series. During the walk to the beach that many of us did over Winter Break, we were able to see how un-walkable LA can feel–– in other words, how built-for-driving LA is.
We’ve discussed transportation throughout our roundups for this year, but with this post and roundup, I
wanted to focus on Los Angeles as a city made for cars, and I wonder how the culture of driving impacts our relationships with the city and the layout of the city itself.
wanted to focus on Los Angeles as a city made for cars, and I wonder how the culture of driving impacts our relationships with the city and the layout of the city itself.
Despite the prevalence that cars have in many Angelenos’ lives, there are still many people who don’t
drive. In some of the books we’ve read, we can see the different relationships that characters in the book
have with driving and how they impact their relationships with the city. In Tropic of Orange, for example,
Gabriel and Emi seem to drive most places, while Buzzworm almost always walks, and these patterns
change the interactions that the characters have with others in their community.
drive. In some of the books we’ve read, we can see the different relationships that characters in the book
have with driving and how they impact their relationships with the city. In Tropic of Orange, for example,
Gabriel and Emi seem to drive most places, while Buzzworm almost always walks, and these patterns
change the interactions that the characters have with others in their community.
What have you noticed about driving and how it impacts your relationship with the city? For those who
drive, how has your life changed after learning to drive? What differences have you noticed in
transportation in LA versus in other cities you’ve visited? How do you think the culture of driving
has changed the physical texture of the city (including car-based infrastructure like freeways)? How
might life in LA be different for those who can’t drive or can’t afford to drive? (Or choose not to
drive?) What have you noticed about driving in the texts we’ve read so far? Do you think driving
has an impact on relationships between individuals or socioeconomic groups in LA? (Please also feel
free to share thoughts not directly related to these questions)
drive, how has your life changed after learning to drive? What differences have you noticed in
transportation in LA versus in other cities you’ve visited? How do you think the culture of driving
has changed the physical texture of the city (including car-based infrastructure like freeways)? How
might life in LA be different for those who can’t drive or can’t afford to drive? (Or choose not to
drive?) What have you noticed about driving in the texts we’ve read so far? Do you think driving
has an impact on relationships between individuals or socioeconomic groups in LA? (Please also feel
free to share thoughts not directly related to these questions)
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ReplyDeleteTo answer your first question, I’ve noticed that my road rage gets worse every time I get in the car. Now instead of being okay with going the speed limit/ a little bit under and taking in the view around me. I feel the need to go multiple miles above the speed limit, which inhibits me from really looking around, so I guess in that sense I’m not as aware of my surroundings. Additionally, the transportation in LA is so different from many cities. For example, NYC, Boston, DC, and Chicago are all cities that come to mind where walking is more feasible than driving. All 4 of those cities have pretty complex subway/train systems, whereas LA’s metro isn’t as grand. This goes all the way back to when people first settled on the East Coast, though. They constructed their homes and stores all really close to each other, as they didn’t have cars and wanted to be able to walk. However, in LA, as we learned, they split the land up so that people would be able to farm, meaning everything was more spread out, thus there was a need for transportation from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was thinking about what you said regarding Buzzworm and Tropic of Orange and found it interesting how because Emi and Gabriel both drive, they seem to know way fewer people than Buzzworm. It also seems like Buzzworm is more engaged with the news at a more personal level, as opposed to Gabriel and Emi. I think that this ties in with your question about whether or not driving has an impact on relationships between socioeconomic groups in LA because Buzzworm is homeless and Gabriel is upper/middle class and there is an obvious divide between them. I kinda feel like they are more short with each other (? I don’t know if that’s the right word to describe their interactions…)
First of all, nice title. Obviously, driving in Los Angeles is almost an essential. While public transportation is available, I would not say it is as convenient/efficient in contrast to a Subway system like New York City; consequently, this leaves people with only one option and that is driving. For me personally, I realized how necessary cars are only after I started driving sophomore year. I definitely took driving for granted and relied on either Uber, Lyft, or my parents to take me wherever I needed to go. However, now I have more commitments, responsibilities, and even a job that demands a car to get around with.
ReplyDeleteAfter walking to the beach (without Lux) I began to realize, just like Emma, that LA is virtually un-walkable. For the most part, it is stretched out and walking can become a nuisance sometimes. The cars in Los Angeles also make the city unique. Yes people do joke about it (SNL), and yes there are always references and nods to the constant traffic of the city (La La Land), however, I would challenge others to view freeways as arteries, capillaries, and veins and the cars are the blood cells that flow within them. They really play a vital role in the city and I think that the freeways themselves bind Los Angeles together.
As non-licensed individual, I have not gotten to experience driving for myself in the city; however, by being a passenger all the time I have come to realize and appreciate (in a sense) many things. LA is a city that was designed for transportation by car. We can see this in the endless sea of freeways and the lack of locations the metro can take you. I have noticed that because the city is centered around everything cars starting from uber and lyft to ending with your own personal car or your friends and family's car, not only living, but driving has also become expensive. Gas prices in California are extremely expensive but people are forced to pay them even when they can't afford to. For individuals who either choose or can afford to drive places, the city has not made it easy for them. Places in LA come in clusters. What I mean by that is that there may be a few stores and restaurants on a street, however, once you've visited or gone to all those places it is a long walk to get to other places. I think that drivers build a completely different relationship with LA than walkers, bikers, and individuals who take public transit. Drivers live an expensive but easier life in LA regarding transportation while the others live a cheaper but more difficult LA lifestyle.
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ReplyDeleteYour questions reminded me of an essay we read last year in English. If I'm remembering it correctly, the piece argued that with the advent of technology/handheld devices, looking out of the car window on a drive is our only lasting connection with our surroundings. When I'm on the Metro, I'm looking at my phone. When I'm driving, I'm studying the street. So it's true that driving gives you a sort of spacial awareness that you might not already have, one that clearly affords you navigational skills. But in Los Angeles, it's more than that...driving is like a right of passage. Once you get your license in LA, it's like you've been initiated into the city's car culture, and you get this newfound sense of the landscape. Based on this narrative, or at least this feeling that I experienced when I got my license, folks who can't drive or can't afford to drive are once again cut out of a large part of the city's image.
ReplyDeleteAlso, like you and Cole mentioned, on the walk to the beach I realized pretty early on that what we were doing was entirely unnatural as Angelenos, which is why I promptly ordered an uber at mile 15.
As in other major cities (New York!), driving in DTLA can be incredibly stressful. That said, LA is much more spread out, which obviously contributes to most Angelenos’ first instinct to use cars to get from one place to another. Thus, being able to drive in the Los Angeles area is life-changing in terms of the agency it allows for and the sudden (relative) ease of moving around such a monolith of a city. And although I’ve never tried to drive in the typical compact, clustered east coast city, I hypothesize that LA’’s spread-outness makes driving all the more rewarding as it comparatively gives people space to breath and enjoy the act of driving itself (as much as is possible).
ReplyDeleteThere are a multitude of ways in which Los Angeles shows its pro-car bias. Our metro system can’t hold a candle to NYC’s subway or London’s Underground; why would we have an expansive public transportation system when the city clearly encourages/is built for people to drive anyway? Freeways also take up a ton of space in the city; it’s a trait that characterizes Los Angeles and makes travel infinitely more simple, but as we’ve discussed, it also separates and disrupts communities.
Because of all that and more, it seems like it would be incredibly inconvenient to live in this area without a car. Of course, because cars are expensive, the groups of people that have cars versus those who do not are largely split along socioeconomic and racial lines, which is a problem that I think the city increasingly needs to confront. That’s just another obstacle that non-white, working class people have to contend with that their well-off white counterparts do not.
Even as a non-licensed Angeleno, the level at which Los Angeles revolves around the ability to navigate by car is incredibly apparent. While I do feel like this fact might become a burden on some and cause most to make/perpetuate stereotypes about driving in LA, I also feel like it’s something that’s made our city unique and serves us in many positive ways. For example, I think the value of being able to look out the window and view certain things (murals, graffiti, etc...) that are only viewable from places like the freeway would be impossible to interact with without driving.
ReplyDeleteI feel like that I have gotten to know my city on a different level by being in a car constantly. If I was on a subway/train/walking, I wouldn’t know the intricacies and expansiveness of our city like I do through driving through it. LA’s infrastructure is clearly set up for everyone to drive through it, and much of that is because anything else would be impossible. People always say things like “oh, if only we had a system like NY’s,” but such a system would be impossible with the way our city is laid out, and with how sprawled out it all is.
I think Angelenos’ relationships with driving certainly change as socioeconomic barriers are crossed, especially because those who are unable to afford a car have to find alternate means of transportation, something particularly hard in a city like this.
Although this might be due to the fact that I haven't really exercised in a year, I have to agree with Cole—L.A. is ALMOST completely un-walkable. Those of us who went on the beach walk learned this the hard way, coming home with shin splints, bloody socks, and a grueling (yet awesome) experience under our belts. As most people have already said cars are the lifeblood of the city, and they most definitely affect the way of life here. I mentioned this in one of the earlier blog posts about freeways, but they pose a big threat to the wildlife in LA. Mountain Lions are crossing the street, freeways are collapsing from earthquakes, the list goes on...The relationship between the freeways and the natural habitat in so-Cal is definitely on shaky ground; however I think (whether this be bad or good) both are adapting to co-exist with one another.
ReplyDeleteMy own relationship with my car (Arnold Palmer the Volkswagen Golf) and the city has been a pretty great one. Most of my understanding of LA actually came from me looking out of the backdoor car window on trips to my grandmother's house in Burbank. When I turned 16 and got my license, however, I noticed my driving experience was very different than as a passenger. When I am driving, it forces me to look at the city with more focus and less passiveness than I would as a passenger. It allows me to see the intricacies of the city in the comfort of Arnold (lol). While this can be sheltering, at times it is comforting to be able to explore L.A. through a different type of lense. I am very priveleged to be able to say this and I feel very lucky to even have a car at this age, but driving in LA is one of my favorite things. It is calming to navigate the streets and (literally and figuratively) be transported to a different place.
*FROM LUKE: For decades, America has had a love affair with cars, and perhaps no place more than California. Los Angeles, a sprawling metropolis with a woefully inadequate public transportation system, makes a car a near necessity. This love of cars is often equated with a term as lofty as freedom because it grants the opportunity to explore unimpeded. As I prepared for my trip to Beijing, one of my tasks was to familiarize myself with the transportation system, as I knew that this would become my primary means of travel. Once I arrived in my new city, I immediately surmised that transportation was not a huge consideration after all. The same freedom that I experienced traveling by car, I found in the efficient and elaborate public transportation system in Beijing. I enjoyed discovering the city as an afterschool activity, using the last hours of daylight to take in the sights, sounds, and aromas of my new surroundings. Customarily, I would ride a city bike, available more readily than Bird or Lime scooters, and peddle to the nearest subway station. Choosing a random subway line, I would determine to learn a new area in the city, getting lost on purpose. It was freeing to travel to the various districts seeing sights stopping in tea houses, and sampling food. Having been focused on what I may lose in terms of ease of traveling convenience, I never stopped to consider what benefits there may be to utilizing public transportation. In Los Angeles, moving about the city by car is usually a very solitary experience. Multipassenger vehicles in the carpool lanes zipping by while you are at a standstill is a testament to that. While some may enjoy this time of solitude, I found the social interaction inherent in public transportation to be a great way to further acculturate myself. Whether I closed my eyes, something you can not enjoy behind the wheel, and listened to the various conversations around me, enjoyed the scenery outside the windows, or engaged in conversations with curious commuters, it was always an enriching experience.
ReplyDeleteI love driving in LA. Getting my license and being able to have my own car has majorly changed so much of my life- and I think the independence and fluidity that being able to drive offers is magnified in a city like LA.
ReplyDeleteI really like what Sophia said in her response- the idea that once you can drive in LA you've been initiated into this routine and become (in a weird sense) sort of connected with the people in LA, even though you are literally more isolated from them then ever.
One thing I really don't like about driving though (and this is super frustrating living in LA) is freeways. I'm a visual learner and I really like maps and other physical manifestations of things/places etc, so when I drive I love to be able to connect to certain places I know or recognize and there's just no way to do that on a freeway. I like to take streets, or at least know how to take streets because I find that I value my time in the car and my time in LA more when I feel like I'm apart of these places - and I just don't feel like that on (most) freeways. I'm trying this new thing where I don't use my phone to navigate, and instead rely on my sense of direction or things/places I know to ground my understanding of where I am. Haha we will see how this works out...
I agree with everyone's posts so far. I think that as a licensed teenager it is extremely convient to be able to drive places. After not having my license in my freshman and sophomore year, it is hard for me to think about what it was like without a car. I think that having a license is something that at first you may not think is extremely important, but after having one in Los Angeles, you realize that it is something that is essential, as LA's public transportation isn't the best. However, when I drive, I notice that I do not really absorb my surroundings as I am so focused on driving that I don't notice my surroundings. I think that while LA is not a walking-friendly city, driving takes away from the views the city has to offer.
ReplyDeleteI got my license relatively late and I was always so frustrated because I wanted to see my friends but I couldn’t drive, so I always had to scavenge for a ride and hope and pray that someone would be generous enough to pick me up. As soon as I was licensed, I felt so liberated, like I could do anything and go anywhere whenever I wanted. I think it’s strange how as soon as I started driving, I immediately felt like I couldn’t do without it. My dad and I share a car, and there are many days when he needs the car and I am left without one. I, embarrassingly, feel pretty uncomfortable without it. And I guess that’s because we live in a city that is run by cars, and on the days that I don’t have mine, I weirdly feel left out– it feels like every single person is driving in this city, and I am not part of that little club.
ReplyDeleteObviously I love driving, but, like Rachel said, I hate freeways. On a literal sense, a vehicle separates you from what’s outside, but then with freeways being such huge dividing lines in our city, taking freeways as opposed to taking side streets just makes me feel so far removed from LA. I think I’ll take on that challenge too, Rachel - taking side streets, I mean. If that’s what it takes to stay connected to this city, then so be it!
Like others have said, Los Angeles is quite impossible to navigate by foot. Being able to travel by car is a necessity to get around LA although many may not be able to afford a car let alone insurance and gas prices. Public transportation in LA was obviously not something that was thought of when LA's infrastructure was being built. The culture of driving has changed the physical texture of LA completely, most of the streets I use have potholes and the freeway I use the most has been under construction for almost four years.
ReplyDeleteMy relationship with LA had changed since I've learned to drive, instead of simply looking at my surroundings I am actually recognizing places I've been and have gotten a sense of familiarity with this city.
Like we’ve said before, Los Angeles definitely has been built around driving. I was just talking to my dad the other day about how spread out LA is unlike other cities. Whenever we go to NY or SF, we never drive and just walk everywhere, but you can’t really do that in LA.
ReplyDeleteBoth my parents spent years working at the LA Superior court and had to commute to downtown LA. They both have cars which made it easier, but for a little while my mother took the train to save money on gas and parking. I definitely think having a car gives you easy access to the entire city of LA, but I also think you can take the train. Whenever my dad and I go into Downtown, we always take the train. If you do take public transportation to work, then you do have to take in account many factors such as what time should I leave the house, what time is the train coming, how far is the walk from the train station to my destination, etc.