—— Forwarded Message
From: RYAM999@aol.com
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 04:19:59 EST
To: erwin@mosaic.org

Erwin,

Here is an excerpt from a recently published book that expands your argument that Los Angeles starts trends that ripple across the continent.

“To understand the future of America, one needs to understand Los Angeles. Nearly every trend that is currently transforming the United States–immigration, economic polarization, metropolitan sprawl, the decline of traditional political organization, the provisional rebirth of the labor movement, the struggle to remake cities as more livable places–has appeared in some form in Los Angeles. The changes that L.A. witnessed in the second half of the twentieth century–from the city that celebrated its White, Protestant character to one that has become synonymous with diversity; from an anti-labor bastion to the headquarters of the new, organizing-oriented unionism–reflect changes that have begun to appear or may come to pass in other major metropolitan areas. Los Angeles has also been pro­foundly shaped by the forces of globalization. Much of its manufacturing base has been dismantled, with whole new economic sectors created in its stead. Its major corporate headquarters have moved elsewhere, and its middle class has shrunken. And Los Angeles’ cultural and political life has been profoundly reshaped by a wave of immigration on a scale seen only in New York a hundred years ago.

In Los Angeles, the separation of the suburbs from the central city; the decline of upper-middle-class support for such public needs as schools, parks, libraries, and sidewalks; and the emergence of the first serious secession movement in American urban history have made it the very symbol of the dysfunctional urban area. But, with its new immigrant population, its newly reenergized labor movement, and its dynamic community and environmental and social movements, Los Angeles is also the place where the next generation of American progressive thought and action is being defined.

Everybody wants to know about Los Angeles. But for all its importance as the point of creation for global pop culture, as the symbol of urban sprawl, or as the cutting edge of multiculturalism, it still remains difficult to get a handle on this city of improvisation. Los Angeles is a complex place. Beyond the traditional historical story line of right-wing elites, real estate speculators, and Hollywood moguls resides a different and largely invisible story. To understand Los Angeles ultimately requires understanding the origins and evolution of its social movements, of its rich traditions of community activism, and of its alternative cultural life, which has often been marginalized or ignored. Los Angeles, for all its celebrated difference, is in fact becoming representative, providing lessons about the coming challenges and opportunities for a politics of social change in the new century.”

The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle for a Livable City
Robert Gottlieb
Peter Dreier
2005
University of California Press
I have not had the chance to read this yet