Why is Santa Ana the Rodney Dangerfield of OC cities (Orange: homes, neighborhood)

[Fast Cat]

Regarding the original question that was posted, here is my observation why SA does not get more respect. As many have stated, parts of the city have been in a deteriorating condition since 1960s and it takes a long time to change that image. Particularly, when change happens slowly. Especially when you have negative stories like this one (SA is number one CA city for domestic violence) that occur on frequent basis that reinforces that negative image. As former Mayor Dan Young once stated, "We've got the good, the bad and the ugly, but the bad and the ugly get more press."

Furthermore, you do not have many who live outside the city who have strong emotional ties with SA. Our sports teams are not located here. There are not any venues or events that can attract a sizable audience from outside the city. Even with Mainplace Mall, SA is not a top shopping destination. From a corporate presence, there are only 5 publicly traded companies out of 100 within OC that are headquartered there. One Corinthian Colleges, is about to go into bankruptcy and Ingram Micro is going to relocate its headquarters to Irvine. In addition, most of private sector jobs within the city are located in industrial parks located around southeast and southwest fringes. Thus, most commuters do not even experience the core of the city.

Therefore to begin gaining respect and build upon the positive energy that is taking place with all the new restaurants and night spots, the city needs to develop a brand that plays upon its strengths and differentiates itself from other OC communities. SA needs an marketable identity beyond being the county's center of government.

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by Fast Cat

Therefore to begin gaining respect and build upon the positive energy that is taking place with all the new restaurants and night spots, the city needs to develop a brand that plays upon its strengths and differentiates itself from other OC communities. SA needs an marketable identity beyond being the county's center of government.

They need to do another gang sweep and try to get rid of even more of the gang members with cartel ties, there are still thousands. 15 homicides last year and already 6 shootings this year is certainly not helping its ghetto image.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

SA isn't always the prettiest, that's for sure, but people out here have probably never seen a real ghetto on the east coast or upper midwest. For every Santa Ana, I raise you a lovely Gary Indiana.

lol! Ain't that the truth! We lived in far northeast Santa Ana for a couple years (very near Tustin and Orange) and it was pretty average. Crime wasn't an issue, convenient to a lot of things. But I don't think I'd fear for my life walking through any part of SA. And its downtown is really the closest thing to an urban area OC has. I'm glad it's turning around.

I got lost in E. St. Louis once. Now THAT was a ghetto!

[EseintheSA]

Originally Posted by Fast Cat

Therefore to begin gaining respect and build upon the positive energy that is taking place with all the new restaurants and night spots, the city needs to develop a brand that plays upon its strengths and differentiates itself from other OC communities. SA needs an marketable identity beyond being the county's center of government.

Makes some sense. What do you suggest? You stated in another thread the following -

Irvine ...... is the Tech and education hub. It also could be considered the financial hub with half of the top OC based banks headquartered there.

Newport Beach with companies like PIMCO and several boutique investment banks, venture capital and wealth management firms could also be a considered a financial hub.

Costa Mesa is the world class shopping and performing arts hub. When the OC Museum of Art expands and relocates there, we can also add visual arts to that description.

Anaheim with Disneyland, Anaheim Stadium, and the Honda Center is the family entertainment hub.

Orange with UCI medical, St Joseph and CHOC is medical hub.

Even Huntington Beach, as "Surf City", could be considered surf and beach culture hub

What identity should or could Santa Ana create?

[EseintheSA]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

SA isn't always the prettiest, that's for sure, but people out here have probably never seen a real ghetto on the east coast or upper midwest. For every Santa Ana, I raise you a lovely Gary Indiana.

What about Oakland, Fresno, or even closer to home San Bernadino or Compton

[Fast Cat]

Originally Posted by EseintheSA

What identity should or could Santa Ana create?

That should be answered by someone smarter than me. Nevertheless, I will give it a shot.

One of the things Santa Ana has going for it is its' great success in cultivating the arts. The artist village and institutions like OSHA have revived what was a desolate and decaying downtown. They have created a vibrant atmosphere to attract advertising, media, and architecture firms, loft housing, and cutting edge restaurants. Restaurateur Jason Quinn who established the Playground stated that his restaurant is a producer of artisan goods and that DTSA is the only place in which that philosophy could thrive and be appreciated. Santa Ana should definitely continue to extract what benefits it can attain from its association with the arts.

However, there maybe a ceiling for how much the arts can benefit an entire city of 300K plus people. So in addition toward supporting the arts, SA could also leverage that it is Latino community. Miami with its large base of Cubans has transformed itself as a "Gateway to Latin America." Why couldn't Santa Ana have that same role for the West Coast? A city that becomes a primary facilitator of international trade between West Coast and Latin America companies. A community that showcases Latin American culture - art, fashion, music, food, literature, etc.- perhaps building and operating an exhibition hall. What if Santa Ana could become the base for a media company like Univision for their news, television programming, or film production. How about even a Latin American focus museum? When I speak of Latino culture, I am referring to representation from all the South and Central American countries not just Mexico.

This all might sound too ambitious, but certainly Southern California has many of the building blocks to make it a reality. Whether it is this idea or some other, SA needs play to its strengths and quict following the strategies of other OC cities which have a competitive advantage over them.

[HyperionGap]

Originally Posted by EseintheSA

What about Oakland, Fresno, or even closer to home San Bernadino or Compton

You're trying to compare Compton to Gary, IN or other midwest slums? I take it you haven't been out of the state much.

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by Fast Cat

That should be answered by someone smarter than me. Nevertheless, I will give it a shot.

One of the things Santa Ana has going for it is its' great success in cultivating the arts. The artist village and institutions like OSHA have revived what was a desolate and decaying downtown. They have created a vibrant atmosphere to attract advertising, media, and architecture firms, loft housing, and cutting edge restaurants. Restaurateur Jason Quinn who established the Playground stated that his restaurant is a producer of artisan goods and that DTSA is the only place in which that philosophy could thrive and be appreciated. Santa Ana should definitely continue to extract what benefits it can attain from its association with the arts.

However, there maybe a ceiling for how much the arts can benefit an entire city of 300K plus people. So in addition toward supporting the arts, SA could also leverage that it is Latino community. Miami with its large base of Cubans has transformed itself as a "Gateway to Latin America." Why couldn't Santa Ana have that same role for the West Coast? A city that becomes a primary facilitator of international trade between West Coast and Latin America companies. A community that showcases Latin American culture - art, fashion, music, food, literature, etc.- perhaps building and operating an exhibition hall. What if Santa Ana could become the base for a media company like Univision for their news, television programming, or film production. How about even a Latin American focus museum? When I speak of Latino culture, I am referring to representation from all the South and Central American countries not just Mexico.

This all might sound too ambitious, but certainly Southern California has many of the building blocks to make it a reality. Whether it is this idea or some other, SA needs play to its strengths and quict following the strategies of other OC cities which have a competitive advantage over them.

Interesting but Miami is one of the top tourist destinations in the country, Santa Ana....not so much. Nobody comes to CA to visit Santa Ana and most the Mexicans that are already there really don't care about their heritage or culture enough for something that ambitious. At least, not from anything Ive ever seen there. As much grief as I give Santa Ana for being a ghetto, the downtown area has come a long way over the years. Not really sure what else Santa Ana could do to become more relevant. They were about to go bankrupt just last year and they just voted on a new budget, so its not like they have lots of money to spend really. They don't really have any type of entertainment or attractions that brings in tourists and their money. So we'll have to see what happens.

[Fast Cat]

Mbell, I probably got to carried away with suggesting ideas, because I was challenged to do so. And I certainly was not implying SA become a tourist attraction. I was actually suggesting something more ambitious than that.

However, my main point is that SA needs to establish an identity that is unique to their strengths. To establish a niche that other OC communities are not pursuing, rather than copying what is being done across its' borders.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

I wish civility would return to this forum. This forum is filled with many great people and it's becoming toxic here. I've never seen this on the OC forum, LA yes, not here.

I would hate to see either the LA or OC fora become like the San Francisco-Oakland forum.

Check out the SF-O sometime. In 2008-10, it was a pretty friendly, helpful forum. Now...snark central.