What are we, Santa Monica?

Aren’t we the refuge at the end of the freeway? Gateway to the vast blue Pacific Ocean, seen just over the serene shoulders of St. Monica? The rejuvenating Central Park for the ginormous, sprawling Los Angeles, a much-needed breath of fresh air, blue skies, tall palm trees? A sunny, open, casual walking place that draws people from all over LA and all over the world and has for 150 years, for its charms, its history, its ambiance, its distinct sense of place?

Or are we just another indistinguishable slice of LA? Make it all look the same. Build tall buildings, bring in lots more people to live in this already jam-packed 8.4 square miles, snarl the traffic, block out the sun, hide the palm trees, up the crime rate, build a row of really tall buildings overlooking the ocean, a 12-story hotel where we need a town center park, rip out trees, squander our water funds, make housing unaffordable to all but the very well off, commercialize residential neighborhoods, kill diversity, evict longtime citizens and leave no place for their children. Because that’s the path we’re on, with what’s been built and what’s been approved and what’s in the pipeline. The city you knew even five years ago, is being built over. Why? It’s insane. Are we asking for that? I don’t hear it. From the people who live here.

Read More: http://smdp.com/curious-city-ill-raise-your-full-house/164302