Los Angeles Suburbanisation

Los Angeles Suburbanisation

Los Angeles connects San Francisco to San Diego, and is home to 24 million people. The city is the second largest in the USA, and has developed for many reasons:

• Transport. The construction of the transcontinental railway in 1876 stimulated rapid population growth , of half a million people arriving in 40 years. The Los Angeles airport was built in the 20th century, and was the 6th busiest in the world in 2010.
• Employment. Growth took place after the discovery of oil in the area, and the manufacturing businesses that grew around it. The aircraft industry is also growing due to the area's stable weather conditions.
• Image. Hollywood is in the suburbs of LA, creating a glamorous image for the city, especially between 1920-1930. In the 1960's, Disneyland and Universal Studios theme parks were built, also increasing employment opportunities.
• Affluence. Greater affluence gave people more choices about where they wanted to live. After the arrival of electric trams in the 1920's and 30's, and the construction of motorways, the 1980's saw massive urban growth spreading as far as the San Bernardino mountains and deserts. 

  
The growth of Los Angeles is also due to push factors, such as the central business district being left derelict as more affluent people move out. Some of the poorest and most crime-ridden suburbs were inhabited by those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. This has lead to social segregation.

Issues with the growth of Los Angeles include:

•  The development of dormitory settlements, as the greater LA metropolitan area covers over 88,000km², meaning that many people travel great distances to reach the inner-city for work. 
• 10 million car users adding to the issue of pollution. High pressure systems over LA create dense, cold, still air at the surface, with warmer air above. The cold dense air sits in the urban basin and traps pollution above LA. This allows smog to build up. In 2005, 10.2%  of commuters used public transport, a very small proportion compared to cities like London, where 46% of people use public transport.
• LA can now be described as a donut city, with a derelict centre,  and concentrations of new industries, office developments, shopping malls and leisure zones building up in the suburbs.