Blogging in the City of Angels Week 6

This week I decided to go to Torrance. I decided to take the bus out that way to Torrance. I decided to wake up in the morning and I got up and decided to visit it. One thing is I was completely surprised to ride the bus between the two places. From Westwood to Culver City the bus ride was very safe and I felt fine, but after this I noticed the area began to change. The demographics went from white to mostly Latino Immigrants. I also noticed that people began to change from students to rougher individuals.
The bus was interesting. We passed through Inglewood and I noticed the Black students from afar. Here were many interesting characters. I noticed from Inglewood the neighborhood was Black and it seemed quite unsafe. Later on we traveled and I noticed people on the
other side.

Blogging Social Differences in LA:Week 5

This week my roommate obliged to drive me around Glendale, California for a ride. We left UCLA early this morning because we did not have class. At around 9 am we got into the car and headed out on the Santa Monica Freeway. I honestly fell asleep on the ride there, but about 1 hour later we arrived in Glendale. Since I am not from the Los Angeles area, I was amazed at the sudden feel of Glendale, Too my surprise once you head inland I noticed that the Southern California Beach feel is not present. Glendale looks and feels more like a desert. Though it is urbanized it feels somewhat like a desert. We drove around the inner part of Glendale on Colorado Street. There were quite a bit of buildings near the freeway observed, but near the Glendale Galleria it was a bit more suburban. There were rows and rows of houses as well as apartments. There were also nice palm trees and nice trees that lined the streets.

Aerial of Glendale, California
We drove around the Glendale Galleria and noticed that the mall had a nice Target store and a nice modern exterior. It looked like it was built for an upper middle class neighborhood. Glendale appeared to have quite a number of Armenians and Caucasians in this area. It appears to be a concentration of wealthier individuals. Glendale is about 20 miles away from UCLA.

Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 4

The next blog I decided to do was ride the bus to Koreatown. As soon as I left Koreatown at Noon on Saturday October 20th I felt excited for my next journey in the city of Angels. I remember the 720 bus was not too crowded when I got on. I sat down and took my seat. When I was moving in the train, I noticed that we traveled through a nice neighborhood of Beverly Hills with nice palm tress lining the streets and big sidewalks.



As soon as we hit Crenshaw Blvd. I noticed that the streets became narrow and old. The homes looked like they were built in the NeoClassical era, but had fallen apart over the years. When we finally arrived in Koreatown, I was amazed at how the place was sketchy in some areas, but nice in others. I myself saw a mixture of Latino and Korean people walking the streets. I stopped by the restaurant with yummy Korean BBQ and was greated by warm Korean hosts. In a way this reminded me about the Chicago Model because it talks about industrial/shops that form from the city core. I was also reminded that Koreans established this neighborhood for a while, before it was mostly white. The Koreans really have a sense of community, as in the readings different ethnic groups like to gather in pockets where they share the same identity with people of their own race. I believe this related to the different zones we read about in Durkheim. I believe Koreatown developed as an industrial area after downtown. People gathered in Koreatown as a center for commercial use I learned online. Apparently they made movies in the area.

Blogging in LA:Week 3

This week I decided to go to Chinatown Los Angeles. As I arrived in Chinatown LA, I was immediately amazed at the layout of the city. I noticed Chinese people were not as abundant in this neighborhood as I was use to. I noticed that Latino Americans seemed to be far dominant in the area. I saw people coming and going and I saw interesting sites.


I saw the entrance on Main street in Downtown Chinatown. I really began to appreciate the many different sites available. One thing that I loved to observe was the Chinese food. One could see roast duck hanging from the poles of these Chinese restaurants. I really loved the authenticity there was. I actually toured the whole main street of Chinatown here in Los Angeles. I saw the emporer's gate and I knew what this meant. Apparently Los Angeles Chinatown is one of the oldest in America and this red and blue gate symbolizes unity and appreciation of the Chinese culture. One bakery I stopped at was called Queen's Bakery. One word-delicious. I felt the almond cookies crackle in my mouth and the Chinese rice crispie was to die for.

Blogging Social Differences in L.A.: Week 2

This week I decided to head to Santa Monica and take a stroll through 3rd Street Promenade and its adjacent neighboring streets. My friend picked me up from UCLA and dropped me off at the corner of 3rd Street and Arizona Street. As soon as I stepped out of his car I noticed the ambiance of the street was quite nice. There were Big Blue Santa Monica signs that said "3rd Street Promenade" on both sides of the street. I noticed that 3rd Street Promenade was sectioned off for a few blocks because it was meant for pedestrians to stroll. The street had a mixture of tall palms and low decidious trees that were planted in rows going up and down in order to give the atmosphere of a laidback "Southern California lifestyle." I noticed on this one block there were high end stores such as Apple, Victoria's Secret, and Sephora on one side of the street and on the other side there was a Sushi Bar and a J Crew store. I walked south down 3rd Street Promenade past Arizona Street and continued to browse the shops all around. I definitely can tell that this was an upper middle class area with stores tailored to the more "well-to-do." The people I passed by were mostly Caucasian people in their 20's and 30's, which makes me think that Santa Monica is a more Yuppie place. I looked up the demographics of Santa Monica and it says the area is about 70 percent Caucasian which was reflected in my observation.
3rd Street Promenade

As I walked down the promenade, I came across a Pinkberry's Yogurt and decided to have a nice treat. I ordered a nice vanilla yogurt and sat outside and observed. I noticed that people had a sense of mobility and knew where they were going. I could see customers conversing with a store owner outside and it appeared she wanted to buy a shirt. Ernest Burgess states that mobility involves "The state of mobility of the person, and the number and kind of contacts or stimulations in his environment (344)." Since it was a Saturday afternoon there were quite a good amount of people. A lot of people were conversing and carrying about their day, just minding their own business. I would say there was a constant flow of people down the promenade.

After I finished my Pinkberry yogurt I decided to walk up the street towards Wilshire Blvd. As I walked, I noticed there were more homeless people that came out, most likely because it was in the early afternoon. I saw some homeless looking in trashcans for food. These homeless come to this commericial area known as "The Loop" because it is basically Santa Monica's center of trade and business district. The Promenade is "The Loop." From "The Loop" there usually is a Transition Zone, which was apparent on the adjacent street. In "Growth of the City," the transition zone is usually a mixture of light businesses and light manufacture (340). I noticed that when I walked on 4th street behind the 3rd Street Promenade there were small manufacturing businesses such as a tire repair shop and a gas station. What's interesting is that 4th Street seemed to have more hispanic workers in the auto repair shop and hispanic workers at the gas station.
Apartments in Santa Monica
I noticed that Wilshire Blvd served as a dividing line between the commericial area of Santa Monica and the "residential zone." I saw nice apartment buildings in this residential area as pictured above. Once again the area was mostly Caucasian. I saw two Caucasian women walk by me with their dogs and I saw a Caucasian man jog by me. The area had nice tall palm trees on the block. The area seems to be restrictive to an elite bunch with successful jobs.
After walking up the "residential zone" of 3rd Street, my friend picked me up at the corner of Montana and 3rd Street and we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway on our way back to UCLA. I noticed the Santa Monica pier in the distance and the sun up high. What a day in Santa Monica!

                                                Santa Monica Pier

Blogging Social Differences in L.A.:Week 1

Week 1

Hi my name is James Lee and I'm currently taking the course "Geography 151: Cities and Social Difference." I have always had a love for geography my whole life. This passion for geography has led me to pursue a major in Geography/Environmental Studies. I remember growing up as a young boy and looking at maps in my spare time. Although I am a native of San Francisco, I especially find the layout of the Greater Los Angeles to be fascinating. Everytime I fly over Los Angeles, it's amazing to see how vast LA stretches. It's incredible how a metro of 17 million people inhabit an area that use to be a High Desert! I really look forward to traveling to different parts of the Greater Los Angeles area this term. What amazes me about Los Angeles is the diversity this city has to offer. In one particular neighborhood one can overhear Cantonese, another neighborhood Spanish, and another area  Thai. The Los Angeles Metropolitan is comprised of many different cities that are often segregated my race and income. Though many visitors from around the world may think of LA as a place where celebrities are spotted daily, celebrities comprise a very small portion of the metro and most of them live in the exclusive hills of Bel Air. Most of LA is a diverse community of immigrants and working class individuals.  Come follow me these next 9 weeks as I explore Los Angeles- "The City of Angels."