East vs. West, or I Always Wondered About This

I was always curious about why it can sometimes seem like the "west side" of an area is nicer than the east side. The author postulates that it was due to the direction of the wind, which would blow pollution eastward, prompting the rich to move westward.

http://www.planetizen.com/node/47486

The "west is best" argument is obviously not true in Wausau, as clllllearly the academically gifted reside on the superior east side of town. The fact that I used to live on the east side (go Lumberjacks!) has nothing to do with my statement of "fact" ;) The east side also has the gorgeous historic homes of Franklin Street and the Leigh Yawkey Art Museum.

The west side of LA is definitely "nicer" than the east side of LA. My beloved gelato shop is there, there is more shopping, and all kinds of vibrant businesses and creative venues. In fact, when many people speak of "East LA" it's in a tone reserved for the "poor Little Nells" of the world.

East LA may not have the reputation for violence that South LA has, but it does have blight and as East LA proper is unincorporated it suffers from being economically disadvantaged. But people make it their home. There are street cart vendors and small businesses. Family ties are probably stronger and stretch further than one's immediate family. And there are some lovely affordable housing sites whose models resemble market-rate homes elsewhere.

However, no matter how you frame it, it's significantly hotter, especially in the summer, than the west side which is cooled by delicious ocean breezes, even a few miles inland. And when the temperature reaches the triple digits I'd rather be at the beach than espousing the benefits of having your extended family under your roof.

The author's theory, on closer inspection, could be a sweeping generalization. In New York it's not a clean cut haves and have-nots. The Upper East Side is the swankier side, the west is more liberal. Though in some areas some boho babies are also trust fund kids who are slummin it with their beatnik and hipster buddies. And in Chicago it's kind of hard to say as it's built almost on the lake. There is the Gold Coast that is on the east side, but Lawndale, which is a really rough section of Chicago is on the west. Though if you drive for a few more minutes you are in the very nice suburb of Oak Park. And the swank city of Pasadena is on the east side of the general area of greater Los Angeles.

But in smaller cities the west side can be nicer, more cosmopolitan, etc., For example, in MSP- Minneapolis is the more cosmopolitan, while St. Paul, though lovely, is more reserved and less glam.

At least, when it comes to LA the answer is literally blowing in the wind! (And a lot of history that I am blatantly glossing over as this is a blog post not a book) For more info on the history of LA there are a ton of books, but the Reluctant Metropolis, by my former prof, William "Bill" Fulton is great and City of Quartz or the Ecology of Fear are "interesting" reads by Mike Davis. They're on my bookshelf. But Amazon.com will be more than happy to supply you with hundreds of other titles. :)

A little slice of me & a library review

I don't like my blog to serve as a sordid tell-all kind of e-confessional. I prefer that it remains a more austere, academic type of exercise.

But while I have been composing my heart-rendering statement(s) of purpose for grad school I have been reflecting on how I came to fall in love with the concept of urban planning and I realize that my whole life has been building up to undertake this profession. Permit me, if you will, a minor, flagrant self-indulgence.

As I mentioned earlier, I was first made aware of the official, "academic" discipline while I was an undergrad in Italy and Professor Christian Sottile pointed out various architectural details that reflected different periods and significant events in a city's history. For a history dork and an amateur architecture historian that couldn't have excited me more- you can learn about the history of a city through architectural details- yowie zowie!

My interest continued when I learned that UC Irvine offered a master's degree in urban design and behavior, which piqued the interest of my internal amateur sociologist. My interests have since shifted, I now would like to pursue something with more of a sustainable architecture focus, but the metaphorical seed was definitely planted.

What I have failed to realize is that the seed was planted long and ago and perhaps the events of my life have been leading me to this. I have lived in 11 places (and counting) in 25 years and while I don't have any place that I can honestly say I would call home, except perhaps the Piazza Navona in Rome, I have always been interested in architecture.

For a while I thought that I would major in studying graceful arches, beautifully ornate windows, the romance of a porch that wraps around a stately Victorian home, etc., *swoon* In the town where I spent the majority of my childhood there was a street called Franklin that was flocked by gorgeous old homes that I often wished were mine.

I considered being an architect or a historic preservationist, as both majors were offered at my college. But I never took physics and the HP kids were all a little on the vanilla side.

But the concept of planning a town was exciting to me. My interest really started when the city of Wausau, WI, home to the aforementioned Franklin Street, constructed a new library. Now to most people this fact would not be met with much fanfare. But in the little town of Wausau it was a big deal because there wasn't a lot of major new construction that occurred.

As a little girl I had dreamed of coming to the library as a high schooler and being oh-so-cool, hanging out on the stately front steps, hanging out with my equally cool friends and maybe even my boyfriend. I think I was a cheerleader in these pre-adolescent fantasies and it stood to follow that my boyfriend was the star of the football team. Clearly, my fantasies were grounded in something out of a non-existent 1950's.

Regardless of the fact that I never became a high school cheerleader, it was quite a rude shock to me and my fantasy land of teeny-boppers and malteds when the new library was built and it possessed none of the grace or elegance of the old library. There was no grand staircase leading up to the Pantheon of Learning- just a level concrete walkway, which didn't exactly inspire visions of higher learning. Very ADA-approved, but not very Dead Poets' Society.

The new library was a giant red brick building, with a turret-like side. Not terribly graceful, but not ungainly. Certainly not "moderne," but not reeking of charm so classic that one could put quote marks around it. It's a true reflection of the feel of Wausau- basic, conservative, practical, safe, but not terribly innovative. Resigned, I continued to frequent it, but not with the giddy anticipation I used to. Who knew that something as routine as a new library would shape my career path?

(For a lovely new library, the New Berlin Public Library in New Berlin, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee is quite nice and has a freakishly good selection. I am highly critical of a library's contents, but this one passed muster with old, obscure, and new titles alike. And if you are there, go to Culver's, just down the street for burgers and custard- a little taste of heaven on earth.)

(And for a real treat for the eyes visit the Santa Monica Public Library, which is the first LEED-certified library and is an oversized, "green" version of Starbucks. Not pretentious, but definitely chic- there's an interior outdoor cafe complete with a little brook, an interior theater, and many private reading spots. Highly recommended. Dining recommendations I don't have, but there was a nice cupcake bakery a few streets over. Though I do caution you if you are to indulge in a sweet treat to eat it right away as even on a June gloom day, when I purchased my cupie-cakes, the frosting tended to move towards continental drift when stored in a black Nissan Versa. Still tasty, but not as aesthetically pleasing.)