Driving in the passenger seat for roughly four miles on Sunset Boulevard towards North Rodeo Dr. was like a small nature wonderland densely squeezed in the spaces between homes and other buildings. I found myself more engulfed in the passing trees with variety of heights, trunk thickness, leave types, and shapes and directions of branches all lush with green with splotches of color here and there, than the street itself. My focus on the vegetation would be interrupted on occasion, however, by rather large homes, some of which were almost hidden behind these beautiful trees.
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| Here's the exact route I took from Hedrick Summit to the end of N. Rodeo Dr. |
Taking this correlation, it's safe to assume that Beverly Hills is so "rich", in all sense of the word, because the houses are meshed in between amazing greenery, making them higher priced than a house somewhere else in Los Angeles (therefore economically restricting certain class groups from affording a home in the "luxurious part" of Beverly Hills).
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| As you can see here, there's a distinct blue colored artistic curve/design on the top part of the home which isn't something you see on an average house. |
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| This one has a detailed gate where the home as both tall, linear windows and arches as well. |
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| As you can see already, nearly every home is shrouded and almost hidden within a sort of mini forest of trees and shrubs (this home owner also owns a Lexus which further conveys their economic class). |
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| This home particularly stuck out to me with its distinct and straight geometrically linear structure. It is also not hidden behind tree but is still partially bordered with them. This takes on a more "modern" house style that seems to mix urbanization and nature. |
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| This was another home that stuck out to me. The home is simple in design, but the color scheme and the extremely detailed oriented roof to make it appear like the bark of tree causes it to perfectly blend in with the nature/environment it is surrounded by. |
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| This is where the residential zone of N. Rodeo Dr. ends and switches to a shopping/business zone. |
The shops found on North Rodeo Dr. are of designer label and haute couture fashion. When most people hear the name Rodeo Dr., they think of the large number of boutiques and shops on this three-block long stretch.
Because these businesses are only high-end and expensive garments, accessories and other items, it attracts the financially well-off and rich. It's also alluring to tourists, one reason behind this due to the abundance of palm trees (which has become iconic of the "luxurious life" and "vacation spot" in California despite it not being native to this area).
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| Each palm tree has been meticulously placed and gives this street a very attractive and vibrant ambiance. |
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| Brooks Brothers (an example of the high-end/fashion shops on N. Rodeo Dr.) |
The streets were also incredibly smooth with no pot-holes, no discolored patches of new asphalt contrasting with old, and was clean and well paved. In fact, the entire area was very clean from street to the top of each shop which shows that despite this district's high attraction, it is kept in outstanding shape to ensure future business.
With the radio switched off and all windows rolled down, I also tuned my ears into listening to the conversations of the shoppers. Context was not my focus; language was, and I heard only English being spoken. English was also the only language written on the signs and shops (not counting the shop names of which many were Italian and French designer labels). I also noticed that, at least when I went, there were mostly people of whiter skin with only a few people of other ethnic groups, thereby conveying an economically segregated section of people who "have" versus "don't have".
Observing these both well dressed and well groomed people, I noticed that in this small, three block shopping district, there was a sense of Emile Durkheim's mechanical solidarity. There was a "sameness" among these people (the shoppers) in which they shared the same financial well-off to richer financial background, fashion tastes, skin color in a general respect (making the few people of color there a minority), and a shared language.
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| Here you get a good idea that the people here were very well-dressed but in a casual and a bit more formal way. |
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| A part of the N. Rodeo Dr. shopping district. |
Until next week~!
Great post! Not only was your blog post for this week informative and insightful, but also very funny! I loved your description of the trees (I personally love trees too!). Also, we're both Geography/Environmental Studies majors, woooot!! :D
ReplyDeleteI really liked how your blog post and the Beverly Hills location you visited embodied and showcased the "Object Relations Theory" in action (Sibley, D. 1995). As you illustrated, there is a definite sense of people being included within a particular socioeconomic bracket and also the exclusion of other socioeconomic brackets which is shown by their absence in the streets, stores and neighborhoods of the Beverly Hills Area. As everything in this area implies grandiosity, the people who visit the area or move into the area feel the need to conform and project the cultural, economic and social expressions they see around them. Not only does this perpetuate the current surroundings, but it also creates the perception that this area is the most expensive and upscale area in Los Angeles and thereby attracts those who can afford to be there and excludes those who cannot. Your example and photographs of clothing choices seen throughout the area and choices in the housing details does a great job of showing the manifestation of economic similarity and how it is projected to other members of society.
Additionally, this exclusion is really interesting because it is related to the Engel's concept of the segregation of social classes. In a way, because these "richer" people are clustering in this area and removing themselves from areas that are not as poor or safe, they can easily focus on the benefits of their social class while keeping the other socioeconomic brackets out of their worries. In other words, the problems of other socioeconomic classes become of no concern and inequality becomes fragmented inequality. This fragmentation of inequality and clustering of people in certain locations depending on their economic and cultural status reflects the reorganization and redistribution of difference that urban sociologists at the Chicago School expected would occur.
I think your discussion of how the Beverly Hills area represents Durkheim's definition of mechanical solidarity is very interesting, because I agree that there is an apparent homogeneity in how people dress, talk and act. However, in my opinion I think their behavior and appearance looks the same because they occupy the same socioeconomic class bracket and because over time the area has attracted and retained people that are in the same class and have similar values (Objects Relation Theory). I think the variety of stores and businesses, as well as the occupations that pay these people more money are more specialized and reflect the organic solidarity (i.e. people coming together in society because everyone relies on each other for different services) present in the Beverly Hills area. What do you think?
I think your photos also did a great job of illustrating the importance of cars in post-metropolis L.A. Not only did cars help form the spatial layout of the Beverly Hills area, but in this area that you explored it also appears to be another sign of status. All of the cars in your photographs tend to be relatively new, shiny and expensive looking. They are not damaged, old or have chipped paint. There is a convertible, some SUVs, and perhaps a lexus. The prevalence of these cars alone also reveal the extreme automobility of the Beverly Hills area. I also noticed from your pictures that the material density of the area is sparse and there doesn't seem to be large groups of people walking or socializing together. I think this is related to the radical individualism discussed in class, where everyone is very independent and carries out their daily tasks by themselves. Personal independence is further enhanced by every person's ability to drive themselves where they need to go. The spatial layout and the detachment of the residential area from the CBD (Central Business District) could also be related to the use of automobiles.
ReplyDeleteOverall, amazing job! Your adventure into the Beverly Hills area has inspired me and got me super excited for next week's excursion! I can't wait to see where else you go! If you want to check out my blog, you can find it here: http://metromotleyla.blogspot.com/
-Breeanna Bergeron-Matsumoto
References
Engels, F. (2010). The Great Towns. The Blackwell City Reader. 11-16.
Sibley, D. (1995). Mapping the Pure and Defiled. Geographies of Difference: Societies of Difference in the West. 380-387.
(sorry, had to put my response in two comments because blogger wouldn't let me respond with so much words in one haha!)
ReplyDeleteDear Sara,
ReplyDeleteHello! My name is Jaeseok Cho. It is an honor to respond to your blog post. From the high quality visual presentation of your fieldwork, I saw the enormous effort you invested.
I admire your keen, creative and thoughtful insight about the rich vegetation and ecological value of Beverly Hills. I passed by the area numerous times but have never paid attention to the plant life. Most of the people I know equate Beverly Hills to wealth, huge homes, and the prosperous Rodeo Drive, but no one mentions anything about its surrounding environment.
Your noting of the unique architectural styles of the housing in Beverly Hills amazed me. Whenever I would pass by the area, I recognized that the buildings were beautiful, huge, and of a classical style, but I did not really recognize the uniqueness until I read your blog. Especially, the fifth photo you posted reminded me that modern architecture exists in Beverly Hills.
You inferred a person’s economic status from the kind of car they owned. I think this is especially true in Southern California where automobiles brought about the birth of post-metropolis by permitting access to fragmented centers as we learned in class. I also recognized this from my trip to Koreatown last week. As I drove from the western to the eastern part of Los Angeles, the cars gradually became older and less expensive. When I drove back to the western part, I was able to see more German-made cars, such as Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, and Audis. What brought about this phenomenon? Perhaps, pricy cars are more convenient, such as those with backup parking cameras; they are generally safer. Also, in Los Angeles, where cars are not only necessary but are also strongly related to a person’s social status, I assume that wealthy individuals tend to buy pricy cars to show off their money. A few years ago, I spent a day in Laguna Beach, Orange County, and I saw eight Lamborghinis pass by.
Another interesting point I realized while reading your post is an irony in Beverly Hills. As you said, the population is generally white, wealthy, and homogeneous; those in residential areas enjoy unique architecture surrounded by rich, diverse greenery. In “Mapping the Pure and the Defiled,” Sibley introduced the history of defiling poor and imperfect people by distancing others from us (Sibley, 382). Perhaps, one could understand diverse vegetation surround housings of Beverly Hills in the context from Sibley’s statement. The clean, ecofriendly environment might be a mechanism that distances the wealthy from poorer people of color. One might be able to trace back to this vegetation the cause of social difference in Beverly Hills as compared to the metropolitan Los Angeles region.
Although your posting has high quality visuals elaborated with creative, insightful observations, there is one slight suggestion that you might add to your next post. Perhaps you might combine your labors with more concepts we learned from class and reading. I look forward to you next post!