Social critic D.J. Waldie opines on the future of the West -- which, for better and worse -- will look a lot like Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is nearly built out. The last empty bits of the metropolis are already being fitted into a titanic grid of neighborhoods that extends, except for mountains and coastline, 60 miles from south to north and from the Pacific Ocean deep into the desert. The closing of the suburban frontier in Los Angeles ends a 100-year experiment in place-making on an almost unimaginable scale."
"...The density of Portland's metro area is about 3,500 per square mile. The city's master plan for 2040 calls for increasing density to about 7,000 per square mile, just like Los Angeles today. So built-out Portland will be another L.A., with the same traffic congestion, unaffordable housing and over-hyped light-rail transit system. "
Thanks to PreservingtheAmericanDream Listserv
Read the full story: Future of the West: L.A.
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University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
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