^ Unfortunately this is the sort of prevailing wisdom on mtlurb. Most American cities to them are sprawling hellholes overrun by God-fearing xenophobes driving huge polluting cars (and listening to Rush Limbaugh's noise pollution over the radio). (Here is a recent photo thread someone did on LA.. It's not that bad
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=198013 )
There is more to America (and Los Angeles) than what the tired stereotypes suggest.