CONTEMPORARY GEOGRAPHICAL ISSUES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

URBAN SPRAWL AND SUBURBANIZATION

Horizontal growth with no real main city center  Land hunger & development  Destruction of natural environment  Overdevelopment  Examples: north Orange County development of houses in Los Coyotes Hills.

 South Orange County- development of houses along the Laguna coast.

Destruction of farmland Example: there are no more orange groves in Orange County; dairy farmers pushed further inland and subject to harsher environmental conditions.

Growth of freeway system  Promotes urban spawl  Long commuting times  Economic and environmental inefficiences

LA’s infamous freeways!

Growth of shopping malls & other service developments  Example: Irvine Center  Has lead to increased traffic, increased pollution, increased risk of flooding, & destruction of natural environment.

Possible Solutions???  Enacting growth boundaries as they did in south Orange County with the development of a wilderness park.

 Developing alternative transportaion such as the development of the rapid rail link in LA (metrolink).

 Developing fee- paying freeways such as the San Joaquin Transportation route in south Orange County.

 But…….CAN DEVELOPMENT BE STOPPED???????  By 2020 there will be Six millions new residents in southern California!

IMMIGRATION  Large influx of immigrants from Mexico  Latinization of southern California  “La Reconquista”?  English vs Spanish

 Increasing amounts of illegal immigration

Possible solutions??  Increased border patrols and security  Building of ‘tortilla’ curtain  Amnesty of illegal immigrants  Development of Mexico

Social Inequalities  Development of the ‘hourglass’economy  Growth of work in the lower end of the economic scale- not many unemployed but a large amount of working poor  Many immigrants work in the ‘hourglass’economy  In Los Angeles there are many craft industries with workers from developing countries.

Rise in homelessness  There is a great demand but lack of affordable housing.  The housing prices in southern California are among the highest in the U.S.

Social Segregation  Ghetto housing among many ethnic minorities

 The ‘super rich’ are only 45 minutes away!

 Development of independent enclaves of affluent White residents- the ‘gated communiy’

 Unequal social and economic disparities have led to social unrest; ex; 1995 Los Angeles riots.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Earthquakes!  San Andreas fault line runs very closely to the most urbanized areas. It has many ‘tributary’ faults which criss-cross the LA basin.  There is constant earthquake danger and seismologists are still predicting the ‘big one’.

 One of the ways the region is trying to mitigate any major earthquake disaster is through stricter building codes as well as through emergency preparedness programs.

Flooding!  Despite it being a drought area, SoCal can be hit by severe flooding if it does rain. The soil can often not cope with high levels of precipitation.  Overdevelopment has increased flooding which has led to more flash floods, mudslides, and landslides.

 The region is focussing on strengthening its river levees, the building of more storm drainage systems and dams, as well as a program of afforestation.

Fires!  These often occur after the summer with the approach of fierce Santa Ana winds.  This has led to destruction of lives and property; ex. San Diego fires 2007

 Government policy is focussing more attention on the need for controlled development. There is an awareness of the risks of housing construction in a dry, desert environment.

Droughts and Water Shortage!  This is a water- deficient region due to high population growth, high demand for water, and a very dry environment with high evaporation rates. Most water has to come from elsewhere.

 There has been an increase in water conservation programs.  There has been an increase in small- scale water control projects.

Air Pollution!  SMOG! Due to high population growth, many industries and cars and ‘unfriendly Geography’.  Development of photochemical smog and related health issues.

Possible solutions…..  Smog devices on cars with stringent emission controls.

 Public education  Smog alerts Carpooling

 Growth of ‘fee- paying’ freeways  Development of rapid transit systems