How come Los Angeles is not dense like Tokyo? (Anaheim: apartments, hotels)

[Rush Hour]

So do you know why not? LA has the large amount of numbers so why can't they get hi-rises everywhere like Tokyo. I know Los Angeles has earthquakes but so does Tokyo. I also know LA is really spread out but Tokyo is too and yet it has hi-rises on ever block across a large expand of land. Los Angeles has a fair amount of density but not Tokyo dense. Can someone please answer my question?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Because the land isn't as expensive.

[Rush Hour]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Because the land isn't as expensive.

What does that have to do with LA having sheer density like Tokyo?

[missionhome]

Tokyo is fitting a lot more people in less available space. The Tokyo area has 35 million people (about the population of all of California) while the Greater L.A. area only has 18 million! High rise buildings are the only option now in Tokyo. Living in Tokyo is very expensive and there just isn't the space to grow. The L.A. area wasn't really built out until recently and even now the deserts have land still for building like in Palmdale, Riverside County, etc.... In a few years you will see the city build more vertical, but still L.A. is not a physically restricted as Tokyo.

[Green Irish Eyes]

The country of Japan is an island, which means there's limited opportunity to spread out. The alternative is to build UP. Los Angeles, on the other hand, was able to sprawl, and its residents' love affair with the automobile means that people can live at a distance and still commute to the city center.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Rush Hour

What does that have to do with LA having sheer density like Tokyo?

When land is cheap, people buy houses. When land is expensive, people buy apartments in giant towers.

[Unknown Memory]

Rush Hour, you should probably be comparing Tokyo with NYC more so than LA. LA is sprawled out. NYC's Manhattan is one big density of apartments and businesses on an island. Both Tokyo and NYC have four seasons. They also have cleaner air than LA's smog. Tokyo has both JR trains and subways. NYC only has subways.

The only relation I can see a little is Disney Land. But DL, in California, is 1/2 an hour away in Anaheim and it feels more like a suburban theme park now. Tokyo DL/DisneySea requires walking or taking the (cute) monorail to get there. Plus, it's right besides Tokyo Bay across from the tall buildings.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by Unknown Memory

Rush Hour, you should probably be comparing Tokyo with NYC more so than LA. LA is sprawled out. NYC's Manhattan is one big density of apartments and businesses on an island. Both Tokyo and NYC have four seasons. They also have cleaner air than LA's smog. Tokyo has both JR trains and subways. NYC only has subways.

The only relation I can see a little is Disney Land. But DL, in California, is 1/2 an hour away in Anaheim and it feels more like a suburban theme park now. Tokyo DL/DisneySea requires walking or taking the (cute) monorail to get there. Plus, it's right besides Tokyo Bay across from the tall buildings.

Tokyo DisneyLand is in the burbs too - In Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture

[Unknown Memory]

^ But it's not quite in the burbs, setting-wise. You still have tall buildings across from the main entrance to get to the monorail station area that then takes you to the walk way area (& Information Center)... Which splits off to whether you want to go to Disneyland or DisneySea. (DisneySea's entrance reminds me of Universal Studios Orlando or EPCOT's back entrance boardwalk area.) Edit: You have to remember, DL Tokyo is also sitting next to a highway.

Disneyland California. You have a street full of small houses nearby. No tall buildings. A parking deck is adjacent to the park entrance. Downtown Disney is, well, basically an outdoor mall (with pretty fountains) that is very casual with some New Orleans' influence. It's hard to believe it for me, but years ago, that area, across from the park, was nothing but a bunch of hotels. Hopefully, I recalled that right. I was just a little kid during my first two visits to DL. I went there when they had the sky way open through the Matterhorn and after they took it down. DL Hotel was within the DL parking lot. Even then, that was still kind of flat. Years later, the whole area became developed with some resort hotels on the side.

[BRinSM]

i'm all for a dense urban environment, but one of the draws to LA is that it's not like tokyo.