Blogging Social Difference: Week 10

This week I read an LA Times article about Tri Ta, Westminster's first Vietnamese American mayor. Westminster, a city in Orange County, is often referred to as being part of "Little Saigon". There are Vietnamese-owned and operated nail salons, Vietnamese food restaurants, and signs written in Vietnamese all over the city. The population there is about half Vietnamese, with the other half split almost evenly between Latino and white. It seems as though a Vietnamese mayor might have been elected much sooner than 2012. 

The article tells us that he is one of many Vietnamese Americans running for local office and being elected; a fairly new development. He has been called the "King of Little Saigon" and has been sought out as a resource for people living in Westminster (or even other parts of Orange County) who have relatives in Vietnam. Ta describes how he must wear different hats, as there is a kind of thirst for a Vietnamese representative. 

This is similar to what Obama describes in the Coates article,"Fear of a Black President". As an African American, President Obama must be a representative for other African Americans while still representing the rest of America just as equally. These elected officers must embrace their backgrounds while still connecting to the majority population when it comes to policy.

The fact that he, Obama, and other non-white Americans are being elected into political offices in the U.S. is illustrative of America's diversity and, apparently, growing acceptance of having non-white representatives. Although there still may be many people in the nation who are prejudiced against those who are different, at least there are far fewer policies in place today limiting them in the same ways blacks were limited in the South with the Jim Crow Laws. 

Blogging Social Difference: Week 9

For Thanksgiving, I went to my grandparents' house in Diamond Bar, CA, which is on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. They moved to Diamond Bar in the late 1960s. My grandpa tells me how many fewer houses there were at the time. He talks about the hills and how empty they used to be, compared to now when they are covered in tract houses. Their neighborhood is full of suburban houses that you might picture from the 1960s or 70s - generally ranch style homes. I suppose that as the desire to live in the suburbs grew, so did the number of houses and their concentration in the area.



At dinner my grandma (who is fairly conservative and was raised on a farm) mentioned how "we" are the minority now. What she was referring to is the ratio of Asian Americans to white Americans in Diamond Bar. And it's true. The population of the city is now overwhlemingly Asain. According to city-data.com, the city is 52% Asian and only 21.3% white. That site also says that the average median household income is $88,598, which is pretty far above the average for the state of California. This tells us that when looking at the axes of difference we talked about in lecture, we really do have to separate race from class. Diamond Bar is a perfect case of this. Clearly, people are well-off here and it's majority population is considered a minority on a national level.

I think the fact that my grandma brought this up shows that she's from a different time. Growing up, she was in a place where whites were a majority and minority populations were usually synonymous with a lower class. It's probably a little strange for white people of her generation who grew up in the U.S. to see the racial dynamics of their communities shift, even though they (or they're parents or grandparents) likely immigrated to America, too.

Blogging Social Difference: Week 8

This week I visited the city of Irvine in Orange County. I did a little research about the demographics of the city. On the city's website, I learned that about 80% of the population is split between whites and Asians, and that the Asian population in Irvine has been growing faster than the total population. In thinking about social difference and Irvine, I find that there is a general trend toward an increase in the ratio of Asians to other ethnicities and furthermore an increase in the influence of various Asian cultures in Irvine.

In many other cities, a socioeconomic trend usually coincides with the ethnic breakdown and where certain groups live. However, I created some maps on simplymaps.com and found that, while some neighborhoods had higher ratios of one ethnicity to another, the city is pretty ethnically diverse without very concentrated areas or neighborhoods. I think this can be attributed to the fact that Irvine is a very wealthy and economically successful city overall. As Map 1 indicates, throughout most of Irvine the unemployment rate is below 5.88% and the national average (as of July, 2012) is 7.9%! This is a place that many highly-skilled people come to find jobs; and apparently they do. Map 2 shows the average household income in Irvine. There are only a handful of neighborhoods in Irvine where the average household income is below $62,965. The average household income for the whole United States is $51,914! The fact that far more than half of this city has an average household income of $93,522 demonstrates my observation that Irvine is quite wealthy overall. 

Map 1

Map 2

I think it's interesting that most large cities have a trend of ethnically concentrated neighborhoods and generally seem to follow the stereotype that certain groups make significantly less in income than others. In Irvine, every group has an average higher than the national average, and usually by quite a bit. What does this say about a city that was built with a mission like Irvine's? In an introduction to the City of Irvine's General Plan, I found this: 

"Using the City’s Strategic Business Plan and the General Plan, the Irvine City Council makes decisions, based on fiscal limitations, that will: maintain and enhance Irvine’s physical environment that will prevent community deterioration; secure a safe community by assuring the right balance between public safety services and prevention strategies; encourage economic prosperity by attracting and retaining businesses and sales tax; and promote effective government by assuring that the City organization is flexible, market-based and customer focused in its service delivery."

            This statement seems to focus on how the city can attract businesses, be savvy with city money, and, by extension, attract the "types" of people that fit this mold (i.e. wealthy and/or highly skilled people). And this is very much what it feels like there. Not only are there large buildings and stylish industrial parks, but there are also very clean, and even extravagant, suburban communities which clearly house many wealthy families. I think that social difference in Irvine doesn't follow the trends of many other large cities. I think that Irvine is socially different from many other cities in the Los Angeles region in that its average household income and unemployment rates are different. In Irvine, many of the stereotypical racial or ethnic trends are not the same. When I was there, I didn't see any bums on the street like I would in Westwood (or almost anywhere else for that matter). I think in Irvine, social difference mostly comes from the ethnic and cultural facets. There just aren't the same class-based differences as in other cities.

Blogging Social Difference: Week 7

This is my response to Sasha's blog post about a coffee shop in South Pasadena.

Amanda YoungNovember 16, 2012 9:52 PM

This is a really interesting way to think about a coffee shop. I feel like there are two kinds of coffee shops: the ones that people go to for a quick pick-me-up and WiFi, and the ones where people go to socialize and meet new people. I like how you brought in the idea of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. A coffee shop where there is an array of customers that probably each have a unique background, yet are happy to converse with each other whether or not they know each other definitely brings to mind ideas of Gemeinschaft. Any town or neighborhood with a small-town feel where everyone seems to know each other and is super friendly is the kind of place where community matters, and social differences between people seem not to matter. And when community matters to people, they tend to participate and volunteer their time in order to preserve that feeling of community. On the other had, in a dense, busy city, Gesellschaft tends to take over. There are so many strangers and people are constantly in such a hurry that they don't really stop to consider anyone else. They run into the coffee shop, order, and leave. (I think this speaks to your comment about the traffic as well. LA has a public transportation system and carpool lanes, yet somehow it never pops into my mind as an ideal or preferred means of travel. I think people are so busy and involved in so many individual activities that they always need to be somewhere; hence the constant traffic.) And those that stay are usually on their laptops or listening to music instead of being open to encounters with others. I think that our society isn't completely Gemeinschaft or Gesellschaft. I think that we have a mix of both; and I think that each has pros and cons. Whether or not it's a good thing is up to each individual, and places are so diverse that I think there's a place for everyone.

Blogging Social Difference: Week 6

Amanda YoungNovember 10, 2012 10:09 PM

I think this post is really insightful. I never really gave a second thought as to why Bel Air neighborhoods have no sidewalks. The lack of a space for pedestrians blocks social access to this area for a lot of people. Having a gated "entrance" to Bel Air right across the street from the UCLA dorms blocks social access to all the students that go for a run around the area. Furthermore, having no sidewalks implies that the people who are socially welcomed there have to own a car (which means they also have to be able to afford the lifestyle that comes with owning a car).

Also, I like how you applied Park's statement to houses in a community. It makes me think of the street I grew up on and how my friends and I would walk down the street (on the sidewalk) to each other's houses, ride our bikes in the street, and other things like that. There's no way that a community like Bel Air is welcoming to that kind of activity. It's interesting how something as simple as sidewalks can play such a large role in having a sense of community in a neighborhood. I wonder if that was an outcome that the people who first started building in Bel Air considered? Maybe privacy is a reason that people choose to live there?

I like the way you connected Bel Air with Orange County as well. I took the Metropolitan LA class in Spring and there we discussed how and why Orange County developed. Originally, it was sort of an extension to Los Angeles. A lot of business moved down there, and slowly suburbs began to emerge from there. The highway system that connects the city of Los Angeles with the rest of the metropolitan area reinforces the impact and even necessity of the automobile on Southern California life.

Michelle's blog: http://perpetualmotionmichelle.blogspot.com/2012/10/blogging-social-difference-in-la-week-3.html?showComment=1352614189408#c6135729163943965823

Blogging Social Difference: Week 5

This week, I visited my hometown of Redlands, CA  Redlands is about eighty miles away from Los Angeles, but is connected by the stretch of industrial and suburban areas that spread out from LA via the freeways. In the article, “The Emergence of Postsuburbia,” Olin, Kling, and Poster write that “since World War II, North American suburbs have become socially varied because they increasingly house the working class as well as the middle class, racial minorities as well as whites, and single people as well as traditional families. But they are still characterized by a land-use pattern that is dominantly residential and a transportation pattern that is dominantly one in which people commute to work outside the area.” This description of a typical suburb of today also happens to exactly describe Redlands.

In Redlands, there is a very popular (and quite large) outdoor shopping center called Citrus Plaza. Olin, Kling, and Poster would call it a “regional [center] anchored by several large department stores” (such as Target, Kohl’s, and JC Penney) that was “designed for efficient shopping.” An interesting thing to note is that Citrus Plaza sort of a place with restricted social access on the basis of class. When compared to other shopping centers, the people who shop at Citrus Plaza are middle-class, mostly white, and often with all or part of their families. The architecture and design of the center attract these people. Citrus Plaza is a shopping center that is commonly a place where people shop for items that aren't necessities (like groceries would be). My friends and I even go there just to hang out and walk around sometimes. Overall, it has a "going out" kind of atmosphere while also allowing us to feel close to home. 

Blogging Social Difference: Week 4

The Wonders of West Hollywood

In my three years at UCLA I had never been to West Hollywood – a place that is so close in distance yet so far in overall atmosphere from Westwood – until last week. A few friends and I drove up there for a night out at a club. West Hollywood is pretty known for its gay and lesbian population and overall trendy/young/”hip” atmosphere. And it’s pretty obvious that the people who live there fit that description (trendy, young, and hip) when you enter that part of Santa Monica Blvd. All along the street are lined with specialty restaurants, gay clubs, and yoga studios. The curbsides were pretty much all parked up, often with stylish, and probably expensive, cars. (It took us a long time to find a place to park. And even then we had to do valet parking.) There is quite an extensive median in the street that lines the road with trees and some very colorful abstract sculptures. It made me feel like I was in a very artsy part of LA. The difference in view from driving along Wilshire when we first left Westwood to driving along Santa Monica when we got to West Hollywood was maybe like the difference between walking through the Court of Sciences in South Campus and then making it to the Sculpture Garden in North Campus. One seems a little more refined and defined, while the other is a little more ambiguous and remarkable.

Even the people are noticeably different in the ways they act and the things they wear. It seemed pretty clear to me that homosexual people in West Hollywood are either a lot more prevalent or are just more comfortable being open about it (or possibly both) than in other places I’ve seen. It’s unfortunate that there are places, even in LA, that people can’t be publicly affectionate with their significant other without getting nasty stares or comments simply because they are part of a same-sex couple. But in West Hollywood, this doesn’t seem to be an issue. The clothing people wear also seemed to be kicked up a notch in the “bold, daring, and fashionable” department. Overall, it just seems like a place where people are more likely to be comfortable expressing their personalities in every way. I think in a way this can relate to the Giddens reading from Geography 133. There is some amount of risk in the decision to openly walk down the street holding the hand of your partner, or wearing some otherwise outrageous outfit. But in this community, people seem to trust that their differences are what make them feel like they belong there and are connected to each other.

 

Looking at the Robert E. Park quotation (stating: “The City is a mosaic of little worlds which touch but do not interpenetrate.”), I think this example of the Santa Monica strip in West Hollywood shows concurrence. Once you’re in West Hollywood, it’s quite apparent. This trendy little community draws a lot of attention to itself. It is an area of entertainment and dining; an place to go for a night out; even somewhere that draws the attention of celebrities. There is a place called “Millions of Milkshakes,” which has seen its fair share of celebrities who have come in, ordered a customized milkshake, and now have milkshakes named after them. It’s practically a tourist spot. We made a stop there. It was amazing and was a delicious end to an evening of awe and observation.

Blogging Social Difference: Week 3

In lecture on Wednesday, we talked about the Chicago school of thought. Part of that discussion included the topic of transportation systems and how everything could lead from the peripheral parts of the city into the center. Of course, this theory doesn’t fit in Los Angeles. So here, the public transportation systems were built in such a way as to connect the many centers together.

Last week, I took the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica. Until I came to college, public transportation was never a way I would get from one place to another. But with the scarcity of places to park (especially without paying), the bus is often the best option. After finally figuring out which bus we were supposed to take, we got on and started our thirty minute adventure down Wilshire.

The Big Blue Bus was pretty clean and seems to be a common daily mode of transportation for pretty much anyone. There were kids getting on the bus on their way home from school, business people out on their lunch breaks, young people, old people, an occasional homeless person. No characteristic (possibly with the exception of income) seems to be a determinant of whether or not you could find a certain “type” of person on the bus. I think it’s sometimes easy to tell the people who ride the bus regularly; they’ll usually be listening to music or reading something. On the other side, it’s pretty obvious who doesn’t take the bus on a regular basis (i.e. college girls like us who chat the whole ride there). People don’t generally talk to each other or sit in seats next to each other if they don’t have to.

Going back to the topic of income, I rarely ever see “wealthy-looking” people on the bus. This probably speaks to the stereotype that the bus is more commonly used by people of lower socioeconomic status. In some ways, it seems that those who are able to separate themselves from those who are different than they are try to do so.

Overall, it’s interesting to observe people as they get on and off the bus and to speculate where people are coming from or going to. The bus serves as a mode of convenience for some and of necessity for others. It really is an experience worth examining.

Blogging Social Difference: Week 2

On Tuesday, I went to  3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica with a couple of friends. I’ve been there on several occasions during my time at UCLA, but I’ve never paid particular attention to the aesthetic details of the area before. In the center of the street (or walkway), there are several large dinosaur bush sculptures that are also fountains. The whole street is paved and blocked off from cars driving through. The buildings are quite diverse; there are a few newer buildings built around the old ones (like the old movie theater). There are a variety of businesses: sit-down restaurants (with types of food that range from hamburgers to frozen yogurt to crepes), clothing stores, shoe stores, a movie theater, etc. And on top of all of that, there are kiosks selling even more all down the center.

The types of people I saw there are also pretty diverse. I noticed that most of the people shopping in clothing stores were women, a lot of them probably between the ages of fifteen and fifty (I was among them). There were families, groups of friends, individuals. I saw a few homeless people sitting in the shade or lying next to a wall to get away from the cool wind. There were people of several races and ethnicities. One group of people that I’m always interested to see when I go to 3^rd Street is the street performers. A lot of times I find myself impressed by their musical or physical talents and want to watch their performances.

Something I thought about while I was in Forever 21 shopping for clothes was specialization. After the class in the Metropolitan LA class I took last quarter where we talked about how much money goes into (or out of) each stage of production, I found myself doing a little analysis of how much the shirt I bought cost and what went into making it. It’s interesting to think about how (knowingly or not) we need the people who sew the clothes we buy and wear. And following that idea, our little definition of “division of labor” came into mind. In order for these shops and restaurants to stay in business, they need people to operate the place (i.e. waiters, hosts, cashiers, sales associates), but they also need us: the consumers. We all have “different, but integrated” roles in keeping a business, or business district even, alive.

Santa Monica really is an interesting place to visit. Once you hit the end of the promenade (opposite the end that touches Santa Monica Blvd.), there’s a fairly new 3^rd Street mall. I ate lunch in the food court there and noticed the difference in the kinds of people I saw in the mall compared to those I saw walking around the promenade. The mall is full of high-end stores like Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co., so the clientele sort of fits that. Most of the people were white, and were dressed up a little more. The whole atmosphere of my surroundings literally changed just from crossing the street between the mall and the promenade. It was almost strange.

Anyway, I think a place like the 3^rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica is a neat place to observe today’s culture. You can find people there who are looking to make some money (the employees, the street performers, and even the occasional beggar), and those who are looking to spend some money (the shoppers and the eaters). There is a mix of ages, ethnicities, and financial backgrounds. It’s remarkable to find so many different people in one place.

Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 1

Having grown up in a suburb approximately seventy-five miles away from Los Angeles, I never really considered myself an Angelino. I thought I was outside of LA's influence. However, now that I’ve lived in the city of Los Angeles for three years I can see that, while Redlands is by no means the same as “the city,” it definitely is influenced by it in some ways.

I used to think I had LA all figured out and wrapped up in a little box. But when I came to UCLA and met people who had already explored the city a little bit, I quickly began to realize how much I hadn’t discovered yet. I took Professor Wilford’s Metropolitan LA class last quarter, and became intrigued by the history of this area and how it came to be the way it is now. I was able to explore questions such as “why are certain areas of the metropolitan region demographically organized the way they are?” and “how did certain groups of people who may work in downtown end up living so far away from there?”

I hope to expand on those and other questions through my own experience this quarter. My plan is to use this blog to dig deeper into my understanding of how Los Angeles is laid out socially. Robert E. Park’s quotation (“The City is a mosaic of little worlds which touch but do not interpenetrate.”) inspires curiosity in me. I hope this project helps me discover aspects of LA that both prove and disprove his statement. I think both exist.

I think that individuals can be part of a number of those “little worlds” that exist in a city through their connections with each other and the activities in which they’re involved.  I’m eager to dig deeper into this idea by looking at every aspect of people’s lives: race, ethnicity, income level, family life, culture, interests, etc. Hopefully the places I visit will shed some light on how the people who are from there live their lives, and, furthermore, how their differences may or may not bring them together in their communities.

Mostly, I am excited to have an excuse to get out into LA, whether that is the city of Los Angeles, somewhere in the county of Los Angeles, or somewhere in what many consider to be the “greater Los Angeles area.” As a fourth-year student at UCLA, there is so much I have yet to see and discover here.