If you could move Downtown LA 15 miles west up against the coast or 15 miles north by the mountains, which would it be? (San Diego: oceanfront, live)

[LuvHighDesert]

So basically DTLA trading locations with Santa Monica's or Pasadena's. Just remember if you vote west, it'd also include Skid row.

Both locations would give DTLA a more powerful iconic skyline.

I personally voted 15 miles Northeast because i wouldn't want homeless bums wandering into other nearby beach communities since they'd have easy proximity access. Also because it'd prevent dense development by the coast, keeping it more untouched and less crowded.

Lastly, traffic around the metro area would be distributed more effectively.

[GSR13]

Ideally, it should be 15/20 miles south nearby where the port is.

[adr3naline]

So I could have oceanfront property or be further away from the beach? Easy.

If moved 15 mi West, it would be in the NIMBY's backyards...and me thinks they would do everything possible to eradicate skid row. So I'm not sure that would be a concern.

More realistically speaking, there's no geotechnical reason SaMo can't build upwards and become a respectable "downtown" of its own. Except for NIMBYs.

[LuvHighDesert]

Sure Santa Monica can densify but this thread was meant to fantasize the idea of moving literally everything in DTLA like Angel's Flight, Grand Central Market, Staples Center etc and move it over. So nothing would change physically in this hypothetical speaking thread senario.

But i agree with your point that Skidrow would gentrify much easier if it were on the Westside.

One thing forsure is that nobody would want DTLA 15 miles more east than it currently is now. It would only put it further Inland without the gained advantages of being closer to the mountains, nor closer to the beach.

20 miles South wouldn't work ether since the Port is perfectly planned the way it is. No need for more traffic around a vital economic source to the region. LA would just be a bigger San Diego.

I actually think DTLA is centrally locationed fine right now the way it is but this tread is obviously for fun.

[Astral_Weeks]

Why isn't downtown LA a beach town?

Because the "Laws of the Indies" dictated that Spanish New World cities be constructed twenty miles from the sea (to avoid any attacks from pirates), near a freshwater source ("the L.A. River") and close to a native tribe ("for labor").

That explains Olvera Street and its surroundings.

https://www.kcet.org/history-society...t-a-beach-town

Personally, I like Downtown LA just where it is....

[LuvHighDesert]

^but San Diego and San Francisco were historically developed and populated earlier than LA yet they became coastal. Also Latin America has alot of spanish colonial cities along the coast like Havana, Cuba and San Salvador, El Salvador


I'm surprised to see North might actually win this poll. Feels good.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I voted West but the best choice would have been South.

But how could "Los Padres" have known there would be a grand port in that location?

[LuvHighDesert]

I disagree with you about 20 miles South being the best. Sure it has enough flat land to sprawl but i can't imagine the Palos Verdes Coast being more developed than it is right now. Also It's also far away from the foothills that most of SoCal live up against (every suburb along the 210 freeway)

The Long Beach coast isn't really all that sceneic, nobody i know drives there to actually swim on the beach.

Santa Monica is expensive because it has the clean beach water, mountain backdrop, and proximity to all the endless amenities of West LA

[YoungTraveler2011]

i personally think LA needs to be wiped out and re-started.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by GSR13

Ideally, it should be 15/20 miles south nearby where the port is.

I would put DTLA squarely in the middle of the Basin.

Originally Posted by LuvHighDesert

^but San Diego and San Francisco were historically developed and populated earlier than LA yet they became coastal. Also Latin America has alot of spanish colonial cities along the coast like Havana, Cuba and San Salvador, El Salvador

There might be exceptions but most of the major cities in Latin America are in the mountains. None of the three largest cities/metros in Mexico are on the coast. Also note Bogota and Caracas in South America.