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Koreatown, Hollywood, Pico Union, Chinatown Little Tokyo, Los Feliz, Franklin Village, etc. All these spots seem to be skipped by folks who always have that train of thought.
Also, the "Suburbs" within city limits don't feel suburban. Always pictured suburbs as a none grid system with cul-de-sacs linked by a main road with an island of big box stores nearby. LA is not like that. YOu got neighborhoods with cornerstores and shops, even with trains going through them, and some apartment buildings with old brick facades and fire escapes dotting various spots.
It doesn't feel like a big suburb. It feels like a massive sprawl of low-density urban development. Not quite suburban, but it's, well, not very urban either.
Koreatown, Hollywood, Pico Union, Chinatown Little Tokyo, Los Feliz, Franklin Village, etc. All these spots seem to be skipped by folks who always have that train of thought.
Also, the "Suburbs" within city limits don't feel suburban. Always pictured suburbs as a none grid system with cul-de-sacs linked by a main road with an island of big box stores nearby. LA is not like that. YOu got neighborhoods with cornerstores and shops, even with trains going through them, and some apartment buildings with old brick facades and fire escapes dotting various spots.
I don't think it's necessarily a big suburb, but it's way more surburban than most of its peer cities and even cities much smaller. But a big part of that is an illusion because LA suburbs are often as dense if not denser than parts of the city itself. LA has some of the most dense suburbs in the country. So like what the above poster said, you'll see a lot of low (and I would also say mid) density sprawl across the city and metro, whereas say if LA had Houston's suburbs, it might appear more urban in comparison.
LA doesn't have the "traditional" cohesive walkable feel that London, Paris, NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia (and to some extent Boston/SF) have, with an unbroken urban wall full of little shops and eateries (except for Broadway). This is because LA was built as a streetcar city with its developments spread out along streetcar lines. LA's residential development is very densely built, but not attractive for walking. Even highly developed blocks like those on Wilshire Blvd are unattractive to walk along from my personal experience. The pedestrian-scale just doesn't seem right, save for parts of Downtown LA.
So people incorrectly call LA suburban due to this. LA is not suburban, but at the same time many blocks in LA are not appealing to walk in. So for tourists or daily pedestrians, there are less city blocks to walk about in / more pedestrian deadspaces.
LA doesn't have the "traditional" cohesive walkable feel that London, Paris, NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia (and to some extent Boston/SF) have, with an unbroken urban wall full of little shops and eateries (except for Broadway). This is because LA was built as a streetcar city with its developments spread out along streetcar lines. LA's residential development is very densely built, but not attractive for walking. Even highly developed blocks like those on Wilshire Blvd are unattractive to walk along from my personal experience. The pedestrian-scale just doesn't seem right, save for parts of Downtown LA.
So people incorrectly call LA suburban due to this. LA is not suburban, but at the same time many blocks in LA are not appealing to walk in. So for tourists or daily pedestrians, there are less city blocks to walk about in / more pedestrian deadspaces.
I suppose that goes back to the whole debate about whether or not suburban/urban is strictly a matter of density or not. To me, I think to be urban, the necessary conditions are good public transit and walkability, in addition to density. LA isn't the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to the first two. The density is there, I will give you that, but no more so than many of its inner ring suburbs. And both are very auto-centric and quite often inhospitable to an urban pedestrian. It's dense more of in a "I can't find a parking spot in this goddam strip mall" sort of way.
That being said, I do not want to paint LA with too broad of a brush. There are most certainly urban and walkable enclaves within the city. But it's more of an exception than a rule.
Another thing is that in most large cities, the streets and roads are typically narrow and thin, giving the sense of more density. Los Angeles on the other hand has wide streets and even a lot of open space in the form of parking lots or green space.
Basically, any neighborhood where sunlight can reach the street and there's grass and a front yard is considered suburban. Most urban environments aren't typically noted for open space and room to breathe.
It doesn't feel like a big suburb. It feels like a massive sprawl of low-density urban development. Not quite suburban, but it's, well, not very urban either.
The central core of LA is as dense as San Francisco (17,000 residents per square mile). By central core I mean a 47 square mile area which is the same size as San Francisco. Roughly bounded by Fairfax (west), Downtown LA/LA River (east), Hollywood (north) and West Adams/10 Freeway (south).
because people have been to NYC, Paris, Barcelona, London, San Francisco ... etc and they can tell that whatever L.A is, it's not a real city
I like L.A but let's be real, it's more of a massive urban region, a collection of neighborhoods, than a real city
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