The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle for a Livable City

291 Pages·2005·1.3 MB·English

by  Robert Gottlieb

The Next Los Angeles
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution
tothis book provided by the General Endowment Fund of the
University of California Press Associates.
The Next Los Angeles
The Struggle for a Livable City
Robert Gottlieb,
Mark Vallianatos,
Regina M. Freer,
and Peter Dreier
University of California Press
Berkeley Los Angeles London
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles,California
University of California Press,Ltd.
London,England
© 2005 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The next Los Angeles :the struggle for a livable city / Robert Gottlieb
...[et al.].
p. cm.
Includes index.
isbn0-520-23999-7 (alk.paper).—isbn0-520-24000-6 (pbk.:alk.
paper)
1.Los Angeles (Calif.)—Social conditions—20th century. 2.Los
Angeles (Calif.)—Social conditions—21st century. 3.Los Angeles
(Calif.)—Politics and government—20th century. I.Gottlieb,Robert.
HN80.L7N49 2005
306'.09794'940904—dc22 2003019074
Manufactured in the United States of America
14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997)(Permanence of Paper).8
For our families and loved ones:
Marge Pearson and Casey and Andie Pearson-Gottlieb
Johanna Smith and Evaggelos,Crista,and Corinna
Vallianatos
Phillips B.Freer,Rudell S.Freer,and Wendell P.Freer
Teri Meng and the twins (Amelia and Sarah Dreier)

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction.A Land of Extremes 1
Part I: Progressive Legacies: Social Movements
in the Twentieth Century
Introduction 9
1. A Mosaic of Movements:Progressive L.A.
in the Twentieth Century 11
2. Charlotta Bass:A Community Activist for Racial
and Economic Justice 49
Part II: Reemerging Movements: Los Angeles
in the Wake of the 1992 Civil Unrest
Introduction 67
3. The Continuing Divide:The Demographic
and Economic Transformation of Los Angeles 69
4. Stresses in Eden:Los Angeles on the Edge 97
Part III: Politics and Policy: Identifying an Agenda
for the Next L.A.
Introduction 131
5. Shifting Coalitions:L.A.’s Changing Political Landscape 133
6. Setting an Agenda:Policy Development and Social
Movements 173
7. A Vision for the City:Progressive L.A.
in the Twenty-First Century 187
Appendix:A Policy Agenda for the Next L.A. 197
Notes 225
Acknowledgments 255
Index 259
Illustrations
Figures
1. Los Angeles region population growth 75
2. Los Angeles County demographic change,1990–2000 79
3. Projected demographic change,six-county Los Angeles region,
2000–2025 79
4. Average annual salaries of the fourteen most common jobs in
Los Angeles County 86
5. Income distribution in Long Beach–Los Angeles metropolitan
area,1999 91
6. Inequalities of wealth:four Los Angeles zip codes 93
7. Per capita campaign contributions,2000 (federal) and 2001
(mayoral) elections:four Los Angeles zip codes 93
8. Comparison of four elementary schools:four Los Angeles
zip codes 118
Photographs
Photographs follow page 96.
1. Job Harriman,circa 1911
2. Dora Haynes,1919
3. Upton Sinclair announces his candidacy for governor,1933
4. Rose Pesotta being arrested during a 1941 strike
5. Alleged leaders of Zoot Suit riots appear before grand jury,1943
6. Laws family awaits trial,1945
ix