If L.A. is "fake" then what cities are "real"? (Los Angeles: 2014, friendly)

[MillennialUrbanist]

I think the real issue with LA being "fake" is that it triggers the Uncanny Valley effect (see below) of cities. East Coast cities in old states, like New York, Baltimore, or Philadelphia are exactly what most Americans imagine a "real" city to look like: high-density, streets on a widespread grid, people walking around, weathered tall buildings, historic Beaux Arts train stations, apathy to strange behaviors, and a large blue-collar population. All that, despite a strong car culture and attraction to suburbia in most places. Even touristy cities like Key West or New Orleans are seen as "real", due to the traits described above, as well as their long history.

Las Vegas, by contrast, occupies the opposite end of the real/fake spectrum. It's so fake beyond fake, that people simply write it off as "Vegas, baby!", and not give its un-city-like character much thought. They just accept its fakeness for what it is, although they may hate on its overuse of water in the desert and obsession with money.

But LA is a gray area. On one hand, it's a city, per the Webster's definition: a collection of people and buildings in close quarters, run by a mayor. On the other hand, where are the pedestrians? Where are the historic narrow streets? Where are the centuries-old buildings? Where's the grit and grime? (Outside of Skid Row, that is.) Where are the blue collar workers sitting down for lunch in front of their warehouse? Where are the rumbling trains? Where's the weird guy smoking on the fire escape in his underwear? Lack of those things reminds people of bland suburbia, rather than a "real" city that LA is supposed to be. That cognitive dissonance can easily get strong enough to trigger the Uncanny Valley effect.

I suppose Phoenix, AZ would be expected to trigger the same Uncanny Valley effect, given its similarity to LA in this regard. But this isn't the Phoenix forum.

_______
"Uncanny Valley" is a negative reactions to living things that are almost human, but aren't. Healthy people or beings that clearly aren't human (animals or robots) do not trigger the Uncanny Valley effect. It's the reason why realistic prosthetics that don't move like a healthy limb (close to human, but isn't) can make people uncomfortable, but metal or robotic prosthetic limbs (obviously not human) usually evoke a more neutral reaction or even mild curiosity. And obviously, a natural limb looks perfectly normal.

[theraven24]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

But LA is a gray area. On one hand, it's a city, per the Webster's definition: a collection of people and buildings in close quarters, run by a mayor. On the other hand, where are the pedestrians? Where are the historic narrow streets? Where are the centuries-old buildings? Where's the grit and grime? (Outside of Skid Row, that is.) Where are the blue collar workers sitting down for lunch in front of their warehouse? Where are the rumbling trains? Where's the weird guy smoking on the fire escape in his underwear?

Someone has never lived in, and most likely has never visited Los Angeles.

Why was this thread bumped?

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

I think the real issue with LA being "fake" is that it triggers the Uncanny Valley effect (see below) of cities. East Coast cities in old states, like New York, Baltimore, or Philadelphia are exactly what most Americans imagine a "real" city to look like: high-density, streets on a widespread grid, people walking around, weathered tall buildings, historic Beaux Arts train stations, apathy to strange behaviors, and a large blue-collar population. All that, despite a strong car culture and attraction to suburbia in most places. Even touristy cities like Key West or New Orleans are seen as "real", due to the traits described above, as well as their long history.

Las Vegas, by contrast, occupies the opposite end of the real/fake spectrum. It's so fake beyond fake, that people simply write it off as "Vegas, baby!", and not give its un-city-like character much thought. They just accept its fakeness for what it is, although they may hate on its overuse of water in the desert and obsession with money.

But LA is a gray area. On one hand, it's a city, per the Webster's definition: a collection of people and buildings in close quarters, run by a mayor. On the other hand, where are the pedestrians? Where are the historic narrow streets? Where are the centuries-old buildings? Where's the grit and grime? (Outside of Skid Row, that is.) Where are the blue collar workers sitting down for lunch in front of their warehouse? Where are the rumbling trains? Where's the weird guy smoking on the fire escape in his underwear? Lack of those things reminds people of bland suburbia, rather than a "real" city that LA is supposed to be. That cognitive dissonance can easily get strong enough to trigger the Uncanny Valley effect.

I suppose Phoenix, AZ would be expected to trigger the same Uncanny Valley effect, given its similarity to LA in this regard. But this isn't the Phoenix forum.

_______
"Uncanny Valley" is a negative reactions to living things that are almost human, but aren't. Healthy people or beings that clearly aren't human (animals or robots) do not trigger the Uncanny Valley effect. It's the reason why realistic prosthetics that don't move like a healthy limb (close to human, but isn't) can make people uncomfortable, but metal or robotic prosthetic limbs (obviously not human) usually evoke a more neutral reaction or even mild curiosity. And obviously, a natural limb looks perfectly normal.

yet another know-nothing from elsewhere who thinks he understands los angeles, but in actuality has no clue.

thanks for the armchair psychoanalysis of the city, though.

[Nafster]

Originally Posted by theraven24

Someone has never lived in, and most likely has never visited Los Angeles.

Why was this thread bumped?

Agreed.

Wrong on so many levels.

[jm1982]

Probably hasn't been to Las Vegas either, especially anywhere off the strip.

[Mr_Geek]

New York City is real.

-NY residents

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geek

New York City is real.

-NY residents

There are other cities in the U.S besides N.Y???

-NYC Residents

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

But LA is a gray area. On one hand, it's a city, per the Webster's definition: a collection of people and buildings in close quarters, run by a mayor. On the other hand, where are the pedestrians? Where are the historic narrow streets? Where are the centuries-old buildings? Where's the grit and grime? (Outside of Skid Row, that is.) Where are the blue collar workers sitting down for lunch in front of their warehouse? Where are the rumbling trains? Where's the weird guy smoking on the fire escape in his underwear? Lack of those things reminds people of bland suburbia, rather than a "real" city that LA is supposed to be. That cognitive dissonance can easily get strong enough to trigger the Uncanny Valley effect.

I have seen literally every one of these things in LA...and I'm a somewhat recent transplant.

Pedestrians can bee seen everywhere, concentrated in specific areas just like any city.
Narrow streets are found all over the place, when not driving down major veins.
Centuries-old buildings are often updated to look more modern, or were destroyed by EQs over the years.
Grit and grime can be found in DTLA, Hollywood, EchoPark, Silver Lake, etc. That's just within LA city.
Blue collar workers are also everywhere. Many of them are brown, which doesn't fit the East Coast stereotype.
I ride a Rumbling Train, underground, to work every day.
From my DTLA office I can see two weird guys on fire escapes as I type this sentence, which look to be homeless.

[Nafster]

Originally Posted by jm1982

There are other cities in the U.S besides N.Y???

-NYC Residents

Lol

[69Charger]

Iowa