Greater Los Angeles Area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Common name: Greater Los Angeles Area |
|
| Largest city Other cities |
Los Angeles - Anaheim - Long Beach - Oxnard - Riverside - San Bernardino - Santa Ana |
| Population | Ranked 2nd in the U.S. |
| - Total | 12,923,547[1] |
| - Density | 2,665/sq. mi. 1,029/km² |
| Area | 4,850 sq. mi. 12,562 km² |
| State(s) | California |
| Elevation | |
| - Highest point | N/A feet (N/A m) |
| - Lowest point | 0 feet (0 m) |
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is the agglomeration of urbanized area around the city of Los Angeles, California. There are two "official" definitions — the Los Angeles metropolitan area consisting only of Los Angeles and Orange County, and the Combined Statistical Area (a group of interacting metropolitan areas) sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County. A common unofficial definition includes the region ranging from Ventura County to the southwestern area of San Bernardino County. It is not always meaningful to refer to Los Angeles as a distinct city, and people outside of Southern California commonly refer to the entire region as L.A. even though it includes five counties, more than 100 distinct municipalities, and more people than any individual state except for Texas, New York, Florida, and California itself.
The region has been one of fastest growing regions in the United States for decades, first in the LA County area, then Orange county, and now in the Inland Empire. As of 2005, the official estimate of the population of the Los Angeles metropolitan area is more than 12.9 million, while the larger five-county region has a population of over 17.6 million. The California State Population Bureau lists the 5 county region as having 18.08 million in January 2006.[citation needed] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Los Angeles metropolitan area has a total area of 4,850 square miles (12,562 km²), while the wider combined statistical area covers 33,954 square miles (87,941 km²), but more than half of this is the sparsely populated eastern areas of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
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[edit] Geography
[edit] Sprawl
The area's reputation for sprawl is more historic than real in today's terms. Los Angeles became a major city just as the Pacific Electric Railway spread population to smaller cities much like interurbans did in East Coast cities. However, the development of the automobile and decline of the railroad helped fill in these commuter towns, and as a result it developed somewhat less densely. This decentralization has resulted in the city of Los Angeles having a very low population density compared to other large American cities (nearly half the density of Chicago, and less than one-third the density of New York City). It is, however, essential to understand that this statistic is deceptively low because the municipal boundary encloses the sparsely-inhabited Santa Monica Mountains. South of this mountain range, which separates the Los Angeles Basin from the San Fernando Valley, lies some of the most densely-populated urban land in the U.S., especially the strip from Hollywood to West LA.
New, cheaper or undeveloped areas are being sought, and recently popular areas have been in Riverside County, Irvine, and Coachella Valley. As such, in these areas, populations as well as housing prices have exploded. In the meantime, the dense areas are becoming denser as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority promotes denser housing near transit.
The extent of the region's suburban sprawl has been so thoroughly cultivated so as to result in an urbanized area with a relatively high density of 7,070 people per square mile (2,730/km²) according to the 2000 census. However, the L.A. sprawl reached its geographic limits around 2000, and future expansion of the sprawl will involve leapfrogging across whole mountain ranges. As real-estate investment becomes focused towards the central areas of the city, these numbers are beginning to change. For example, Downtown Los Angeles is gaining more skyscrapers (some of which are residential towers), the office vacancy rate is decreasing, and the value of housing units and homes continues to rise. The Los Angeles Downtown News keeps a list of ongoing development projects, updated every quarter, here.
- See also: Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California
[edit] Identity
Due to the decentralized nature of Southern California, there is no universally accepted definition of the terms “Greater Los Angeles Area” or “Southland,” the definition varies from one region of Southern California to the next. Nonethless, most people in Southern California, and those in Los Angeles proper, view the terms Greater Los Angeles Area and Southland as being synonymous. However, with the counties of Southern California being the size of states on the east coast, and due to the extensive geographic sprawl, many residents of "Greater Los Angeles" may easily conduct daily activities without having to cross into Los Angeles County.
[edit] Boundaries
Some areas are bounded by natural features such as mountains or the ocean; others are marked by city boundaries, freeways, or other constructed landmarks. For example, Downtown Los Angeles is the area of Los Angeles roughly enclosed by three freeways and one river: the Harbor Freeway to the west, the U.S. Route 101 to the north, the Los Angeles River to the east, and the Santa Monica Freeway to the south. Or, consider the San Fernando Valley: lying north-northwest of Downtown L.A., "The Valley" is a 15-mile (24-km) wide basin ringed by mountains.
Some other areas of Los Angeles include the Westside; South L.A. (formerly known as South Central L.A.); and the San Pedro/Harbor City area. Adjoining areas that are outside the actual city boundaries of the incorporated city of Los Angeles include the South Bay, the San Gabriel Valley and the Foothills. The San Pedro/Harbor City area was annexed by the city of Los Angeles so the city could have access and control over the Port of Los Angeles, and is connected by only a narrow Corridor, which follows the Harbor Freeway for the most part, with the rest of L.A. Many Angelenos consider the Eastside to be the area east of the Los Angeles River, above Orange County.
The city boundaries are quite complicated. For example, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are completely surrounded by the City of Los Angeles except for a small border the two cities share. Culver City is surrounded by L.A. except where it shares a boundary with the unincorporated communities of Ladera Heights and Baldwin Hills. Both Santa Monica and the unincorporated area of Marina del Rey are surrounded except on their ocean side. San Fernando in the northern corner of the San Fernando Valley is also a separate city entirely surrounded by L.A. territory. There are also unincorporated enclaves which are under Los Angeles County jurisdiction.
[edit] Counties in the Southland
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana Metropolitan Area
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan Area
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metropolitan Area
[edit] Regions of the Southland
- Antelope Valley
- Conejo Valley
- Crescenta Valley
- East Los Angeles (also known as the 'Eastside')
- Gateway Cities
- Inland Empire
- Orange County
- Oxnard Plain
- San Fernando Valley
- San Gabriel Valley
- Santa Clarita Valley
- South Bay
- South Los Angeles (formerly known as 'South Central')
- West Los Angeles (also known as the 'Westside')
[edit] Principal Cities of the Southland
- Altadena
- Anaheim
- Arcadia
- Burbank (Airport: Bob Hope Airport)
- Camarillo
- Carson
- Cerritos
- Chino
- Colton
- Compton
- Costa Mesa
- Fountain Valley
- Fullerton
- Gardena
- Glendale
- Hemet
- Irvine
- Long Beach (Airport: Long Beach Municipal Airport)
- Los Angeles (Major Airport: Los Angeles International Airport) (County Seat of Los Angeles County)
- Montebello
- Monterey Park
- Newport Beach
- Ontario (Major Airport: Ontario International Airport)
- Orange
- Oxnard (Airport: Oxnard Airport)
- Palmdale (Airport Palmdale Regional Airport)
- Paramount
- Pasadena
- Pomona
- Redlands
- Riverside (Airport: Riverside Executive Municipal) (County Seat of Riverside County)
- San Bernardino (Airport: San Bernardino International Airport) (County Seat of San Bernardino County)
- Santa Ana (Major Airport: John Wayne-Orange County Airport) (County Seat of Orange County)
- Santa Monica
- Temecula
- Thousand Oaks
- Torrance
- Tustin
- Ventura (County Seat of Ventura County)
- Victorville
[edit] Other suburbs with more than 100,000 inhabitants
- Corona
- Downey
- East Los Angeles
- El Monte
- Fontana
- Garden Grove
- Huntington Beach
- Inglewood
- Lancaster
- Moreno Valley
- Norwalk
- Rancho Cucamonga
- Santa Clarita
- Simi Valley
- South Gate
- West Covina
[edit] Cities
- Further information: List of towns in the Greater Los Angeles Area
