Urban Ecology and Post Modernism in Los Angeles

There are three theoretical paradigms involved in the operations and organization of cities and large towns. These are the urban ecology, postmodernization and the urban political economy. Urban ecology refers to the analysis of life in the urban setting. It tries to look at the relationship existing between the town and city with its surroundings. This is based on the notion that the physical environment is in relation to the plants and organisms’ adjustments. Postmodern implies to the subsequent and a later generation issue over the modern state. Therefore, postmodernization refers to the act of postmodernizing. Urban Political Economy is the way and avenue that individuals occupy and use in space.

Los Angeles has a population of about 20 million in five counties namely: Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange. It was founded in 1781 and is the fourth largest state in America. The hinterlands in Los Angeles determine what becomes of the centre of the city. The principal dynamic in the contemporary city is dogged with the imperatives of fragmentation. This implies that the cityscapes and the modernist logics have just been replaced. It does not mean that they have been entirely erased from the theories principal. The city center has become an externality of fragmented urbanism. It is grafted on the landscape just as an afterthought by politicians and developers who are basically concerned with tradition and personal identity.

Los Angeles understands the metropolitan communities as a unit comprising of several nodes of urban. These nodes are interconnected and decentralized. Los Angeles becomes the model city of the 21^st century. It seems to be very small in size when compared to the rest of the cities. The decentralized nodes include Irvine, Pasadena, and Thousand Oaks among others. Urban ecology is based on Charles Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection. This principle can be applied to the social life of the city as individuals with the survival techniques will remain in the city while the weak ones will move away or perish. These surviving groups will eventually become the dominant group in the city. These happenings are, however, controlled by the forces emanating from the external environment that is immediate to the individuals.

Within the theory is the subtheory of Concentric Zone Theory which states that every space in a city is occupied by a specific group socially. Competition for natural resources especially lands led to the development of these fragments in Los Angeles. The city takes a pattern of five rings. The most relapsed zones are found at the center while the most hospitable are located away from the city center often called the suburbs. Should one group exit the zone, then they will be replaced by other groups that could adapt to the conditions therein. The city of Los Angeles is organized to a larger extent by the social structure rather than the physical planning.

Other researchers claim that cities develop in a star pattern. They develop along highways where they spread out right from the center in different land uses involved. This was advanced by Homer Hoyt in 1939. This brings about the Spatial Sector Specialization which can be seen as a wedge of radial development. This theory is based on the residential rents charged in the city. Families with larger incomes lived at the periphery of the wedge pattern which implies that they lived very far away from the city center and vice versa. Non rational issues could transform the structure of the city. For example, speculative development of the land could be influenced by the promotions carried out. The age of the buildings in the city could also take the concentric shape as the most recent buildings would be found in the outskirts of the city and vice versa.

The concentric structure of the city has a great influence on the economies and diseconomies of scale of the city, the land rent models, intraurban structure and in the plan designs of neighborhoods and the entire community. It is the most popular over time. Mike Davis came up with a sketch showing his ecology of fear in the modern Los Angeles. He claimed that there existed the human ecology in the cities and towns that determined their spatial dependence in an automatic manner. This practically resembles the plant and animal kingdoms. Davis has vividly described the study of American city carried out by Chicago University as “Burges’ dart board”. This is because he felt the sketch was not standard as compared to his sketch, which received a major boost when it was enhanced to portray computer generated images. He decides to bear forth the ecological determinants as a class and race, income, land value and brings in a new factor that is fear. Fear is brought about by the city of Los Angeles Police Department alongside the Community Redevelopment Agency.

Los Angeles develops along highways where they spread out right from the center in different land uses involved. This was advanced by Homer Hoyt in 1939. This brings about the Spatial Sector Specialization which can be seen as a wedge of radial development. This theory is based on the residential rents charged in the city. Families with larger incomes lived at the periphery of the wedge pattern which implies that they lived very far away from the city center and vice versa. Non rational issues could transform the structure of the city. For example, speculative development of the land could be influenced by the promotions carried out. The age of the buildings in the city could also take the concentric shape as the most recent buildings would found in the outskirts of the city and vice versa.

It is abundantly evident that things are continually changing in the universe. It can be observed in the way cities transform in a very rapid pace that we remain perturbed of what would come next. The philosophers claimed that the society transforms in a continuous manner. The society is in a constant change, and things are ever on the move. The mankind has not only been conquering the world, but also aiming at the stars. This is as a result of advancements in the scientific and a clearly rational thinking.

The movement within the society is linked to modernity and modernism. This brought in three different powers: the power of intellectual over ignorance, power of order over disorder and eventually the power of science over superstition. These were seen as universal views and views. The old classes of unruly laws could be placed on the ground. Modernity is a revolutionary issue. For example, the French Revolution of 1789 personified these factors. Capitalism was initiated as a new form of production and the social order transformation. Reasoning became the order of the day in the city as this enlightened most occupants of the city. It brought the emancipation of the human race. This was against insecurity, ignorance violence and poverty. The society must move on despite the emancipation. It is, however, not very pleasing as it is dogged with wars, manmade and natural disasters and famines which selectively isolated individuals in the society. As much as the new findings brought scientific thinking and the industrial revolution through capitalism with them, it is at the same time that emerged development of nuclear weapons, racism and the third world hunger.

The art in the city has taken a lot of transformation. This is right from music, drama, sculpture, painting and architecture among others. The city has been rejuvenated by architects eager to meet their professional perfection. There are pop videos and modern adverts which depict the development in art. They use arias that are operative to promote the football matches; airlines also use classical music to persuade the clients. This has narrowed the gap between the high and popular cultures. Television has led to the transformation of people’s view of the world. Real life is indeed depicted on the television. The media are not only a mode of communication, but also the way of life.

The city is moving from an agricultural dependence to industrial dominance. This is based on the post industrial society and the modern production industries. In this arena, the emphasis is on the service industry, as opposed to the production of goods. The current society is made up of intellectuals who are university graduates, as opposed to the industrialists and the employers. In around 1950’s, less than half the population was involved in the manufacturing industry. This has really grown to almost 70% of population in the manufacturing industry in the current world. Among this population, about half are in the service sector which has a low production rate and is very labor intensive. This populace is made up of computer wizards, financial managers, information experts and system analysts.

Capitalism created much disorganization in the twentieth century. It involved capital concentration, control and ownership separation. It led to the development of the managerial, professional and administrative service class of individuals. Regulations by the state increased among businesses and the national economies. The manufacturing industry became a dominant factor in the market. Urbanization and the initiation of the nation state were also realized.

To crown up the issue on the paradigms of the Los Angeles city, it is evident that the social structure of the city takes a concentric pattern where individuals who are well off live far away from the city center. This implies they live at the peripheries of the concentric zones. These areas are always called the suburbs of the city. The other groups of individuals with low income live nearer to the city center in order to save on the transport costs. It is also at these zones that rent rates charged are relatively cheap and affordable to them.

The transformation in the city has taken a major effect in most of the avenues including the arts, technology, economic activities, employment, housing, architecture, history and the general development of events in the city. They use arias that are operative to promote football matches. Airlines also use classical music to persuade the clients. This has narrowed the gap between the high and popular cultures. Television has led to the transformation of people’s view of the world. Real life is indeed depicted on the television. The media are not only a mode of communication, but also the way of life.