But unchecked growth risks eroding the very qualities that made the city desirable in the first place. Tourism, once the city’s lifeblood, has yet to fully recover since COVID. Visitors still come for the beach, the pier, and the promenade, but fewer linger. What drew them here was never density or spectacle; it was the feeling of openness, community, and the promise of restoration at the edge of the sea.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/11/sm-a-r-t-column-at-the-crossroads-preserving-santa-monicas-soul/