Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the second larger Ville of the United States after New York City and right in front of Chicago, it is located at the south of the California, on the peaceful coast . The Americans often call it by his diminutive marked L.A. “él ey”. This city is the chief town of the county bearing the same name. Los Angeles means “the angels” in Spanish and its inhabitants are called Angelins. Its complete name est : Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Ángeles del Río de Porciuncula , i.e. “the village of Notre-Dame the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porcioncule”.

The population of the commune is of: 3849378 inhabitants in 2006, whereas it was only of 11.500 in 1887. The county gathers 10.179.716 inhabitants whereas the urban Aire of Los Angeles ( city-area ) account more than 20 million inhabitants, which makes of it the second agglomeration of the the United States after that of New York. But the only municipality of Los Angeles (the city ) is relatively restricted vis-a-vis the agglomeration angeline, even if it is larger than New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Los Angeles is a Olympic city: it accommodated the Plays twice (in 1932 and 1984). Universally known for its scientific and cultural activity, she intends to preserve her statute of world city-area ( world city-area ). L.A. is cosmopolitan and remains one of the entrance points of the most important immigrants in the United States. It attracts the populations thanks to its climate, its lifestyle and opportunity of carrying out its American Rêve there.

History

See also: History of Los Angeles, Riots of 1992 in Los Angeles

After inhabitbeing inhabited during thousands of years by the tribes Amerindian born Tongva and Chumash, the bay of Los Angeles is located in 1542 by the Portuguese João Rodrigues Cabrilho. They are then two Spanish missions come from the south which is established to with it in 1771 and 1797. Los Angeles is founded in 1781 as a pueblo (Village). The California is annexed in 1822 by the Mexico, become independent of the Spain, and, a few years after, of the concessions are offered by the governor. In 1848, the area passes under the control of the the United States, following their victory in the war against Mexico. It is in 1850 that the city becomes the capital of the county same name. The small commune is not whereas a simple village of the Western American, with his Saloon S, its gaming rooms and its Route S still out of ground.

The Railroad arrives in 1876 and the direct connection with the east coast realized in 1885. The culture of the Citrus fruits S, in particular of the oranges, founds the fame of the city until New York. It then passes from 2.300 inhabitants in 1860 to more than 50.000 in 1890 and reached the 100.000 inhabitants in 1900. The discovery of layers of Pétrole at the beginning of the 20th century causes a new surge of population. The Ville increases quickly by annexing the close municipalities. The aeronautical Industrie takes there its rise at the same time thanks to Lockheed and Douglas, while the Cinéma is transformed into true industry, with like epicentre the district of Hollywood.

In 1992, Los Angeles is shaken by bloody riots started by the business Rodney King, which sees a black motorist being made attack by four white police officers of LAPD. This major bur is filmed by a resident, which causes the behavior of a lawsuit under high pressure and very mediatized. The payment of the police officers pronounced by a jury with white majority raises a wave of anger in the popular quarters and poor of South Central. Six days of inter-racial confrontations lead to the intervention of the National guard. These riots are the discharge system of old rancours, whose tradesmen of Asian origin , mainly Korea NS, are the main victims. The official results of violences advance the figure of 55 dead and more than 2.000 wounded. The police force proceeded to more than 10.000 interpellations, and the fires and plunderings were estimated at a billion dollar of 1992, for confrontations such as the United States had known some more since the Années 1960. A few years later, in 1994 the Ville undergoes an important earthquake with Northridge and sees several attempts at secession of some of its areas, like the Vallée of San Fernando and Hollywood in 2002, without result. Today they are the Immigration, the rise in importance of the minorities and the redéveloppement urban one which dominate the topicality of Los Angeles.

Geography

Los Angeles is located in California of the South and occupies part of the basin éponyme, a broken coastal plain, as well as most of the Vallée of San Fernando. The city extends on 1290,6 km ², including 75,7 km ² (5,86%) occupied by water levels. The North-South distance largest is of 71 km, the East-West distance of 47 km, and the total perimeter is of 550 km. According to the Bureau of the census of the United States, the Ville is in the eighth national place for the surface if one excludes the Alaska and Hawaii.

Natural data

See also: Large Los Angeles

Los Angeles offers a large variety of landscapes: if the unit is primarily urban, one can admire the Pacific Ocean also there with the coasts of bays of Santa Monica and San Pedro, and of the landscapes of mountains and hills with the Monts Santa Monica and, further in north, the San Gabriel Mountains. This geographical location makes it possible Angelins to ski and to bathe in the same day.

Maximum altitude is of 1.548 meters to the Sister Elsie Peak . The principal river of Los Angeles is the Los Angeles River, a small river which takes its source in the valley of San Fernando and crosses the city to the ocean. Its banks are concreted over almost all its length.

The area of Los Angeles includes/understands a remarkable number of indigenous species of plants: the Poppy of California, the matilija poppy , the toyon , and of the hundreds of others. With its beaches, its dunes, its hills, its mountains and its rivers, it is rich in various ecosystems. But certain species rare and are threatened, like the Los Angeles sunflower .

Climate of Los Angeles

The city enjoys a Mediterranean Climat characterized by soft and wet winters and hot and dry summers. It benefits from 325 days from annual sunning and fact part of the Sun Belt (“sun girdles”). The winds coming from the Pacific Ocean tend to refresh the coast in summer and to heat them in winter. Inside the grounds, the maritime influences are less felt, so that the thermal amplitude increases. The temperatures can thus vary several degrees in the districts furthest away from the littoral. The highest recorded temperature was of 46,7°C with Canoga Park in 1985; the record of cold is established with -7,8°C in 1989 in this same district.

The rains fall especially in winter (the month of January is wettest) and in spring. The annual averages are of 381 mm for precipitations and 16,5°C for the temperatures.

Town planning

The town of Los Angeles is considered today by the town planners and the geographers like models it and the prefiguration of the development of the American metropolises. It eclipses the model of Chicago which prevailed since the end of the 19th century with famous the school of Chicago). If the recent studies are considered, the “City of the angels” appears for many specialists like the laboratory in the “urban Postmodernisme”.

First of all, Los Angeles is characterized by the absence of true downtown area. Indeed, even if for Angelins the historical heart of the city is located at Olvera Street, place where Los Angeles was founded, and if the downtown area is Downtown Los Angeles, the various functions of command in fact are distributed in several districts distinct and moved away. This situation finds its origin in the history of the city. On their arrival, the new Anglo-Saxon populations and Protestant make a point of dissociating Spanish-speaking populations indigenous and the mark which the latter printed at the historical city. Moved by a “pastoral” ideal characteristic of the ideology WASP, these new inhabitants build the districts of the city with one weak density, in order to keep a proximity with natural spaces and to center the social life on the family unit equipped with an important domestic space. At the end of the 19th century, Angelins chose the house with garden like forms habitat privileged. This design of the urban organization anchored a logic of unlimited growth of the agglomeration, which was made possible as the means of transport multiplied and improved: initially the public transport (trains and trams) replaced quickly by the car. Today, its extension in form of spot of oil in made a Agglomération which extends on more 100  km of north in the south.

This urban spreading out ( urban sprawl in English) thorough with extreme results in to go against the search for a proximity with nature, natural spaces being accessible only after one long crossing from the vast private housing estates constituting the immense periphery of the agglomeration. This one indeed has less the good score with regard to the relationship between natural spaces and the total surface area of all the west coast. Urban displacements also became a central problem. The public transport cannot have any effectiveness because of absence of density. The use of the car holds consequently quasi a monopoly of displacements, involving a saturation of the highway network, in spite of the urban creation of a very great number of Autoroute S connecting different the districts from the agglomeration.

The small proportion of public spaces generates as for it a fold of the many ethnic communities enters, supporting the presence at the time of the elections of “ethnic candidates”. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright said in connection with the city itself: “Lean the world on a side and all that does not hold very well will slip towards Los Angeles.”

One has attended for a few years a great rebirth of the downtown area. In the years 1970, one raised Gratte-ciel in this district, which was emptied as of the closing of the offices. At the beginning of the 21e century, the municipality decides to transform the downtown , in co-operation with private institutions. The objectives are to diversify the functions of the downtown area, to revalorize the inheritance and to create public spaces. It is a question of developing the places dedicated to the entertainment and the culture, of forming a Art district , of attracting the population and the tourists, of reinforcing the importance of Los Angeles and its center compared to the vast agglomeration which does not have any really any more. The ambition is to set up a " true downtown area for Los Angeles ".

For that, many projects were born, in particular on the axis of Large the Avenue which should be completed in 2009 and cost 1,8 billion dollar, that the mayor wants to transform into Fields-Élysées west coast. A program of restoration was born for Broadway (old cinemas of the Inter-war period) and for new lofts on Spring Street. The central library, set up in the Années 1920 in style Art Déco was rehabilitated. New buildings left ground: the Walt Disney Concert Hall signed Frank Gehry (2003), the building of MTA, the Notre-Dame cathedral of the angels conceived by Rafael Moneo (2002). The concentration of cultural institutions (museum of contemporary art, the Colburn School Performing Arts ) must give again interest for the downtown area. The results of this policy of reconquest of the downtown area are looked with attention by the town planners of the whole world: much Angelins chooses to return to live in the center where more than 10.000 allotments are currently in construction. The urban redensification and the creation of new parks thus will change the face of the city from here a few years. However, Grand Avenue is rather attended by the middle-classes or rich person, and is favourable with the Gentrification, while the ghettos always exist.

Divisions

See also: County of Los Angeles, List of the districts of Los Angeles

The surface of the city being important, Los Angeles is divided into a great number of districts. The majority of their names originate in of the rural cities which were annexed by Los Angeles with the wire of time, the geography, the main streets, the names of companies… These divisions do not have a legal statute but have a great importance for the inhabitants for cultural and financial reasons.

Among these districts, Hollywood is famous for its movie studios; in the district close to Beverly Hills resident of many celebrities. More in the south are difficult districts from where are resulting from many rappeurs like Dr. DRE, Ice Cube or Snoop Dogg. Many names of districts testify to the origin of their inhabitants, like Little Armenia, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown, Little Ethiopia and Little Persia). The unit reflects the diversity and the demographic richness of the city.

Environmental problems

The public transport are developed than with San Francisco or New York because of too the weak densities of the agglomeration. The system of the Covoiturage, encouraged by the municipality, does not have discounted success. A network of cycle tracks was developed as well as a network of lines of drunk express train, to try to propose an alternative to the car.

The Smog , particularly intense in Los Angeles, is a cloud of Pollution caused by fumes exhaust and the wastes industrial. As soon as a certain threshold is exceeded, an opinion of alarm is launched by the authorities of the city; displacements conveys some are then limited there to bare essential, and the factories must cease burning hydrocarbons. Currently, of new measurements are being studied to improve quality of the air in the years to come. Launching, the November 20th 2006, by the wearing of Los Angeles and Beach Length, of a plan aiming at reducing the air pollution from at least 45% in 5 years in Bay of San Pedro and to the level of all transport and equipment, watch which the fight against pollution is a priority.

The city is located on the Faille of San Andreas, and Séisme risks it is very high there. The most recent earthquake is that of Northridge in 1994 whose epicentre was located in the Vallée of San Fernando, and who traumatisé the inhabitants of the area. Damage that it because represented billion dollars. Other earthquakes have affected the agglomeration: that of Whittier Narrows in 1987 occurred in the Vallée of San Gabriel; that of Sylmar in 1971 and that of Long Beach in 1933 are notable. Nevertheless, the majority of the many seisms which take place in the area are minors, the inhabitants often perceive one or two of them per annum, without damage being caused; many of other seisms are raised only by the Sismographe S. Many specialists await a major seism in the future. The big one is the term employed by the Californian ones to indicate this catastrophe.

Demography

More than 140 different nationalities are represented in Los Angeles, where at least 224 languages are spoken: it is one of the principal hearths of immigration of the country ( gateway city ). The Hispanic and Asian populations grow there particularly quickly: in 1970, one could count 18,4% of latinos, against 40% in 1990. The Hispanic ones speak the Spanglish or the Spanish in their districts (the barrios ); the Asian community is the more important second with the the United States and those of the Japan board too. The Persans of Los Angeles are the largest community of the city: Irano-American of California concentrates in the district of Westwood and Beverly Hills. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians arrived in this area starting from 1979. Today, the basin of Los Angeles shelters the most important Iranian concentration out of Iran, so that one speaks about “Tehrangeles”. The city accommodates the largest populations of Arménie NS, Cambodgiens, Filipino Guatemalan, Israéliens, Korea NS, Mexicains and Hungarian apart from their respective countries.

Population of the 10 towns of the most populated California (2004) TimeAxis = orientation: horizontal format: yyyy ImageSize = width: 640 height: car barincrement: 25 PlotArea = left: 10 right: 10 signal: 10 bottom: 40 AlignBars = justify

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from: start till: 3845.8 text: Los Angeles _ (3 845.541) from: start till: 1263.2 text: San Diego _ (1 263.756) from: start till: 904.5 text: San Jose _ (904 522) from: start till: 744.2 text: San Francisco _ (744 230) from: start till: 476.5 text: Long Beach _ (476 564) from: start till: 457.7 text: Fresno _ (457 719) from: start till: 454.3 text: Sacramento _ (454 330) from: start till: 397.9 text: Oakland _ (397 976) from: start till: 342.7 text: Santa Anna _ (342 715) from: start till: 333.7 text: Anaheim _ (333 776) TextData= fontsize: S pos: (450,20) text: Many inhabitants (in thousands)

Census of 2000

With the census of 2000, there was 3  694  820 inhabitants and 798  407 families in the city. The population density was of 7  876,8 inhabitants per km ². This figure can seem weak compared to the densities of the European or even American metropolises. But it is about an average which hides important disparities of settlement between the zones little inhabited like the Monts Santa Monica of the very urbanized sectors southernmost. Certain districts would be in the second place after New York in term of density, if they were independent of Los Angeles.

In 2000,26,6% of the population had less than 18 years, 11,1% had from 18 to 24 years, 34,1% from 25 to 44 years, 18,6% from 45 to 64 years, and 9,7% elderly of more than 65 years. The Middle Age was 32 years.

Like the other American metropolises, contrasts of richness are strongly marked in Los Angeles. One of the richest districts is that of Beverly Hills, whereas the black and Hispanic ghettos are pockets of indigence. 30,3% of the people having less than 18 years and 12,6% of those 65 years old or more were in situation of Pauvreté at the beginning of the 21e century.

Concerning the origins of the inhabitants, the census of 2000 watch that: on 2  812  114 people born in the United States in the city, 1  485  576 were born in California, 663.746 come from another State from the Union, and 31  792 were born in a territory like Puerto Rico, Guam… On the 1  512  720 inhabitants born abroad, 100  252 come from Europe, 376  767 of Asia, 20  730 of Africa, 4  104 of Oceania, 996  996 of Latin America and 13  859 of the other countries of North America. Los Angeles continues to attract many migrants.

Los Angeles is a multiethnic city. In comparison with the other Californian cities, it counts a more important proportion the Hispanic ones, which are majority today in the county of Los Angeles. The share of the Afro-Americans is relatively high. The town of San Francisco counts more the Asian ones in its total population.

Pattern of the settlement of Los Angeles by ethnicity and cultural

The composition of the population and the migratory flux partly explain the distribution of the religions in Los Angeles: the catholic are majority being given the importance of the Hispanic population. With 590  000 people in 2000, the Jewish population is the second of the country behind that of New York. Moreover, the sectarian groups are also well represented, in particular the Scientologie.

Criminality

According to COMPSTAT Los Angeles Police Department Links, charged to draw up statistics on the city, Los Angeles saw declining in an important way the acts of violence since the medium of the Années 1990: the year 2005 was a record on this level, with 43  231 acts of violence, including 487 homicides. One can compare with the year 1992 during which 72  667 crimes were listed of which 1  096 homicides. The fall of violent criminality continued in 2006.

In spite of the negative stereotypes, the statistics show that, in comparison with other big cities, Los Angeles goes relatively well: it has an index of criminality lower than that of San Francisco, Boston or Chicago. Among more the big cities of the country, only New York has a lower rate of Criminalité. According to a study of 2001 carried out by the National Drug Intelligence Center , the county of Los Angeles shelters 1  350 gangs which gather 152  000 individuals. If the continuations in the car arrive more often than in the other cities, it is partly because of the complexity and the size of the highway network of the city.

Economy

See also: Economy of Large Los Angeles

The economic weight of the agglomeration angeline is considerable: in 2002, the GNP of the metropolis was of 411 billion dollars, i.e. it produces more richnesses than the Netherlands for example. The GNP of the agglomeration represents more than 3,3% of the American GDP.

Los Angeles is famous to be the principal production center Cinéma tographic in the United States, most profitable in the world, but preceded by the number of the productions of Bollywood, in India. The name of Hollywood, the district in which this production takes place, became synonymous with this industry. One however notices these last years an increase in competition on this level, and more and more of productions are realized in other cities of the United States, or with the Canada, Vancouver (called Hollywood of north) and with Toronto. Formerly, the Aeronautical and oil were the dominant economic domains of the city, but were replaced today by the Finance S, telecommunications, the law, health and transport. The Port of Los Angeles had a traffic of 65 million tons in 1994.

More than 60% of the Californian companies installed their head office in Los Angeles, and, although the city is the seat many companies (of which three belong to the classification Fortune 500), this quadruple number if one considers his agglomeration; majority of the companies having preferred to move into the zones where the taxes are less important.

The basin of Los Angeles, in particular its Western part, is exploited for her oil: since the beginning of the 20th century, 30.000 wells were dug; today, approximately 2500 are always exploited.

City shelters many immigrants Mexican, including one great number of illegal, which is often relegated to the lowest tasks of the economy of the city, like the personnel of maintenance. The film Bread and pink of Ken Loach illustrates their combat for dignity.

Tourism

Tourism industry is not very developed in Los Angeles. The tourists generally direct themselves towards the parks with topics such as Disneyland or Universal Studios Hollywood.

The traditional tourist course also generally includes a turn in the famous arteries such as Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard or Melrose Avenue then a visit with the Chinese Theater of Hollywood Boulevard, a passage on Rodeo Drive (local Fields-Élysées) with Beverly Hills, a turn in roller on Venice Beach and a good bathe with Malibu. To finish, a photograph memory under the Hollywood Sign is essential.

The film enthusiasts will be able easily to get a Star Mansion map , a chart of the houses of stars allowing to go to see (outside) the residence of its preferred high-speed motorboat.

Culture

Los Angeles is often indicated like the world capital of the entertainment through its imposing industries Cinéma tographic and televisual, like musical and Art istic. The city counts also 379 parks whose total surface area is of 63,5 km ². Griffith Park is the largest city park of the world. The oldest park of the city was created in 1781 and is in the El Pueblo of Los Angeles Historic Monument , close to Union Station. The stars Hollywood have their name on famous the Walk off Famed .

The inhabitants of Los Angeles are been useful by the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and its additional libraries, while those of the peripheral cities and the not-built-in zones of the Comté of Los Angeles are been useful by the Los Angeles Public Library . The central library is located in Downtown and was recognized National Historic Site .

Museums

Several cultural institutions are also present in the city, most important being the Musée of art of the county of Los Angeles ( Los Angeles County Museum off Art (LACMA)), the Getty Center, the Museum off Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Museum off Neon Art (MONA), the Norton Simon Museum, the Museum off Tolerance, the Farming Skirball Center, Latino Museum off History, Art, and Culture, George C. Museum Page, the National museum of the Japanese Americans, the California Science Center, as well as the Natural History Museum off Los Angeles County. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, opened to the public in 1928 and created by Henry Edwards Huntington, proposes a Bibliothèque of more than 10  000 works of which many old books, a Museum of art and a very famous botanical garden for its cactus garden .

Los Angeles is also a true museum with the free air of murals, of which some of Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco; it would be the city to contain the greatest number of it. It shelters some of the most known Graffiti of the world, for example those of Belmont Tunnel. One can also find many sculptures in the parks of the city, of which those of the University of the Judaism and the the University of California to Los Angeles.

Alive arts

There exist many places of theatrical representation in Los Angeles: the Music Center off Los Angeles County (compound of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion , seat of the Opera of Los Angeles and Ahmanson Theater, where the large productions of Broadway are played), Ford Amphitheater, Greek Theater, the Hollywood Bowl, Pantages Theater, and Kodak Theater. Among the other arts centres of Los Angeles, the Walt Disney Concert Hall holds an important place because it is there that occurs celebrates it Philharmonic orchestra of Los Angeles.

Media

The daily newspaper most important of the area is the Los Angeles Times . Opinión is read by the Spanish-speaking community. There exists also a large variety of regional newspapers and of local information, magazines and weekly magazines, whose Daily News of Los Angeles Newspaper Group' S, which one especially finds in the Vallée of San Fernando, L.A. Weekly , L.A. City Beat , Los Angeles magazine , Los Angeles Business Newspaper , Los Angeles Daily Journal , the Hollywood Reporter … One can also add the many local periodicals present in the communities of immigrants or speaking about other languages.

On the level of the radio and Television, the public of the Grand Los Angeles has access to a great number of local chains. The major chains are KABC-TV 7 (American Broadcast Company), KCBS 2 (CBS), KNBC 4 (NBC), KTTV 11 (FOX), KTLA 5 (The WB Television Network), and KCOP 13 (UPN). There are also many Spanish or independent chains in the area.

Religion

The great demographic diversity of Los Angeles makes that all the religions of the world are represented: the Islam, the Buddhism, the Hindouisme, the Zoroastrisme, the Sikhisme, the orthodoxe Église… the Catholic church manages the diocese of the Los Angeles, most important of the country, which is directed by Roger Cardinal Mahony, and who gathers more than 5 million believers. The Notre-Dame cathedral of the angels is as high as a building of 12 floors and can accommodate more than 3000 faithful.

The city contains the second population of Jewish religion of the United States after New York. One can find there many synagogs, whose majority are located in the Vallée of San Fernando and in West Los Angeles. Oldest, Breed Street Shul, is located at East Los Angeles.

The Church of Scientologie is present in the city since the February 18th 1954, and the Celebrity Center belonged to the many museums, churches and places of recruitment that it has there.

One notes also the establishment of the Mormon S, whose temple located at West Los Angeles is their second more important place of worship.

Buildings and architecture

See also: Architecture in the United States

At the architectural level, one can raise several remarkable buildings, as the Los Angeles Central Library (1926) of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue whose appearance evokes the buildings of the old Egypt and other ancient civilizations, central station Union Station mixing the styles colonial Spanish and mission revival and the town hall whose top evokes the Mausolée of Halicarnasse. Bradbury Building (1893) is a remarkable building for its frontage of style Italian Renaissance brown brick, its interior court, its many staircases, elevators, and for the hundreds of vegetable reasons which decorate their iron balustrades. Of recent construction, the building of the Metropolitan Transit Authority incorporates certain elements referring to the style Art déco, which one can find on certain buildings of the downtown area. The modern architecture appears through work of Paul Williams, the architect of Shrine Auditorium and the Topic Building, the building representative of the International airport of Los Angeles (with Welton Becket), of the Los Angeles County Courthouse , the Los Angeles County Hall off Administration ; and of buildings located at Beverly Hills; and of those of Frank Gehry, like the Walt Disney Concert Hall, California Aerospace Museum, Loyola Law School. Gehry is currently in charge of the supervision of Large the Project Avenue.

In the rich districts, the buildings called " de luxe hotels persans" the streets dominate, with the great number of Iranian architects.

Among the principal skyscrapers of Los Angeles which dominate the city, one can quote U.S. Bank Tower (310 m), the Aon Center (262 m), the Two California Plaza (229 m), the Gas Company Tower (228 m), ARCO Center (224 m), the 777 Tower (221 m), Wells Fargo Tower (220 m), Figueroa At Wilshire (219 m), Bank off America Tower (213 m) and the Paul Hastings Tower (213 m).

Los Angeles in arts

Los Angeles in the literature

Los Angeles became a fertile territory for the writers of fiction during the 20th century. The majority of the texts and the novels published about it draw up the portrait of a city complexes and underline the differences which exist between its public reputation and reality. Among the principal authors, one can quote Raymond Chandler and his Romance blacks, Ross Macdonald which write in the line of this last while giving to its characters more a psychological great depth, Walter Mosley, James Ellroy and Joseph Hansen. The book of Nathaniel West, The Day off the Locust , depicts the bad sides of the Hollywood dream. Ray Bradbury lived in Los Angeles and wrote there its novels and news of Science-fiction.

  • principal Works:

The world of the literature very quickly joined that of the cinema in Los Angeles: tens of thousands of Scénario S were written there by its inhabitants, and cinema industry very quickly attracted a great number of authors like Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Aldous Huxley, Tennessee Williams, Evelyn Waugh, and William Faulkner.

Los Angeles with the cinema

Cradle of the Hollywood myth, Los Angeles logically fascinated a multitude of American realizers, of which Michael Mann. This last signed the two films of most outstanding which, beyond their respective scenarios, give a grid of very relevant reading on urban dimension suitable for L.A:

  • L.A. Confidential (1997) plunges us in Los Angeles of the Fifties, the victim of settlings of score following died of one of the main thing caid of the city. After a massacre in a bar, 3 police officers with the completely different style must collaborate to solve this investigation
  • Heat (1995) is the history of a tracking in the middle of the mégapole between a chief of gang, incarnated by Robert De Niro, and an insomniac cop, incarnated by Al Pacino. This thriller which marks the meeting between the two superstars of Hollywood (but, let us note to it both of New Yorkean origin) finishes in particular by a scene of anthology close to the tracks of the airport of Los Angeles.
  • Collateral (2004) is the history of the meeting of a taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) and of a hired killer (Tom Cruise) during one night in Los Angeles. Filmed entirely out of numeric camera, the film treats as much the psychological confrontation between the two characters as of urban mobility specific to Los Angeles. The coolness of the killer and the capacity of the taxi driver to be driven also skilfully within this disproportionate urban space (famous “the grid”) take part of the same logic relentless and loophole.
  • Assembles of Fred Newmayer on top, (1923)

  • There are also films which speak about the Mexican community, like Born in east L.A. (1987), a comedy which speaks about a Chicano born in East L.A, the Mexican district, and which by error is seen expelled in Mexico, a country which it does not know. It will make very to turn over to L.A. It is thus put in the skin of an immigrant. This film shows well with humor the problems and at the same time the clean identity of the Mexican immigrants with L.A.

  • the princes of the city ( Blood in blood out in English) 1993. Taylor Hackford, Jesse Borrego, Benjamin Bratt. In the Eighties, three cousins Chicano S, members of the gang Vatos Locos , each one will follow a different road. The film incarnates the decline of the young people of the barrio and it is worship for a generation of film followers of gang and glaucous universe of the prisons and difficult districts.
  • One can also add the series '' Entourage '', which follows the life of a rising star of Hollywood and the adventures of its entourage. While accompanying them in Los Angeles, one can see the back of the decoration in cinema industry.

Schooling

The schools of the city are managed by the Los Angeles Unified School District , the second system of the United States in term of many pupils (more than 720.000 in 2006). With the vote of the Proposal 13 in 1978 in the state, the urban school districts witnessed a reduction in their means, and the LAUSD suffered particularly during several years from under-financing, overpopulation of the classes and bad maintenance of the buildings. The rich parents preferred to send their children in the private schools, those of the middle-classes moved in suburbs to insert their children in other districts. Since, the situation improved considerably since the LAUSD launched out in a construction schedule of new schools with an aim of accommodating all the pupils under better conditions. There exist also 2 famous French colleges in the city: the International College of Los Angeles (LILA) and the French College.

Among the universities present in the city, one can quote prestigious the the University of California to Los Angeles (UCLA - public) and the University of California of the South (USC - deprived) which is regarded as belonging to the best universities of the West coast and the world. One can also quote many other universities, like the Université of State from California to Los Angeles (CSULA - public), the Université of State of California with Northridge (CSUN - public), the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) (private), the Occidental College (Oxy) (private), the Southwestern University School off Law (private) and the Southern California Institute off Architecture (SCI-Arc) (private). In addition to these universities, the city contains a high number of community colleges . The area of the Grand Los Angeles accommodates other universities of first rank, like the California Institute off Technology with Pasadena.

Policy

See also: List of the mayors of Los Angeles

The city has a system of strong mayor . The current mayor is Antonio Villaraigosa, of Hispanic origin. There are 15 departments in the council of city. The other official elected officials are the prosecutor of city, Rocky Delgadillo, which continue the offenses made inside the city, and the city to control , Laura Chick. The public prosecutor, elected by the voters of the county, continues the offenses being unrolled in the not-built-in zones and 78 of the 88 municipalities of the county.

To make the government municipal more attentive with waitings of the citizens and to improve management of the various districts, the municipal council instituted councils of vicinity. These advisory counsels, proposed for the first time by the adviser Joel Wachs in 1996, were delimited in the Charter Reform of 1999. The territory managed by each council is not inevitably identical to that of the district such as it is traditionally perceived by the population, but generally reflects the limits of the municipalities which were attached to Los Angeles with the wire of time. More than 90 councils were thus formed and each inhabitant can vote for the composition of the council of his district. Although they have actually only little to be able, they already made pressure on the municipal council at the time of important businesses, for example at the time of their opposition to a project consisting in increasing the price of the Eau which was directed by the City.

At the legal level, the Los Angeles County Superior Court has jurisdiction on all the lawsuits answering the law of the state, while U.S. Short District for the Central District off California deals with all the federal lawsuits. The two institutions occupy several vast buildings located in the district Civic Center of the downtown area. All the town of Los Angeles and its more important suburbs being located in the same county, the superior court of the county and the federal court of district are all two the most important of the the United States of America.

Political evolution

Los Angeles is a Californian city more preserving than its rival of north San Francisco but more liberal than San Diego, its neighbor of the south. The municipal elections being not partisanes in California, the candidates are thus not elected according to their political label but according to their charisma or of their capacity to constitute a coalition around themselves, even if the political tendency of each candidate is not alleviating.

In 1973, Angelins choose their first black mayor, the democratic Tom Bradley, re-elected with five recoveries. In 1993, it is the republican Richard Riordan which takes the reins of the municipality for two mandates. In 2001, nonre-eligible, Riordan leave the place to James Hahn, a democrat.

In May 2005, the inhabitants of Los Angeles elect their first Hispanic mayor since 1872. Supported by a vast coalition including Jewish, Black, Hispanic, Richard Riordan or Barbara Boxer, the democrat Antonio Villaraigosa is elected with 59% of the voices compared with 41% with the outgoing mayor. The election of Villaraigosa is the first great dedication of the political weight of Hispanic in the state, more especially as they account for 46% of the inhabitants of Los Angeles. This last began in a policy of environmental protection and fight against gases with greenhouse effect: he for example announced in 2006 qu ' he will make plant a million trees in Los Angeles and which he will encourage the “clean” fuels before the end of his mandate.

Transport

See also: Transport in Los Angeles

The streets of the city form a Checkerboard plan important whose main axes are the highways and the surface streets , also called boulevards. Among the principal East-West streets, one can quote Ventura, Hollywood, Sunset, Wilshire, Santa Monica and Beverly. There exist other famous streets in the city which do not have the title of boulevards, although they are also important axes. One can quote for example: Mulholland Drive, Pacific Coast Highway, Melrose Avenue, Florence Which occurred, Normandy Which occurred, Vermont Avenue, Brea Avenue, Figueroa Street, Large Avenue, Exchange Which occurred and Alameda Street.

Los Angeles is known for its many pot-holes which are the cause of accidents. The funds concerning the roadway system are indeed insufficient to maintain the gigantic highway network of the city. This problem was the main cause of the attempt at secession of the Vallée of San Fernando in 2002. In December 2005, an operation aiming at stopping these pot-holes took place in the Valley, but the problem is not solved yet at present. The city is also the theater many track races which can last of the hours so much the system road and highway is vast and complex, and which are often relayed by the local television channels.

Contrary to the assertion of a popular song, which says that " nobody walks in L.A." ( nobody walks in L.A. ), several places of the cities are very attended by the pedestrians, especially in the downtown area and the many commercial districts. It is then often faster there to go than to lead, because of the lack of parks with parking.

Expressways

Los Angeles is the central node of a network of highways ( freeways ) very important: more than 1000 kilometers in all the agglomeration. The city is indeed regarded as a kind of “capital” of the congestions and car. Its highways add up daily displacements of a few 160 million kilometers. The quality of the network is recognized, but the increase increasing in the congestions for several years has pushed the authorities to develop other means of transport. The principal highways are the Golden State (I-5) (North-South), San Diego (405), U.S. Road 101, the California State Route 1, the Santa Monica (I-10). The rush hour ranges between 6 and 9 hours of the morning the Weekend and the evening between 15 and 19 hours.

Airports

Los Angeles is also the metropolis which has the most airports in the world. The principal airport of the city and its area, the International airport of Los Angeles, is chosen by the majority of the international visitors. It is placed at the 5th world rank with 60 million passengers who forward each year there. The other notable airports are the International airport of Ontario, the airport Bob-Hope (old Airport of Burbank), the municipal airport Beach Length and the John-Wayne international airport. Los Angeles World Airports, a department of the municipality of Los Angeles, is charged to manage those of Los Angeles (LAX), Ontario (ONT), Van Nuys (VNY) and Palmdale Regional (PMD).
Los Angeles has also a Héliport ( Century City Heliport , code AITA: CCC).

Ports

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach form together the Los Angeles-Length Beach Port , the third of the world for the traffic of Conteneur S. Of the ports of intermediate sizes and of pleasure mark out the remainder of the coast, like that of Marina del Rey or of Redondo Beach, which accommodates many Yacht S. It exists also a system of ferries making it possible to join the town of Avalon, located on the Île Santa Catalina, off the city.

Rail-bound transport

The rail-bound transport of the terrestrial goods is ensured by the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway . Union Station is principal the Gare passengers of Los Angeles.

Public transport

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other agencies direct the wide system of lines of drunk and subway which is used by approximately a million people each day. The principal lines are the lines red, but, blue, green and orange, especially dedicated to the bus. This one is served by buses indicated under the name of " Subway Liners " easily recognizable with their original appearance and their length. Many projects aiming improving and at increasing these lines are being studied or under development: recently, the subway connects Hollywood or Mid-Wilshire to the center. A shuttle makes it possible to join this district since Union Station to the airport. At the beginning of the 21e century, the city also reactivated a railway line which goes from the center towards the port to the south. However, hardly more than 10% of the means of transport used are joint, against 50% in New York, which shows that Los Angeles remains still the city of the car.

Sports

See also: Sport in Los Angeles

The area of Los Angeles offers a diversified environment, favorable to the sports activities and the leisures of outdoor. Thousands of kilometers of tracks cross the city and its surroundings, which one can borrow from foot, bicycle or horse. It is possible to practice a large variety of activities in the county, of which the Ski, the Escalade, the Beach-volleyball and the Planche with veil. These the last two sports were invented besides in the area (even if their predecessors were invented by Duke Kahanamoku with Hawaii).

Los Angeles remains famous for the glorious time of the " showtime" of Lakers of Magic Johnson during the Eighties. Moreover, USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins appear among the best American university sporting formations.

Los Angeles is one of the candidates cities to the Olympic Games of summer of 2016 after already accommodated those of 1932 and 1984.

Twin towns

Los Angeles is twinned with 22 other cities:

Famous personalities

In Los Angeles were born: In Los Angeles died:

References

See also: Hollywood, West Hollywood (California), West Hollywood, California

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