Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles

In 1921, John Steven McGroarty, a poet who later became a congressman, wrote, “Los Angeles is the most celebrated of all incubators of new creeds, codes of ethics, philosophies—no day passes without the birth of something of this nature never heard of before.” The author Eve Babitz had her own version of this: “It’s very easy to stand L.A., which i

The joy of everyone working together with the same goal in mind, sacrificing to that same goal—that’s not something we have in our society anymore. We’re very individualistic. It’s an American thing, it’s a modern thing.” Was it a Los Angeles thing? Spangle nodded. “For a lot of these guys, it was the first time they’d ever had a touch of that.”

Robert M. Fogelson’s The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850–1930,

The city-state has the United States’ largest population of foster youth. The first time we spoke, Vega recited grim statistics: foster youth were twice as likely to experience PTSD as war veterans.

Los Angeles: was an exercise in horror vacui. Los Angeles: was algae from the future. Los Angeles: ate at the dream side of my mind.

hardness felt like proof of fear, whereas softness, being vulnerable, the one to extend a hand, felt incredibly empowering.

making L.A. the first American city to host the summer games three times.

“Willing yourself into being is such a western concept,” George said. “That idea of, ‘I’m going west, there’s fewer rules there. I can do whatever.’”

a system of political patronage with little accountability, a parachute drag on decision-making. The game of kingdoms meant that difficult issues could go unaddressed for years or even decades. A failing hospital, a homelessness crisis countywide, all while blue-ribbon commissions filed their reports.