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Originally Posted by all of the trash
I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. LA did develop around the suburb and it is true that some architectural flourishes in new development are in line with San Diego and Miami. But Los Angeles has a density that far outweighs those cities and approaches a 10,000/sq mi when you factor out the Santa Monica mountains and the Hollywood hills and so it had to deal demographically, politically and economically with issues that older more mature cities face. Hence while LA may seem like Miami and sd on the surface, it has the grit, wear and tear of older cities. It's precisely this crowded sense of space and tension that should be informing developers and architects who are building for LA. Crowded space means community is important that's why I cant stand these towers that are elevated on podiums, essentially removing the structure from the street and creating a suburb-in-the-sky effect. Space is an illusion in LA. One that is as exacerbated by our mild climate. We succumb to car culture and parking requirements, so your suggestion that architecture in LA reflects our sunny climate is suspect for this very bit of reality: we have gorgeous weather but most of us want to be inside our cars. Um hello!?
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Miami and SD don't have grit? The gaslamp district was whores and heroin 30years ago. Miami's slums are straight 3rd world.
But this is not about density; it's about climate. You can crowd people in hot cities as well as cold ones. But the point of architecture in colder cities is to conserve heat and minimize time outside. Cities with mild climates (LA, SD, Honolulu, etc.) open to the outdoors because it is preferable to being crowded indoors.